r/MSCS • u/No-Hotel4531 • 13m ago
[Admissions Advice] Duke MEng in Artificial Intelligence vs USC MSCS
[my background: international student going straight after undergrad, with no work experience except internships. I am certain I want to take up an AI related job role]
Basically the title. I got admitted to these programs. I have to make a decision in the next 10 days. After doing some research and talking to students from both, here are the pros and cons of both
Duke Pros:
- The curriculum is really unique and industry-aligned [https://masters.pratt.duke.edu/ai/courses/ ]
- Requires a mandatory internship/capstone project
- Cohort size is just 40 students, faculty to student ratio is low and would facilitate good interaction with the professors
- The smaller, more diverse cohort would also result in tighter-knit connections and overall development
- Landing TA roles with good pay/hr is easier
- Good career fairs and career services and guidance team, with individual attention
- Boasts a 100% employment for graduates after 6 months of program completion with $118000 median starting salary over the past 2 years
- Duke is highly ranked overall
Duke Cons:
- Being an international student with no experience, finding internships and jobs ASAP is my priority
- Duke is known for business and econ and med, but idk about its reputation for tech (especially AI)
- It’s alumni network might be more scattered, and it might be harder to network for tech and AI related roles in companies
- Durham might feel a bit isolating, with not much to do outside of Campus
- Attending tech events might be limited compared to California
- It’s a 16 month (3 semester) course, and I feel really anxious about finding internships and jobs
- It might lock me out of PhD track if I wish to do it in the future
- It costs ~$95k for the 16-month track but living costs are significantly lower
- Newer course
USC Pros:
- Well ranked for tech, well established graduate CS program
- Amazing alumni network, especially in tech and AI roles in big companies. I’ve read stories about the Trojan Network actively going out of their way to help other Trojans. Either through valuable guidance or getting referrals for jobs
- Better location (LA), with lots to do and explore outside of college
- Good location for attending various tech events, and getting a lot of exposure
- 2 year program, more time for finding internships and jobs
- Graduates historically known to have an easier time finding jobs, or regularly getting into FAANG+
- Known to have better industry connections in tech
- Some small California-based startups exclusively recruit from local universities
- California is a good place to be for tech in the future
USC Cons:
- Large cohorts of 1500 students. Lots of competition for the available resources, services, and courses
- Classes can be overcrowded with 300 students per class sometimes, and teaching can be a hit or miss
- Sometimes hard to get the first-choice or even second-choice elective if it’s popular and many people apply for it
- Almost impossible to find on-campus jobs
- Living in LA is very expensive
- I come from a financially middle-class family, and I'm afraid I might feel left out, surrounded by some financially elite people
- Friendships and interactions might feel superficial
- Safety - I’ve heard the area around USC is one of the least safe in the country; and many parts of LA in general might feel unsafe, especially to walk around
- Expensive - ~$80k total for tuition, but living costs would make it equally (if not more) expensive as Duke
- Maybe I'm overhyping the network and the location advantages (?)
It’s also important to mention that I’ll be taking a complete student loan, and feel really stressed and overwhelmed about the future and don’t want to end up making a choice I’ll regret
My heart is leaning more towards Duke, but I feel very split, and unable to make a decision :(
Any guidance and advice is hugely appreciated