Notes on Graduate School

1
Notes on Graduate School

• Cliff Shaffer
• Department of Computer Science
• Virginia Tech
• Blacksburg, VA

2
My Perspective

• 8 years as graduate program director for a
  Research 1 PhD granting (and PhD-focused) CS
  Department
• A graduate degree should be something very
  different from an undergraduate degree
• Not just more classes
• The research degree is what has made graduate
  education in the US the envy of the world

3
Graduate Programs

• MS-only (typically course based)
• PhD-granting (MS and PhD)
• In Academia, there is a real pecking order
  among Universities
• Where you go for an undergraduate degree is far
  less important than where you go for a graduate
  degree, especially for a PhD, for future job
  prospects

4
MS vs. PhD

• In CS, everyone is usually in demand
• Generally, BS pays well, MS pays better, and PhD
  pays even better
• But its debatable whether the cost of a PhD
  makes up for the pay differential from MS
• The real reason to get a PhD is because it lets
  you do new things (faculty, research labs, in
  industry more likely to be the manager, overall
  status)

5
PhD Jobs

• In CS, the majority of PhDs go to industry
• Guesstimate
• Industry 50
• Academia 40
• Government 10

6
Timeframe

• The MS degree traditionally takes 2 years
• Low variance
• The PhD degree roughly takes 5 years from BS
• High variance
• You really want to be getting paid while doing
  your graduate degree!
• GTA, GRA, Government fellowship, company support,
  military support

7
Getting into Graduate School

• Factors considered by our department, in rough
  order of importance
• How much we believe you want to do research (and
  will be able to get it done)
• Established connection with a faculty member in
  our department
• Research experience (publications a big plus)
• Recommendation letters (from respected sources)
• School you went to
• Grades
• Standardized test scores

8
Example VT MS Degree

• Thesis
• 30 credits
• 7 3-credit courses (2-3 courses/semester)
• Defend thesis (9 credits)
• Coursework-only
• 33 credits
• 11 3-credit courses
• One is Independent Study, with a report

9
Example VT PhD

• 11 3-credit courses
• 2 advanced/seminar courses
• 2 courses outside of CS (technical electives)
• Pass PhD Qualifier
• Pass PhD Proposal/Preliminary Exam
• Pass Dissertation Defense

10
Why do Research?

• Learn a set of work skill that you can't get from
  classes
• Significant writing task
• Independent/unstructured work task
• Do something real'
• Become a true expert in something
• It's the only way to get a PhD

11
Grad Student Concerns

• The key concern with doing a research degree
• When will it end?

12
How to be Successful Grad Student

• Initially
• Don't just take classes -- interact with faculty,
  students doing research, and research groups.
• Attend talks, read papers.
• Get PhD qualifier (or equivalent) out of the way
  early.
• Identify an advisor early, and get involved in
  research
• GRA, Independent Study, or volunteer
• Research topic often comes from the work, not
  work from the topic.

13
Getting Things Done

• Set deadlines or milestones... And keep them!
• Break big tasks into subtasks
• Tackling the Dissertation
• Intersperse writing with working
• Documenting literature review is an ongoing
  process
• Constantly write progress reports
• Publish along the way if possible

14
The Advisor

• A key person in your academic/professional career
• Pick the best compromise (for YOU!) of the
  following
• Research area
• Support opportunity
• Physical environment for getting work done
• Intellectual environment for getting work done
• Peer support system (research group)
• Personality Interaction at a personal level
• Personality Management style (hands on/off)
• Level of attention
• Track record on timely graduation
• Professional advancement