My Son (International Student) has got Direct Admit for Fall 2024 at -
Any Suggestions, which Program to Pursue considering the Placement oppurtunities (Specifically being an International Student) upon completing the course
Ask each for career outcomes for international.
Check curriculums. Both programs are probably strong but the courses of study may be different.
Purdue will cost less if it matters to you.
So I looked at the curricula and they are slightly different degrees.
The information science degree at UIUC has an emphasis on human/social issues related to data. There are 5-6 pathways and you would need to choose the data science pathway to get closer to the Purdue degree.
There is also a related degree at UIUC called BS in IS + Data Science which is more of a traditional DS degree and more similar to Purdue.
The additional complexity is that, as an international student, your son will need to find a sponsoring employer. He can work for a year (extensible to 2 more) on something called “OPT” associated with his student visa, but to stay on beyond that he needs a sponsor. The difficulty of getting one depends on the state of the economy, and whether there is a shortage or glut of qualified candidates for the job.
Additionally, many data science jobs are at government agencies, defense contractors, and other such organizations that will only hire US citizens. So these will be out of reach for him.
The school’s career service center will typically not account for these factors when tracking graduation outcomes, but it’s something you should keep in mind. Therefore, as a backup, make sure he has good employment opportunities in your home country for the major he chooses.
At Purdue, reach out to the office of international students. International Students & Scholars | ISS
They should be able to provide employment information.
As noted though, it’s become more difficult for international students to get company sponsors and many companies will also not hire international students for internships or coops.
The assumption should be needing to return to the home country upon graduation.
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