<p>I’ll be starting my M.S. degree in computer engineering in the fall at Syracuse University. How difficult is it for a non-resident (of CA) to transfer into one of the following schools for computer engineering?
-UC san diego
-UC santa barbara
-UC davis
-UC irvine
-UC riverside
-UC santa cruz
if I maintain a 3.5 gpa or higher in my first year, is it a realistic possibility?</p>
<p>For an undergrad or grad program? </p>
<p>Undergrad - second baccalaureates are virtually unheard of. Unless you have a compelling reason to be getting a second degree, it ain’t gonna happen.</p>
<p>Grad - you don’t have official “transfer” programs, per se. If you need to switch locations, you’ll have to start the application process over again (submit app, fees, GRE scores, letters of rec, etc). The target grad program will be inspecting the quality of your Syracuse MS progress very carefully. At the graduate school level, state residency is less of an issue than for undergrads because you’ll be earning a stipend to help you qualify for financial independence.</p>
<p>I will have my B.S. in computer engineering in May, so yes I will be hoping to transfer for an MS program or even a PhD program. Syracuse has a very good CE program, my reason for wanting to transfer is not because Syracuse isn’t good but because I really want to experience college life in California. For some reason California is very appealing to me since I’ve lived on the east coast my entire life.
Also, if I apply for an MS program do they also look at your undergrad GPA and grades? Unfortunately my undergraduate GPA isn’t that good, however I have been getting all As and Bs in my junior/senior level core engineering classes which is all I have going for me.</p>
<p>Yeah, they’ll be looking at your undergraduate grades and relevant test scores. The grad student life is pretty different from the undergrad life. If you’re dead-set on moving out there for school, you can always go a year early, work for a professor, impress him/her sufficiently, and get near-guaranteed entrance into the program the following year. I’m just not following why you’d want to start a program now knowing you’re going to leave it already. You’d be losing tuition and taking coursework that may not be transferable, doesn’t seem advantageous to me …</p>
<p>Would you suggest I finish my M.S. degree at SU then apply for a Ph.D program? I’ll be able to complete my M.S. degree in 3 semesters so I guess that would make more sense</p>
<p>I don’t know your situation/goals all that well so I’ll hold off from advising you to do anything except to think long and hard about what you want and how you should get there. PhD programs may be easy to get into, but they’re not a walk in the park once you’re stuck. You’ll almost certainly get an MS en route to the PhD (a redundant MS if you’re coming in with one). There are very few situations in the sciences that would warrant someone having to do a MS program separately, before the PhD. If your program is paid for and you’re not sure you want a PhD, then go for it and see what you think of further education in 18 months. At least by then you’ll have a degree in hand and you’ll have more work options from that alone. </p>
<p>If CA is so appealing to you, why didn’t you just apply last fall?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf</a></p>
<p>@Oyama, thanks so much for providing that pdf. It answered a lot of questions for me.
The only thing I was unable to find in that document is, if I apply after earning my masters degree will it still take me the same amount of time (~6 years according to the pdf document) to work towards a doctorate or can it be cut down to say 4-5 years?</p>
<p>You’ll have to redo coursework for most programs. The only advantage you’ll get from completing a masters is perhaps the ability to teach undergraduate courses as an alternative way to get your financial I’d (as opposed to simply TAing or RAing), though this varies from school to school. For the most part, I wouldn’t consider a masters if your goal is a phd unless you have many deficiencies. A phd is much much much much more difficult to get into than a masters (even at a “low ranked” phd program) so don’t treat it as a backup. Also you’re essentially paying for a degree you would have gotten en route to a phd anyway, and it would have been for free and without taking redundant classes. But as the document (and most of us in research) say, a phd definitely is NOT for everyone. If you have any doubt that you might not like research, get some experience as an RA first. The phd process is long, difficult, and even people who love research and are good at it can burnout and fail during the process. If your heart and interest isn’t into it, you’re almost guarantee to fail come dissertation time or earlier.</p>
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<p>although sheer stubbornness can carry you through most of it. ask me again in a year.</p>
<p>Sure thing, Dr. Astrina.</p>
<p>after doing long hard thinking and research, i’ve decided not to pursue a phd. i did not know that the difference between a masters and a doctorate was massive, thanks for the heads up guys i appreciate the feedback.
however my next question is, what are your opinions on a dual masters degree? after i finish up my MS in computer engineering i plan to go for a MS in electrical engineering.</p>
<p>Too much waste of money. </p>
<p>There are masters (both MS and MEng) in ECE (Electrical and Computer Engineering) that are 1.5-2.5 years long. A lot of the coursework you’ll take will likely be redundant, but still won’t transfer to your second program.</p>