UChicago - Where Dreams come True

University of Chicago has been a dream come true for me since I always wanted to do a masters in computer science after working as a software engineer. It is one of the few universities that allowed people like me who come from a totally different background (mechanical engineering) to pursue masters in CS. The entire masters program - though rushed due to quarter pattern instead of semesters - has been quite challenging and very relevant to developing practical skills that would be easily transferrable to the real world. It has been a wholesome experience for me.

The course curriculum is quite relevant as its a professional program. Most of the professors are either researchers in their domain or at major positions in big software companies of the world - and hence they make sure to provide the latest updated knowledge of their field. For example - few of the Professors are associated with Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago which is proud to host the world's next biggest supercomputer (Aurora) Also, one of our Profs for C++ is on the standards committee for C++ and he did teach us about things that are currently under review for C++ 23 even before the language is released.

Faculty to student ratio is about 1:20 - most classes have small batch sizes and a lot of personalized attention and feedback is given from time to time.

Campus life is very dynamic with so many events happening around all the time. Lot of emphasis is on sports and extra-curriculars and the facilities for the same are world class. Fun fact - Michael Phelps used to practice at the Olympic size swimming pool in the uni (we were told about this during campus tours). The Harry Potter vibes in the campus buildings are surreal. There are 5-6 huge libraries and they host millions of books including some of the oldest records in a lot of domains - since the college has been here since 1890s.

Research opportunities especially with UChicago labs and Argonne national laboratory are great if people get in touch with the right professors. For Masters in CS, currently the industry scenario is not the best, but it is improving slowly. Especially due to heavy recession in tech industry at the moment in US, it has been a very difficult year for students to find internships and jobs.

Graduate students are not allowed in campus accommodations - they have to arrange their own - off campus accommodation and the rent prices are about 800 USD per month for individual rooms.

Decent GRE and IELTS scores were required. More specific details change from time to time and can be found on their official website. Had to submit SOP and 3 LORs for the admission process. Make sure to specify your interest and passion for the degree you are applying to and also how it will help you advance in your career. At the same time, try to relate your previous internships/work experience to the degree you are planning to pursue - this is more important for Professional Masters Programs like Computer Science. No rounds of interview or tests for Admissions - however once you are enrolled - before the start of first quarter - you have to give two exams - Discrete Maths and Programming Test. And the results of these exams decide whether you need to do any additional pre-requisite courses before starting your masters. These are mostly important since a lot of students come from non-CS backgrounds.

The total Tuition fee for a 12 course Masters Program in Computer Science is about 80,000 USD.