<p>I know that Caltech's CS department is generally regarded as extremely theoretical, while Stanford's CS department focuses primarily on the practical applications of computing.</p>
<p>I've heard Stanford people call MIT's CS department "quite theoretical," while Caltech students tend to think MIT's CS department is heavy on application. Is it safe to assume that MIT's CS department is a fair blend of theory and application, or does it lean more one way or the other?</p>
<p>Yes, I would say it is a fair blend and if you want more theory, you can always take some of the more “theoretical” CS classes; I think there is even a category for that. There is usually at least two levels of a course, such as algorithms, which has an intro to algorithms 6.006 but still with lots of coding which they already expect you to be able to do, and then 6.046J which is even <em>more</em> rigorous and is also a course taken by math major who are into CS theory. Then there are things like Theory of Computation which is also a course in the math department, but it is generally a well-loved course. (Not a CS student, but physics familiar with some CS classes through friends!) </p>