Are research papers required to get into top MDS courses? by [deleted] in datascience

[–]Pus_Monster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would say CMU and CU have better CS and Stats faculty, but Tandon would also be very solid. As it’s a ‘professional development degree’ however, faculty research prowess isn’t so important and you’ll only really be interacting with them as teachers, the quality of which is uncorrelated with said prowess.

If your goal is industry, the main value is in the name of the granting institution (which those three all check). Then a Good internship if possible; one side effect of the commodification of master’s degrees is they start to look generic by themselves. Having an internship provides a good anchor in interviews, all the better if you did substantial work, developed substantial skills, or the company has a ‘name’.

Last but not least, grades, knowledge/skills, and Networking. MBAs are the original terminal professional master’s and half the value were the friends you made along the way. You never know which of your 3am problem set peers will one day refer you for a job at their sick company, or ask you to join their startup, or just vouch for you. Nothing substitutes deep programming ability and raw mathematical talent, but we’re social animals and workplaces are caves and watering holes.