How reputed is the NYU’s Computer Science department compared to the Ivy league and universities like Duke and Northwestern?
I saw on qs subject ranking that it is ranked 34 in the world. But that is my only source and not a very great one because, in other engineering subjects, it shows that NYU is around 150. I don’t know how much I should trust that, given the discrepancy.
Please give your opinion
I think NYU’s CS programs can meet undergraduate needs just about as well as some of the Ivies can. Success depends largely on your own efforts. Where NYU falls short, compared to the Ivies/Duke/NU, is in need-based financial aid. If that matters to you, there are better choices than NYU. If it doesn’t, and if the idea of 4 years in Manhattan appeals to you, then don’t worry about those CS rankings.
NYU CS is fine. I’d stick in in the same tier as Duke and Northwestern, along with a lot of other schools.
As mentioned, don’t worry about CS rankings. Very few hiring managers care.
Just seconding that NYU CS is comparable to both other schools mentioned. Rankings matter very little in the industry.
It seems like you’re chasing prestige based on your question. I could be wrong, just an observation based on what’s presented here. I would note that even when reputation does matter, prestigious CS schools are usually thought of higher than the Ivies or Duke or Northwestern. There are essentially 3 tiers for good CS schools - the best (CMU, MIT, Stanford, UCB, UW, Harvey Mudd, a few others), the known CS schools (probably about 25 or so more that can vary in regional reputation), and all the rest. And you’ll find people from all three tiers at most companies.
Thanks for your replies.
@PengsPhils I am an international student and prestige is indeed one factor for me because I don’t want to come to the US to go to a not very recognized university (I can do that in my home country). Based on your classification, would you put NYU in the tier 2 (the known CS schools)?
If you plan to work in the US, a degree from a tier 3 CS school here will mean more than just about any degree abroad with an exception for some Canadian schools. If you plan to work back in your home country, it’s likely better to go to school there.
Yes, I would put every school listed here in tier 2 with the exception of Cornell in terms of ivies, which would arguably be tier 1.
This is a ranking based on graduate research output in CS which would show the CS prestige well. I would say the Top 5 have arguments for being in the first tier. The second tier is a lot murkier and again depends on regional reputation as well. For example, U of Minnesota isn’t known nationally for CS much, but the school it’s right next to, Rice, is known for its CS nationally within the industry. Still, hiring managers usually view a degree as a checkbox to meet - your skills and experience will far outweigh the degree.
Tuning the time ranges and subject areas produce different results as well.
Again, this is all based on reputation, and you should be looking at other arguably more important factors like teaching, class sizes, location and culture preferences, etc.
I can address your concern with QS. Alot of kids don’t realize that NYU has two CS programs that are very different compared to other universities since NYU recently bought the Polytechnic school or Tandon school of engineering in 2014.
The QS rank for engineering ranks Tandon’s engineering program(including their computer science) which is why NYU’s engineering ranking is so low at the 100s. The regular NYU CS program has always been under the Courant Institute which has a longer history of strong faculty and research in math and CS which is why QS has a higher CS ranking for NYU.
If you check USnews ranks, there are also two ranks for math(#9 and #73) and two ranks for CS(#29 and #70), if you click on the ranks, it will show you where the department is located, it will show metrotech aka Tandon for the lower ranks in math(#73) and CS(#70).
If you apply for the CS program, you should be careful in choosing which program you are applying to. Some kids apply to Tandon and don’t realize that it isn’t even on main campus.
@wakanaw thanks for the information. You prevented me from making a big mistake.
I am leaning towards Courant because of ranking but it offers a BA degree, unlike Tandon which offers a BS. Which one do you recommend for a job in software engineering?
If you aim for the big names, I’d recommend the main campus program since you will be better prepared for their interviews.
You will get difficult algorithms questions which should have a similar level of difficulty or even easier than your algorithms course in courant.
If you aim for SE jobs in big banks, it will be much easier but you’ll very likely be in infrastructure, support roles.