Profile Evaluation

[Modeler]

I'm interested in Computational Social Science but there appears to be a paucity of such programs so I'm looking into applying to more traditional CS programs for things like Machine Learning and Game Theoretic Modeling.

 

School: College of William and Mary (I don't think we have any reputation for CS but we're consistently around 31-33 overall undergrad according to US News)

GPA: CS - 3.8, overall - 3.67

GRE: Verbal - 710, Quant - 800, awaiting my AWA, presuming 5-6

Elective CS courses and math background: Numerical Analysis I + II, Molecular Biological Modeling, either Systems Programming or AI, Multivariable Calc, Linear Algebra, ODE, Real Analysis

Research Experience: Ecological Modeling REU at Texas A & M where I examined spatial iterated prisoner dilemma games with cellular automata. Hopefully I'll have a paper published on my model soon.

 

Where should I be aiming? Comparing myself to profiles in the econ forum it would seem that I do not have a chance at top 10 programs in that discipline but perhaps in CS?

[CalmLogic]

I don't see evidence for machine learning or other traditional computer science programs at top universities providing for an easier admission compared to other PhD programs:

 

Admissions to UC Berkeley is quite competitive; and our acceptance ratios are usually in the range of 3 to 5% of all applicants.

 

Tygar:* FAQ for Applicants

Also, a case of machine learning rejection (from a foreign student with apparently little research experience):

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/admissions-results/45946-plz-help-me-out-phd-applicant-cs-fall-2006-a.html

 

Where should I be aiming? Comparing myself to profiles in the econ forum it would seem that I do not have a chance at top 10 programs in that discipline but perhaps in CS?

Since the field of computational social science is rarely mentioned in this forum, you may want to ask the grad programs for statistics regarding the number of domestic and/or foreign students admitted each year. If you are a domestic student (which seems to be the case), that is usually a competitive advantage, especially if there are a lot of foreign applicants.

 

At least at CMU, I would think you would actually have a much greater chance of being admitted into a computational social science program than their computer science program since I know their computer science program is super competitive. Also, you have an advantage over the economics students since a strong computer science background is necessary for computational social science while a background in economics is not, at least according to CMU:

 

The general prerequisites are as follows:

• Evidence of proficiency in computer science at an undergraduate level with emphasis on software or hardware systems.
  
• Evidence of intellectual ability to succeed in a rigorous, high-quality doctoral program, primarily demonstrated through transcripts and standardized test scores (such as GREs).
  
• Intense desire to explore the computational problems within a complex real-world system of people, organizations, and policies. This should be demonstrated by your statement of purpose, practical experience, background and/or real-world experience.

http://www.cos.cs.cmu.edu/apply.html#applying

I'm interested in Computational Social Science but there appears to be a paucity of such programs so I'm looking into applying to more traditional CS programs for things like Machine Learning and Game Theoretic Modeling.

 

I assume what you mean is that you will be applying to these Computational Social Science programs and, to be safe, want to consider other universities?

 

Though they have a $75 application fee, I would certainly consider applying to a PhD program at CMU if they meet your interests:

 

The Ph.D. program in Computation, Organization and Society (COS) prepares students to be tomorrows leaders in constructing and assessing technology and its societal impacts that is responsible to society, business, policy, and law. The program builds on COS world-class faculty, drawn from several academic disciplines, but primarily from computer science and social/policy science.

The COS PhD program is committed to providing full tuition and stipend support for the academic year, for each full-time COS Ph.D. student, for a period of 5 years.

 

Prospective Students

To find as many universities doing research in computational social science, it may be helpful to do an extensive search for journal articles, conferences, or workshops concerned with the field of computational social science and see which universities are home to some of the research authors. Alternatively, one can randomly search Google for researchers in the field and use their website as a starting point for finding which university they are located at, which conferences they go to, which journals they publish in, etc.

 

It may also be helpful to search for news articles related to your research interests. For example, a news article from a couple years ago:

 

Cornell Theory Center Aids Social Science Researchers

 

BTW, this may not be directly related to your research interests, but the video below has the best visual modeling I have seen:

 

In Rosling's hands, global trends -- life expectancy, child mortality, poverty rates -- become clear, intuitive and even playful.

 

TED | Talks | Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you've ever seen (video)

[Modeler]

Yeah, my list of Comp Soc Sci programs currently is:

COS (and CASOS) @ CMU

IDEAS @ Michigan which no longer has IGERT funding so it appears to have dissolved into doing Econ and getting a certificate in Complex Systems

Computational Social Science @ George Mason

Technology and Social Behavior @ Northwestern

 

There are some other programs at places like New Mexico State but I feel it'd be a better long term decision to do a traditional CS PhD at a more prestigious place at that point. Even George Mason seems like a risk in regards to future opportunities. The rest of my list is filled out with CS programs that have at least one person who does game theory related work or mid-level economics programs that I have a decent shot at.

 

Even though the accept rates at the top Econ and top CS PhD programs are similar, for the Econ programs my B in real analysis kills me but for CS programs I feel this is less a determiner.

[CalmLogic]

for the Econ programs my B in real analysis kills me but for CS programs I feel this is less a determiner.

At least for computer science PhD programs, research experience is usually more important than GPA. Therefore, I would assume the same is true in other fields. So if you -- or, better yet, one of your recommendation letters -- can show how your research experience is in any way related to "real analysis," that may be more important.

 

BTW, some advice from a guide on applying to CMU's CS PhD program is to apply to outside fellowship programs, especially if you are a U.S. citizen:

 

Fellowship Information

 

4.1 Why you need to apply

Even before you decide which schools you want to apply to, you should pick out which outside fellowships you are eligible for and apply to all of these. I myself applied to 5 outside fellowships.

 

Many outside fellowships require a U.S. citizenship, so not everyone is eligible. There are at least 4

reasons to apply for a fellowship:

 

i. If you are awarded the fellowship, it is an honor that will forever appear on your cv.

ii. An outside fellowship typically pays for several years of graduate school. This leaves you free

to pick any advisor you want to work with and never have to worry about whether this person

has funding or not.

iii. An outside fellowship makes you an attractive target for any school and for any advisor. When

I received a 6-year fellowship, I immediately sent every school I had applied to a postcard

notifying them. Within a week they all accepted me – Why not? I came free of charge.

iv. You’re a fool not to apply for at least a couple fellowships. If you’re good enough to get into a top school, then you’re good enough to get a fellowship.

Warning: The deadlines for fellowships are usually a month or two earlier than the deadlines

for graduate school.

www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf

Even George Mason seems like a risk in regards to future opportunities.

Since I'm not familiar with the job scene for those with a PhD in computational social science, I would be wary, too. Of course, even computer science PhDs can be overrated, but that is only regarding potential salary since there are certainly enough jobs.

 

 

[Modeler]

Other than the GRFP from the NSF, what other fellowships are there to apply for? Where can I find more information on this? And thanks for the other info so far.:tup:

[CalmLogic]

Regarding fellowships:

DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship main page

 

SIAM: Fellowship

 

SIAM: Internships and Fellowships in Computational Science and Engineering

 

Student Scholarships and Awards

 

Computer Science Graduate Fellowships (updated 2005)

 

Computer Science Graduate Fellowships (updated 2003)

 

Fellowships (the fellowships at the top of the list are only for postdocs)

 

US.FULBRIGHTONLINE.ORG || Fulbright Program For U.S. Students

 

BTW, a possible difficulty in getting admission to a traditional computer science program is that you don't seem to have met most of the traditional prerequisites for graduate CS study like undergraduate theory of computation, algorithms, operating systems, computer architecture, etc. However, you write in an earlier thread that your minor is in CS, so maybe you have taken more CS courses than I assume. Also, some CS grad programs seem very flexible or minimal when it comes to prerequisites for admission, e.g.:

 

Prerequisites for Applying to UC Berkeley | EECS at UC Berkeley

 

UT Dallas Computer Science – Graduate Degrees

 

 

Even George Mason seems like a risk in regards to future opportunities.

You may want to contact them and see if they can provide statistics regarding job placement.

 

Some career advice related to computation and applied mathematics that may be of interest:

 

SIAM: Thinking of a Career in Applied Mathematics?

 

A profile mentioned at SIAM concerns econometrics, which is something you may or may not be interested in:

 

SIAM: Profiles of Mathematicians and Computational Scientists

All econometrics jobs | Indeed.com

 

Alternatively, some grad programs in computation that seem more geared towards the physical than the social:

 

ICES: Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences: The University of Texas at Austin

School of Computational Science -

School of Computational Sciences - George Mason University (you already know)

 

Sample job geared more towards physical than social modeling:

 

Find Applied Mathematician jobs at Dice.com

[Modeler]

Whoops, I guess I wasn't entirely clear on my CS background. I am a CS major and a math minor so I just listed the electives in computer science. I have taken Algorithms, Principles of Programming Languages, Computer Organization (interestingly mine was based almost entirely on CMU's course), currently taking Theory of Computation, Numerical Analysis I, Software Development, and will take in the spring Numerical Analysis II, Bio Modeling, and Systems Programming.

 

How important is the CS GRE? I took a practice exam to see where I stood and scored around a 71 percentile but many of the questions I missed are now being covered in my theory of computation class. I will not have much time to aggressively prepare for it due to heavy course load and research so I was wondering how much I need to improve my score to remain competitive for the fellowships? It feels as though I may do more harm than good to my applications with the CS GRE but then again I'm not entirely certain what constitutes a good score.

 

Edit: Not sure this is even of any relevance for CS but I got my GRE score today, 6.0 in AWA

[CalmLogic]

How important is the CS GRE?

Since the regular U.S. registration deadline is tomorrow (the 28th), you have to decide soon :) However, in theory, you have nothing to lose except the $130 registration fee. This is because you don't have to have the scores automatically reported, but then you will have to pay $15 for each school you want the score reported to.

 

Regarding the importance, I don't know about how it could help with outside fellowships but it could help with internal, university-based fellowships, though certainly less so than research experience.

 

The GRE CS can certainly give an application a boost. For the CMU program in computational social science, they recommend the GRE CS exam, but for the traditional CS program at CMU it may not be worth taking:

 

We look at the Subject test score only when we have an application

from a school whose CS department we’re not familiar with.

 

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Eharchol/gradschooltalk.pdf

Some universities will post the average CS GRE score on their website:

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/gre-computer-science/12985-partial-list-universities-subject-test-policy.html

 

So if you meet or exceed the average GRE CS score at a given university, that's going to help, though not as much as having solid research experience. If your score is lower, that may not necessarily hurt, though a score below the 60th percentile may be worth hiding.

 

Also, there a some old posts on this topic, e.g.:

 

If you have money, then I wld recommend AGRE as its no harm in giving the test.

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/gre-computer-science/41605-importance-agre.html

. Just think it this way tht ur competition will be with many guys who wud have taken AGRE and they will have advantage over u.

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/computer-science-admissions/3558-how-important-computer-science-subject-test.html

People from CMU & MIT do take the exam, so that may take away from the argument that only people at less reputable schools should take the exam.

 

In summary, I would do whatever the grad program websites recommend. If they say the GRE CS is recommended, then I would take it, though I would not necessarily report my score.

[CalmLogic]

BTW, regarding an earlier point I made about the advantage of being a US citizen or permanent resident vs. international student, this advantage may be greater at state (public) universities:

 

One reason that grad programs in public schools prefer US students is that all US students are eligible for in state tuition after at most a year, but an international student can never be eligible for in state tuition. The money that a school uses to pay for one international student's tuition waiver can actually be used to support three US students. Since it takes 5-6 year sto get a PhD, the money that the school spends is a big issue...

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/graduate-admissions/44027-internationals-vs-americans-2.html

[CalmLogic]

BTW, another link regarding fellowships:

 

Scholarship and Fellowship Resources

[Modeler]

Thanks for your continued help :D

[CalmLogic]

Some advice from a previous poster who won a DHS fellowship at least a couple years ago:

 

Seriously, the essays and letters of rec matter the most. and if you're an undergrad, they know you don't know what you're going to do, but they're just interested in seeing you try and if a dedication to dhs can be sincerely shown in your writing.

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/financial-aid/19700-ndseg-dhs-fellowships-2.html