How well-reputed is Northeastern's Computer Science Department?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
21

@saltedpeanutz

This honestly is out of left field, as even when Northeastern was a commuter school decades ago, its strength has always been in STEM. Heck, it started as an engineering school, which is one of the reasons it has the co-op model emphasized so strongly. A lot of its local strength comes from its reputation in the area for engineering. What his comment does show is that it isn’t a name everyone knows, like a UIUC.

Northeastern is going to offer the teaching emphasis in CS all discussed here, and that approach. You will likely find similar class sizes (though confirm at UIUC - at NEU the intro will be 50 people sections, and upper-level classes will dwindle towards 20’s), the approach is what will be different. UIUC is a very research focused university and despite all of the amazing research going on there, it won’t be as undergraduate-focused. This actually rings true of many of the top research universities in CS like UC Berkeley, MIT, etc. Upthread aquapt mentioned UW Seattle, another case of that to some extent. Some of the best CS schools are at places with undergraduate focus AND strong CS such as Harvey Mudd, RPI, WPI. You’ll notice a lot of these are tech colleges specifically.

What those big CS names offer is amazing access to the cutting edge of the field, which is great for students looking to do research as well as for the industry looking for students who know said material. This leads to the top companies all recruiting at those schools, and a name that pops eyes on resumes, which is hard to do in CS, one of the fields that is very much a meritocracy relative to others. You also get all of the other incredibly smart CS students around you in higher numbers than anywhere else. All of this is true for UIUC.

Honestly, the biggest difference between the schools is fit. They really couldn’t be farther apart outside of CS. I would be willing to bet that 90%+ of the application overlap is for CS. If you were to be looking at any other subject, the first comments posters would be making is how you ended up with two schools on your list that are so completely different. If you can, I would wait for any other possible schools, and then visit both. I think that will probably make this decision very clear.

@aquapt Given how much you read and post here, I can’t imagine what you would gain from those sessions. It’s likely a more condensed and marketing style pitch of everything here, but also less than here. The only gain would be more perspectives from a student panel, if you needed that. If you’re going to visit, I would want some other reason as well, and then do that as a “well we’re here” thing. If you do visit, I would try to talk to a professor in the department while you’re here, which could actually help get another perspective. I’d bet if you sent an email to some of them, they would be happy to meet. I actually emailed with program creator before coming here :slight_smile:

22

The average person in New England would not know what or where UIUC is just as the average person in the Midwest may not have heard of Northeastern. Corporate hiring managers, with one possible exception ;), are not the average residents of those regions.

23

OP did you get into UIUC’s actual CS program/major or their liberal arts/general studies? Transferring into CS after a year in liberal arts would be difficult from what I’ve heard on here.

If you did get into UIUC CS, then there is no comparison in terms of industry reputation and contacts…UIUC blows NEU CS out of the water. I’m not saying NEU CS is deficient, but UIUC CS in on another level. However, I would not attend UIUC OOS if it means going into 200K in debt.

24

Well I live in the NJ/NY area and used to work in tech (and even hired for tech). I admit that I had to google UIUC to see what school you were talking about (and yes it has an excellent reputation). Before my daughter started looking at colleges, I don’t think I had ever heard of Northeastern either. Tech is very different from many other fields. Especially after your first job, companies often recruit for very specific needs. They only want a person who has used a specific software package or worked on a specific type of application (has been commented on in many threads here on CC). This,coupled with the fact that tech jobs pay well at most companies, suggests you will do very well if you study CS at a place where you get a solid education for a reasonable cost. No need to be at the top school or to pay top dollar. That being said, you should go somewhere that is a good fit for you (size, location, finances, etc.)