I have 2.9 gpa from Binghamton University, participated in a research program in undergrad funded by HHMI, coauthored on 1 published paper, and was first author on another. I went to grad school at Bard for my MAT, got a 3.46 there, and have been teaching computer science for a year now. Would it be difficult for me to get into a top tier computer science PhD program?
You should be posting in the grad student forum. Top PhD admission is heavily dependent on research in Computer Science or closely related fields. So if your background is in teaching and research in teaching (can’t tell) that is a different thing. If your two undergraduate researches are in CS that is very good. But the grades in CS coursework matter too, and GRE is just expected to be high. Letters of recommendation that speak to your potential as a researcher from someone who did research with you is important. Another part of getting accepted is research interests that match faculty interests.
Talk to a current professor who knows your work to see what they think about your chances. Listen to what they say. They may think it is a great next step depending on your career goals or they may think you don’t have the work ethic.
Not if you have a strong relationship with your mentor or mentors. A 2.9 GPA at Binghamton has to be in the lower 10% because of outrageous grade inflation at Binghamton.Maybe that is a bit of a exaggeration but not by much. I think anything but an A is highly unusual these days. But if you graduated 10 years ago that might have been different. The published papers will help immensely but only if you have strong support from your mentor or co-authors.
You should definitely apply but make sure you cover your bases by also applying to at least on less selective program where you think you would be happy to attend. There are two things you need to remember about a Ph.D.
- The most selective programs are that way for a reason. They have lotsof applicants who are at lesat as strong as you and so there is no guarantee of admission. Ph.D. program tend to provide full funding for their admitted students and those resources are not infinite. That is why even the top programs have a limited number of Ph.D. admits per year.
- The value of your Ph.D. is not so much which university you get it from but who your thesis advisor is. As an example, my Ph.D. students have never had a hard time finding good jobs and being at Ilinois Tech, I am certainly not in what most people would say is a "top 50" physics program. My most recent student had 2 faculty offers and an even better post-doc offer.
It is worthwhile to consider whether you are really determined to get a Ph.D. or if you only want to get one from a “top” school. If the former (and I hope so), then you need to make sure you apply somewhere that you know you will be admitted.
Most likely not. My daughter’s friend has less than 3.0 GPA for undergraduate and was rejected from Masters degree from her alma mater. I would think you need better GPA for PhD unless you have exceptional research experience.
@DrGoogle, the GPA form the Masters can mitigate the undergraduate GPA somewhat. It shows that the OP can do graduate level work. Even so, the undergraduate performance will likely make it difficult to be admitted to the most selective programs.
Post #6, somewhat true. I think most people get As in masters program. B is considered passing grade like C in undergraduate. 3.46 is not glowing, it would be different if it were 3.85 but in this case not.
It isn’t a Master’s in computer science though, right? So I think the undergrad work is going to be more relevant and that is a low gpa for ‘top tier’ PHD programs. But it is not a usual path so I don’t know what the whole picture looks like, what the research interest is, where it fits may be important.