It is from 2014. I am wondering what it is really based on, because like I found University of Washingtons program to be lackluster however they are 6th with a 4.5, whereas another institute like Worcester polytechnic is ranked 52 (2.9).
What exactly is this listing? Graduate, undergraduate? Job placement? Rigour?
Back to the example I brought up between UW and Worcester. They have about the same class offerings with some exceptions, however Worcester seems to take their computer science more seriously when students make their schedule.
Should I be worried about this list? I am looking for a program that does the following.
Helps me grow professionally and as a programmer.
Gets me connections
Allows me to explore as much of computer science (graphics, security, database, web design, simulation, concurrency, artificial intelligence) as possible.
You should examine the course catalogues for any program, and make sure they are offering the classes you want, and they offer them frequently enough for you to take them.
You need to decide the size of classes you want to take. Generally, smaller schools equal smaller classes, larger equal larger.
Rugg’s Guide is one source of ranking undergraduate, not graduate, programs like CS. Should be available from your Guidance Counselor.
Connections and Placement is pretty individual. You should inquire as to where grad’s are getting placement in any program you are considering.
Number of faculty is also important, and make sure the Phd’s are teaching the classes, not the TA’s.
@merc81, when it comes to CS, at least, there’s definitely some correlation between the reputation at the graduate level and undergraduate level.
Pretty much every school on that top 25 list (besides maybe Purdue) is also seen as top-tier for CS at the undergraduate level (there are schools not on that list that are seen as good for undergraduate CS as well, obviously, like Mudd).
As for the OP, how are you judging UW-Seattle CS to be lackluster?
Notice that it contains most of the same schools as the CS graduate school list. Both lists are based on surveys of deans, senior faculty and academics at peer institutions. Here is a little more information about the CS program at Washington, which may shed some light on why these folks think so highly of it:
What I didn’t like about UW was, A. That there is a large chance I wouldn’t get direct admissions, which would leave me to have another year without exciting classes, and B. I was frustrated at how few CS courses they let you fit in your schedule (I now realize that that isn’t an issue), and c. Size.
That being said, when I looked at UW I was also very bad at assessing colleges and understanding why some things are the way they are.
I hadn’t seen that quora page before, that answer makes me want to check over UW again. Thankyou!
UW CS program is one of the best in the country, but as you said, it doesn’t admit directly and it’s very competitive. If you don’t want to spend a year wondering if you’re going to get in, you might want to select another school that admits directly to CS providing you can afford studying OOS.
Similar to @insanedreamer’s comment, UW’s website states with refreshing candor: “Our best advice is that if you are admitted directly into another computer science program and would be extremely stressed by not being coded into your major directly as a freshman, it may be best to accept the other offer.”
I am not sure yet. My sister is out of state at ASU (30k ish tuition). That being said because my parents see my focus for CS and realize how quickly I will be paying back debt compared to a music degree they are willing to pay more for my education. They actually are allowing me to consider WPI (60k ish tuition).
So I would say for now I am just pretending money is not a factor. However if a school has a high tuition with mediocre computer science i’d throw that out. Mediocre computer science with cheep tuition I will still consider.
It is a plus if the school is eligable for the Scholarship For Service (Computer security) program as I hope to go for that.
I did not realize how few are admitted to the CS program. I suppose I really need to stop thinking of UW as an easy school to get into. While it is, getting into CS is really all that matters for me.
It also sounds like the program there is sorta small. Do you think it is small enough where students know each other, and work together, and have professional relationships with some of the professors?
Regarding how much the graduate program rankings are indicative of undergraduate programs, I would say – they are, to a good extent!
Graduate program rankings indicate how accomplished the faculty is in research and the quality of graduate students being attracted. A school with highly accomplished faculty and high quality graduate students is not going to run dumb-downed classes for undergrads. So, classes, especially at more advanced undergrad level, are going to be demanding. Moreover, because many managers tend to have graduate degrees, bachelor degree holders of school highly ranked for its graduate program in the field are going to be viewed very positively.
What a graduate program ranking does not indicate is: 1) selectively of undergrad body, 2) student resources, such as faculty-student ratio, advising support, etc, and 3) quality of classes and resources available outside the major.
A good heuristic for judging the quality of an undergrad program is to combine the USNWR ranking of the entire university and the graduate program ranking for the field.
Of course you have superb undergraduate CS programs like Williams who will not even be on these rankings, as they are LAC’s that don’t have graduate CS program…
There are many factors in this analysis. You are getting good info in this thread to consider.
Ok, so I see statements like this all the time, but there’s never any elaboration. What is it about Williams undergrad CS department that makes it “superb”? (I’m not saying it’s not, I just want the nitty gritty).
Washington fills about a fifth of CSE major spaces by direct frosh admission; other spaces are filled by competitive admission for enrolled students and transfer applicants. https://www.engr.washington.edu/current/admissions/admitstats indicates that about 200 students are admitted to the CSE major each year (about 40% of applicants), and admitted students typically have GPAs of 3.4-4.0. However, admission to the major includes an essay component and holistic review of one’s college record as well, so high GPA alone is no guarantee of admission to the major.
So the numbers per year appear to be:
~50 frosh per year enter with direct admission to the CSE major
>1000 students take CSE 142 every year (from the on-line class schedule; heaviest enrollment is >700 in the autumn quarter)
~500 students apply to the CSE major every year
~200 of those who apply are admitted to the CSE major every year
In terms of where prominent tech companies recruit lots of grads, I would say the US News Computer Science rankings are pretty accurate. All recruit at the top CS schools (CMU, MIT, Stanford, Cal, UIUC, etc.)
Note that many of the biggest computer companies recruit widely in addition to the most well known CS schools, because they have more recruiting needs and resources. The smaller ones may be more limited in where they can travel to.
My feelings on grad school rankings are the following:
If a grad program is not highly ranked, that doesn't necessarily mean that its undergrad counterpart isn't good.
If a grad program is highly ranked, the undergrad counterpart is probably at least pretty decent.
At a university, you will probably take some classes with grad students in them. Likewise, you may work with some profs who are also doing grad work/research, and at many schools your discussions or labs may be taught by grad students. So there can be some bleed from the grad program into the undergrad program.