Need guidance UCR , UTD , UIC , which is better than which for ms in cs?
For MS in CS, UIC and UTD are at par. But UIC has better prospects in terms of employability and the department ranks 64. Though the college is overshadowed by other colleges in the same area such as Northwestern, UIUC and UChicago. Coming to the program, the college offers 3 options - Coursework option, Project option and Thesis option. Subjects like AI, NLP, Machine learning and Data Learning, Computer security are recommended. Plus, the college has sent its graduates to some of the best companies like - Apple, Amazon, Adobe, Facebook, Google. But the tuition fee is a little high for the value the college provides.
Next, UTD - The CS dept also boasts of good numbers, provides part-time employment to the students as well. There are more than 180 assistantships available. I could’t find if UIC provides assistantships. But since the colleges have almost the same tuition fees, I think this would be a better choice. Also, the department will not be short on funding as for the year 2018, the annual research funding for the department was a whooping $7,608,300.
If we compare these two colleges then UIC is better in terms of quality, course content, internships and jobs but it is more expensive than UTD and not better ranked. You can choose UTD as it is a cheaper option and choosing UTD over UIC won’t be a bad option. You will have to be proactive in finding jobs and internships.
Now about UCR, the college is ranked higher than UTD and UIC. But I can’t say the same about its reputation. The college and the department both are better ranked but since the college accepts students with low profile as well, it has got the title of “UC Rejects”, though I don’t quite agree with this. It is cheaper than both the colleges in terms of tuition fee and living expenses. The annual funding for the department is slightly less than UTD - $ 6,613,853.
To sum it all up - Even though UCR is better ranked and has a good CS department, the employment opportunities are a bit less. UIC is in Chicago and Chicago is a city with vast employment options. UTD has a better funded CS department.
1 Like