Grad School Info

If you are planning to go to graduate school, the CS faculty can give you the best advice about graduate school in person. Personalized advice can take into account your interests and your background. Feel free to chat with us even if you are not sure you want to go.

The following site (cra.org) has 5 short videos about CS grad school, and why it's a good choice: http://cra.org/crae/activities/videos-computing-research

Here is a very brief outline of what you should expect during graduate level studies... At most places you spend your first year or two obtaining a well-rounded education in the topic of your Ph.D. Usually there are comprehensive exams (the "comps") to measure your attainment although at some places just taking the courses and doing well-enough works. If you are in a CS program general knowledge may include several of: systems, architecture, programming languages, algorithms, theory, AI, database, etc. After you have passed your comps, you will be expected to complete a research thesis. Sometimes you can start your research before you pass your comps while you are still taking courses. Often there are ongoing projects that you can become a part of. In some cases, students come up with their own idea of an interesting problem and find a faculty member who will direct research in that area. In some cases faculty members find you and suggest ideas. In all cases, you will become the world's expert in some narrow domain of CS by the time you finish your thesis.

Here are some sites that will give you more detailed information:

The following are links on fellowships research opportunities for undergraduates: