<p>I have the option of taking 9 courses for the engineering M.S program which should take 4 quarters, or I can join a lab, do research, and finish in 2 years.</p>
<p>Is there an advantage of doing research while in grad school besides just interest in subject & earning money as a R.A? I plan on entering industry after M.S. Also, what is the time commitment once you join a research group?</p>
<p>In my opinion, the main advantage of the research over the non-research lies in the interest to pursue a Ph.D program afterwards or obtaining a R & d job. Otherwise most dont really care. Another great benefit lies with the monetary benefit of being an RA. i was an RA and i got my tuition and stipend paid by the school.</p>
<p>I know it varies from school to school, but was your full tuition paid by the school by being an R.A? I know TA’s at my school only receive free tuition.</p>
<p>kaybizzle said it pretty well.</p>
<p>Doing the traditional thesis option is a must if you want to continue on to a doctorate (you already said you don’t) or if you ever want to end up in a research-type position out in industry. If you want that research position, they are going to want to know what your thesis was about, and if you don’t have one, then you are already behind fellow applicants who do. If you aren’t looking for either of those two things, however, then there isn’t really much downside to doing the coursework only version. At that point it is all about money and time.</p>
<p>With a coursework only masters, you won’t have the chance to get an RA-ship, which means you get to pay it all out of pocket or have your company pay for it. At any major research institution, getting an RA position means you get your tuition paid, out of state tuition waived (if applicable) and a stipend of some sort to live off of. In short, it is like having a job… slightly higher than minimum wage job. In addition, a coursework masters sometimes requires you to take nearly double the number of classes per term compared to a thesis based masters because you don’t have that lab time, so you fill it with class time.</p>
<p>As for TA’s, a lot of schools give stipends to TA’s, though it isn’t uncommon for them to be a smaller stipend. That only applies to grad students, though. Most of the time undergrads that TA for low level classes get the tuition waiver, but they don’t get they stipend or get next to nothing in terms of stipend. That certainly varies by institution, though.</p>
<p>The advantage to full time is that you can gain research experience as boneh3ad said. Thie disadvantage is that your stipend will probaly be a third or less of your starting salary as an engineer. However, keep in mind that taking night courses after a full day’s work is not a bunch of fun either and it will likely take 4 or 5 years to complete part time, whereas a full time MS can be completed in typically 1.5 to 2 years. </p>
<p>This is a generalization, but most higher ranked research institutions will be catering to full time graduate students where non research institutions will offer mainly evening classes to appeal to part time students. If you want to write a thesis, the research institutions are where you want to be.</p>
<p>what if one wishes to do research for the MS, but isn’t sure about the research area? For me, since i’ve only taken 2 engineering classes, I’m debating between CFD vs heat transfer. Am i still likely to get funded by the prof I got assigned for, even if they know i’m uncertain about what research area I like?</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you mean by the professor you got assigned for. As a graduate student, you choose your area of research and thus your advisor. A professor is going to want to know that you are truly interested in his or her area of research before you get funding. More importantly, you should try to figure out what area interests you because graduate school will be miserable if you are not interested in your own research.</p>
<p>Since you have only taken 2 engineering classes you are going to have some major catching up to do. Also, due to your lack of engineering course work, you are probably not very well informed of all the possible areas of research. I would suggest taking some undergraduate courses in different areas of mechanical (you will probably have to do this anyway if you don’t have an undergrad in engineering), and see if any particular area sparks your interest. What is your undergrad in? Do you have any research experience as an undergrad? This will somewhat affect your path in graduate school.</p>
<p>when i applied to my school’s phD program, i chose a heat transfer prof, even though I barely knew anything about it at the time. After being admitted, that guy is now my assigned advisor. I then told the student affairs officer to change it to the MS program, and he did.</p>
<p>I did my undergrad in physics and applied math, and did 2 different research projects. So you suggest that for this upcoming spring quarter that I take some more undergrad engineering courses, even though I’m already admitted into the fall MS program?</p>
<p>I was thinking about talking about this with my assigned advisor, but since I want to get funded if I do research for him, won’t he not want to fund me if I sound uncertain about my research interests?</p>
<p>It sounds like your school does things a bit strangely. I wouldn’t imagine that he would fund you if you weren’t sure if you were even interested in his research, but then again, it is odd that your school “assigns” you an advisor to begin with. Are you sure it wasn’t just a temporary assignment until you find an actual advisor?</p>
<p>What I meant was when I applied to my school’s phD program, I had to choose a professor as an advisor on the application. I chose a heat transfer prof, even though I barely knew anything about it at the time. So when I got my acceptance letter, it mentioned that he was my advisor, so the school didn’t ‘assign’ him to me, but rather I chose him at the time I submitted my application. I have no idea if this is a temporary assignment or not</p>
<p>Well, regarding taking undergrad courses, you will likely have to take some since you don’t have an BS in engineering. I think this is pretty standard. I think it will be very difficult for you to jump right into graduate level engineering courses without the proper background. If your research and courses are going to be in the heat transfer and fluids areas, I would highly recommend taking undergraduate thermo, fluids, and heat transfer, otherwise I’m afraid you might fall behind in your graduate classes. From my experience, the caliber of students in graduate school is much higher than undergrad so there will be some tough competition. I would also suggest taking some undergrad courses in mechanics, or controls, or finite element to see just what sparks your interest. These classes will also give you a better idea if you even like engineering. </p>
<p>As I said before, I would make sure you really like this area before you commit to doing PhD or MS research in it. You will be miserable if you really don’t like your research.</p>
<p>I would imagine that it is more of an academic advisor for the task of advising you on courses until you find a full time advisor, but I could be mistaken.</p>
<p>I know a student in an M.S. program (not in engineering) who was accepted as a specific professor’s student. He interviewed her and accepted her, with, of course, the agreement of the program and the university. His funding supports her. If this is the way it worked with you, and the “assigned advisor” suggests that it may be, then you might be in trouble if you change advisors since your acceptance may have been contingent on working with a specific PI and his willingness to fund you. I’m also surprised that they let you switch from PhD to MS program, something very few programs would allow.</p>
<p>You really need to determine the conditions of your acceptance. If you have been accepted only as a student of this professor, then you will have to make a choice: 1. continue with heat transfer studies or 2. pull out, and apply to programs in your chosen area next cycle.</p>
<p>'Are you sure it wasn’t just a temporary assignment until you find an actual advisor? '</p>
<p>Actually i think he is just my academic advisor. When i spoke to the student affairs officer, i think he mentioned that i can easily change my research advisor</p>
<p>‘I’m also surprised that they let you switch from PhD to MS program, something very few programs would allow.’
the student affairs officer just said he changed my application from phD to MS. does that mean my application is getting reviewed again and i might not get accepted to the MS?</p>
<p>^^^ You would have to check with your program to make sure. Your case is so specific that no one here would be able to answer your question.</p>
<p>ok, they said I got admitted for the MS program as well and that my initial advisor is just an academic advisor. For now, i’ll just keep applying for internships or full-time engineering positions, and if i can’t get one by the MS admission deadline, i’ll accept the MS offer. Also, for next quarter, ME 76’s suggestion to take more undergrad classes sounds like a good idea since some of them can count towards the MS course requirements.</p>
<p>i just ran into a problem. My school doesn’t offer the advanced fluid mech or heat transfer classes next quarter. The only classes that may interest me would me dynamics, mass transfer, aerodynamics, and FEM analysis. But all of them except dynamics have prereqs which I haven’t taken yet</p>
<p>Your school offers heat and mass transfer as separate courses at the undergraduate level? Seems kind of nuts to me. Condense them into one course! EFFICIENCY FTW!</p>