We held our second CS Ph.D. information session yesterday for ~350 registered attendees. Below, you can find links to questions we answered on YouTube and written answers to the questions we didn’t get to.

Links to Video

Question	Direct Video Link
Do I need to have a master’s degree to get a Ph.D.?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=325
How do I pay for a Ph.D.? How much does it cost?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=325
What are some of the qualities of an ideal candidate for a PhD? Conversely, what might raise a red flag in a candidate’s application?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=457
What’s the weight of different parts of the application (test scores, grades, letters, SOP, undergraduate research)?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=451
Should I still apply if I don’t have any research experience?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=779
What’s a typical day like for a Ph.D. student?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=848
How should an undergrad get more exposure to the different research fields if we’re not sure what we want to specifically go into?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=1475
What job opportunities in industry does a PhD or Master’s in CS open and close compared to a Bachelor’s?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=1719
How do you find a topic and an advisor?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=1985
How do I know where to apply? Where might I get in?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=2144
Can female-identifying speakers talk about some of the “bro culture” present in certainly not all, but many CS areas, and how they combat it?	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=2519
Please describe someone who should/should not pursue a CS PhD? Assume that they both did well in a CS undergrad program	https://youtu.be/BWJKhhgPcf4?t=2885

More Questions and Answers

What kind of job can I get with a Ph.D. and what’s the job market like?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Checkout this answer: https://youtu.be/thZdtIQ3i_g?t=1827

Does it make financial/career sense to get a a Ph.D.?

Steven Swanson — Professor

There are answers to this here: https://swanson.ucsd.edu/2020/12/01/cs-phd-2020-11-18/

Can I have good work life balance as a Ph.D. student?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Check out this answer https://youtu.be/thZdtIQ3i_g?t=1965

What advice would you recommend to someone applying to a CS PhD who has a non-CS background?

Steven Swanson — Professor

This is not that uncommon and the breadth of experience you can bring can be really valuable. I would think carefully and creatively about to present your experiences skills in a way that highlights their usefulness in a Ph.D. program. Initiative, working independently on open-ended projects, and creativity are the real currency of a Ph.D. program and you can develop them anywhere. You will also need to be more explicit about why you want to get a Ph.D. and why it makes sense given your background and interests.

Is there a time of life that is best to pursue a PhD? Is there an average age for a first year PhD candidate?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Check out this answer from an earlier session: https://youtu.be/thZdtIQ3i_g?t=2954

Olivia Weng — Grad Student

The best time for me was immediately after college. That’s not necessarily the best time for everyone, but I was eager to continue down the research path to see where I’d go and what I’d like. I was fortunate enough not to have any financial issues that would require I get a high-paying job immediately, and I only needed to take care of myself. I also really enjoyed being in an academic setting, where everyone is learning and growing in many ways, and I wanted to continue being in this setting. Thus, pursuing a Ph.D. aligned with my life goals and so right after college felt like the best time for me. Bear in mind, it definitely took a lot of thinking to convince myself of these things.

Any advice for pursuing a PhD program in “oversaturated” research areas (e.g. AI)?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Since the final admissions decision is done by individual professors and is based on how much space they have in their groups, admissions in “oversaturated” fields is effectively more competitive. To combat this, keep an open mind about what you want to work on and remember that AI is being applied in many different fields. So, instead of focusing directly on AI, you consider whether you are interested in applying AI to another area. That will open up the range options substantially, and you’ll still be able to focus your studies significantly on AI.

A lot of students drop out in the middle of their PhD program due to a lack of funding. What should students do to ensure such things do not happen as often?

Steven Swanson — Professor

In my experience, this is not the case. A funding shortfall usually occurs because a professor doesn’t get a grant-funded or something similar. In these cases, it is common for the student to fall back on a teaching assistantship. I don’t know of any cases where a student was doing reasonably well and left the program due to lack of funding.

What would you say is the approximate GPA red/yellow flag threshold (in your opinion)?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Applicants generally have high GPAs, but there’s not a specific bar.

How far in advance of finishing your undergrad do you apply? Can you discuss the application process and timeline?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Deadlines for applying for admission for Fall 2021 are right about now. Schools make admissions decisions by March or so.

How should we approach a statement of purpose? Should we focus more on motivations, more on research, or a mix of both?

Steven Swanson — Professor

There’s a good discussion of this here: https://youtu.be/thZdtIQ3i_g?t=1123

Should I pursue a Ph.D. if I want to move forward with teaching? Or is a Master’s degree is good enough?

Steven Swanson — Professor

If you want to be a full-time professor at a university, you will need a Ph.D. An MS may be sufficient to teach at a junior college or as an adjunct.

If we do not have a publication in a top-tier venue, should we justify it in our SOP? What can we include in our application to cover up for it? (for PhD in CS)

Steven Swanson — Professor

I would emphasize your strengths rather than draw attention to your weaknesses. Relatively few applicants have top tier pubs.

What should I do during undergrad to improve my Ph.D. application?

Steven Swanson — Professor

There are answers to this here: https://swanson.ucsd.edu/2020/12/01/cs-phd-2020-11-18/

Would I have a problem applying to a PhD program having completed a M.S. but not having taken the GRE?

Steven Swanson — Professor

GRE requirements are generally in flux and more so due to COVID. I would check with the particular school about whether it’s required. For me, a lack of GRE score raises my uncertainty about student’s abilities, isn’t necesarrily negative.

How is a grad school for a Ph.D. different than undergrad?

Steven Swanson — Professor

There are answers to this here: https://swanson.ucsd.edu/2020/12/01/cs-phd-2020-11-18/

Olivia Weng — Grad Student

Grad school is much more research-oriented. In undergrad, your main purpose is to take classes across a wide variety of subjects. In grad school, your job is to do original research, so the majority of what you will do will be for the purpose of advancing your research. For instance, the few classes you do take in grad school would ideally help you pursue your research topic.

How long does it take?

Steven Swanson — Professor

There are answers to this here: https://swanson.ucsd.edu/2020/12/01/cs-phd-2020-11-18/

Do I have to reach out to professors before applying to the Universities for the PhD program?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Checkout this answer: https://youtu.be/thZdtIQ3i_g?t=3163

How should a student shortlist schools for a PhD and on what basis should that be done?

Steven Swanson — Professor

There are answers to this here: https://swanson.ucsd.edu/2020/12/01/cs-phd-2020-11-18/

What’s the most obvious difference between people who do have undergrad research experience versus people who don’t?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Doing undegrad research gets you some additional experience, but what it really demonstrates is that you know what research is, can do some of it, and want to do more. The experience is probably the least important piece: You’re going to get plenty of research experience very quickly once you get to grad school.

For the PhD students: looking back would you have rather gone into industry or do you still stand by your decision to pursue a PhD?

Olivia Weng — Grad Student

Although I am in the beginning stages of my PhD, I still stand by my decision because I get to meet researchers from all over the world and gain new perspectives. I also enjoy working on problems that no on has solved yet. This process of discovering new things is still very exciting to me and grad school is the perfect place to do that.

If the PhD candidate isn’t paying for the program, who is?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Research is funded by state and federal funding agencies (NSF, DARPA, NIH, etc) and by companies (e.g., Google, Facebook, IBM, Intel). Faculty write grants which these entities fund and use the resulting funds to pay grad student tuition and stipends.

What is the difference between “research” and other programming related projects (especially cutting edge idea ones)? What makes one research and one not?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Research is fundamentally about advancing the state of human knowledge. If a project does that, then it’s research. For example, the Linux kernel was not and is not a research project. Its design is pretty conventional and when it was started it did not reflect the ideas about kernel design that was popular (something called microkernels were more in fashion). In short, it was not “novel”. However, it’s obviously useful, successful, and a remarkable piece of engineering. By contrast, a research operating system will not be nearly as robust or complete as Linux, but it would embody some novel idea about how operating systems should be built. It would, in some interesting, important way, be fundamentally different than any operating system that came before it.

Is it possible to just have discipline, rather than passion?

Steven Swanson — Professor

I would be concerned about a student that was aiming to get a Ph.D. through discipline alone. To be most successful, you need to be excited about your work, not just committed to it. You need to think about it a lot (e.g., in the proverbial shower), and really devote a large share of your intellectual energy to it.

Can you do a Ph.D. program part time?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Checkout this answer: https://youtu.be/thZdtIQ3i_g?t=2495

How are the application requirements and the process for a PhD program different from that of a regular MS program?

Steven Swanson — Professor

The specific requirements as far as transcripts, the GRE, letters, etc. are not that different. However, they are evaluated quite differently. Ph.D. admissions focuses on research ability/aptitute. Fit with a particular research group is also important.

Is it financially worth it to get a PhD if you already have a high income?

Steven Swanson — Professor

The student stipend is not enough to replace a “high income”, so, in purely economic terms, a Ph.D. is not clearly “worth it.”

Is there a possibility to convert your masters in CS to PhD in UCSD?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Yes, you can apply to the Ph.D. program.

Ariana mentioned papers: research is of course the main focus of a PhD so of course there’s going to be a lot of papers; how many papers on avg written/collab?

Steven Swanson — Professor

This varies by field. Some fields write more shorter papers. Some write fewer, longer papers. In my particular area (systems and architecture), 3-5 is a reasonable number.

is it possible to juggle a PhD attempt and a job? I know people do it during undergrad and masters, how feasible is it during a PhD attempt?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Checkout this answers: https://youtu.be/thZdtIQ3i_g?t=2495

Are there opportunities for PhD-level research in operating systems? (kernel, memory management, implementations of multiprocessing, etc.)

Steven Swanson — Professor

Yes. Lots. I work partly in the area. Checkout the OSDI (https://www.usenix.org/conference/osdi21) and SOSP (https://sosp19.rcs.uwaterloo.ca/) conferences to get a feel for what topics it includes.

How is it to be a PhD student when you’re married, and have dependents (pets, kids, other)?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Check out this answer: https://youtu.be/thZdtIQ3i_g?t=1965

Can you work part-time as a software engineer to supplement your income?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Check out this answer: https://youtu.be/thZdtIQ3i_g?t=2495

Should you have undergraduate research related to the subtopic you want to research in graduate school?

Steven Swanson — Professor

Area match is not that important. Research skills transfer pretty well across fields.