Hi ag64-ga,
I'm happy to be able to answer your question because as soon as I read
it I had the distinct feeling of having been in the same situation as
you appear to be in now. For your reference, I received my BSc in
Computing Science from Simon Fraser University (just outside of
Vancouver, BC). Before deciding against immediately doing a graduate
program, I also thoroughly researched what was available and the
application process involved.
Here are the answers to your questions in order:
Question #1:
Will going through an undergraduate degree help in getting into a
better Master's program (better in the academic sense of the word and
hopefully, in terms of a job prospects too)? In the sense of being in
the system and the undegrad program/faculty helping you with
references/suggestions?
Answer: Considering that you have already completed an undergraduate
degree in a field that would be considered "related" to Computing
Science at most institutions, there is actually an alternative that I
have seen many peers opt for rather than complete another
undergraduate program. The process is something like this:
1. Approach the graduate school admissions advisor (of whichever
University you decide) and let them know of your background and desire
to do a graduate program in Computing Science. Mention that you
believe there is a considerable overlap between many of the math
courses as well as some of the computing courses.
2. Request a list of pre-requisite courses needed to enter the
graduate school (these are known as core courses and are meant to
prepare you for graduate level material).
3. Go through the courses one at a time and consider sorting them into
the following categories:
a) You have had no exposure to this course material and would need to
take the course for the first time
b) You have had partial exposure to the course material and believe
you could challenge the course after preparing for the final exam on
your own.
c) The course is very similar to a course you have already completed
- you can apply to have your course applied as an equivalent against
the required course.
Now, given that this approach works best if the courses you've taken
are from a recognized institution (which varies only a little
depending on which Canadian university you approach), the idea is that
you enter the undergraduate faculty simply to complete the courses you
need and write exams for the courses you challenge. You would not
receive a BSc, but you would meet the requirements to continue to the
Master's program (since you have all of the required courses and
already hold a BSc). This gives you (in my experience) just as good of
a chance of acceptance as someone who has completed a program in
Canada, given that your grades are sufficient.
References are something that you can obtain fairly easily given that
you remain visible to professors while completing your requirements.
Professors always look very highly on people who are pursuing careers
in teaching or research!
You should note that most graduate programs are seeking diversity in
their classes so you shouldn't shy away from showing them what you are
capable of and what you have learned in India. Express your interest
in academia if you have it (there is always a shortage of capable
professors and associates lately).
Question #2:
Need a list of around 10 places in Canada that I can apply to for an
undergrad degree that are academically strong enough that the next
step (Master's etc.) would be easy. Of course, these need to be places
that would take someone like me. Need some background on how the list
was generated and a feel for the place.
Answer: In Canada, we have an annual report that is put out by
Maclean's magazine which ranks Canadian universities based on numerous
criteria. Granted that they only get as granular as universities that
fit into the "Medical-Doctoral" or "Comprehensive" categories, rest
assured that if you consider 10 universities from these two groups,
all will provide you with a strong enough foundation to support you at
the graudate level. More importantly, they are all well-established
and large enough to be recognized well regardless of where in Canada
you decide to pursue graduate studies. The rankings and some analysis
is available online from:
http://www.macleans.ca/universities/
I would note, however, that if I were in your shoes, the place where I
choose to obtain prerequisite credits would also be my first choice
for graduate school. This may have been different if I were obtaining
another undergraduate degree, but relationships persist a lot better
if you stay in one place.
Since I have some perspective on which schools have the strongest
Computing Science programs in particular, my list below has taken that
into account as well (just in case you wonder why I didn't pick just
the top 5 from each Macleans category).
The homepages of my Top 10 choices (no particular order) for Computing
Science programs in Canada are listed below along with information
geared towards prospective students:
1. University of Waterloo - http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/
Information for prospective students - http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/prospect/
2. Simon Fraser University - http://www.cs.sfu.ca/
Information for prospective students -
3. University of Toronto - http://www.cs.toronto.edu/
Information for prospective students -
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/DCS/Undergrad/index.html
4. University of British Columbia - http://www.cs.ubc.ca/
Information for prospective students - http://www.cs.ubc.ca/prospective/
5. Queen's University - http://www.cs.queensu.ca/
Information for prospective students - http://www.cs.queensu.ca/prospective.html
6. McGill University - http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/
Information for prospective students -
http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/socs/academic/prospectivestudents/prospective
7. University of Alberta - http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/
Information for prospective students - http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/why/
8. University of Western Ontario - http://www.csd.uwo.ca/
Information for prospective students -
http://www.csd.uwo.ca/UnderGrad/prior_degree.shtml
9. University of Saskatchewan - http://www.cs.usask.ca/
Information for prospective students - http://students.cs.usask.ca/undergrad/
10. Concordia University - http://www.cs.concordia.ca/
Information for prospective students -
http://www.cs.concordia.ca/prospective_students.html
My suggestion is to immediately narrow this list down to three
institutions and then consider those in more depth. I'm not sure if
you're interested in my biased opinion, but in case you are, my top
three (in order) would be:
1. University of Waterloo
2. Simon Fraser University
3. University of Toronto
Question #3:
Planning to apply for this fall session. If things dont work out, does
the fact that you have had a prior application rejected adversely
affect your application in the future? (Quite a few colleges do have
this question on their application form)
Answer: I have actually had this same question and did ask a few
different advisors about this just to satisfy my own curiosity. The
responses I got were pretty much the same and went something like
this:
"The reason for putting this question on the application is so that we
can see what progress that applicant has made since they last applied.
The only time that this would hurt a prospective student's chance for
admission is when they continue to apply without making any
significant improvements to their grades and/or credentials."
Question #4:
Would appreciate information about the selectivity for the particular
course, i.e, applicant/intake ratio for CS.
Answer: None of the top institutions publish this information in a
timely enough manner for it to make a difference, so I'm not going to
attempt to answer this question for each of the above schools. These
"ratios" are never fixed and depend on a lot of factors which vary
wherever you go.
What I can provide is an understanding of the trends and changes in
demand in recent years:
1. Most schools were operating under a system of opening up a fixed
number of seats into their programs (the number would generally be
tied to budget and the number of students expected to graduate during
that period).
2. Federal and provincial governments have undertaken significant
programs to open up more spaces in programs in computing science and
engineering in most areas of the country. The immediate effect has
been that entry requirements are not nearly as competitive as they
once were. A secondary effect is that many more students are dropping
out after a year, and these are generally the students that wouldn't
have made it through the old application process.
3. The number of graduates in these programs are only increasing
marginally relative to the number of additional seats that have been
opened up.
I hope the information above has given you a starting point and a
better understanding of how the Canadian system works. I wish you all
the best of luck in your endeavours :)
Cheers!
answerguru-ga |
Clarification of Answer by
answerguru-ga
on
30 Jan 2006 21:28 PST
Hi again,
Thanks for the rating, kind words, and generous tip!
In brief response to your additional questions:
Regarding multiple campuses - this may have changed since I was there,
but I found that many courses were only offered at one campus.
However, as a student of the university you are free to select courses
from any campus you want provided you are qualified to take the
course. Of course there are exceptions, and many general courses were
being offered at multiple places in SFU the last I heard. All count
towards whatever degree or program you are doing equally.
The Honors program is meant to indicate high academic standing (your
GPA needs to be above a certain level) and I believe there is also a
requirement to complete more credits that a standard degree. The value
of this is rather limited in the workplace but it may prove to be a
factor when apply to a graduate program.
The main objective of co-op is to provide practical (paid) job
experience while earning your degree. It is extremely popular at SFU
and often results in a higher paying job once you've completed the
program (often with the same employer). It is also a great way to
build relationships in industry. However, if you want to focus on grad
school and becoming an academic I don't think it's worth your time to
do co-op.
I'm glad my answer was of value to you - if you have any other
questions (particularly about SFU) please feel free to post another
question directed to me (answerguru-ga) and I will do my best to
respond promptly!
Cheers,
answerguru-ga
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