<p>I have been offered a graduate student position at Yale, to complete a PhD in combustion (mechanical engineering).
I cannot really understand if it will be a good choice for my career. The program is very small and its ranking is not very good (something as 40 in the nation) but begin small, it gives you opportunities you do not have in other programs like switching among different subjects and having a more personal contact with people around you. The faculty/students ratio is high and more, they are really strong in combustion, it is a kind of niche of excellence. Could it be a good choice for my future? I have been at PennState for 10 months and they have a really big combustion program. Nevertheless, communication among research groups is negligible, and University Park is a boring place to stay. I think Yale would offer me a more interesting environment and life.
What do you think about all this??</p>
<p>Did you apply anywhere else? Do you have any other acceptances? I don’t think Yale is the best place for engineering but you could certainly do worse.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the combustion programs at Yale or elsewhere, so I can’t comment specifically, but here are a few thoughts:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I know two people who did/are doing combustion at Yale. One is working for Smoot; the other for Long. Both of them had offers at many other grad schools (including MIT and U of Mighican, etc.). I’m sure they had a reason for choosing Yale. Definitely go visit days. Figure out why other students chose Yale.</p></li>
<li><p>There are certain programs at Yale (and combustion may well be one of them) that command respect from professors at classic engineering schools like MIT. Are professors like Long, Smoot, Gomez respected by your current advisor?</p></li>
<li><p>If Yale engineering is weak at something, it might be its ability to attract recruiters from large companies. This doesn’t mean that companies won’t hire you because you’re from Yale; it just means that you might not have easy access to them at career fairs. I would look into what student placement is like post-PhD. Professors are generally very willing to discuss what former students have done after graduation.</p></li>
<li><p>I enjoyed living in New Haven and miss it, but I wouldn’t choose graduate school simply based on location.</p></li>
</ul>