Dear MIT : one day, you will receive your deserved comeuppance. Best regards, CMU.
And Berkeley will just be waiting in the wings for the battle to bring you both down. Muahaha.
Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
41–50 of 54 posts
Re: Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
#42Cal >> Stanfurd.
Re: Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
#43Huh? So they are just counting papers published in conferences by faculty members as ranking function? That's nuts in 2015. Exactly the reason why this people couldn't have invented PageRank.
Re: Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
#44It is hard for me to believe that uchicago.edu should outrank illinois.edu. Illinois.edu is a famous top-tier CS program; uchicago.edu is a top-tier university with a relatively small CS program.
I can't say whether the metric in the article is good or not. What I can say is that Chicago being comparable to UIUC in CS theory is not an unreasonable position. Across CS it would be false, but Chicago's theory faculty are considered quite good. For example, a few years ago their department housed the only known credible effort regarding P!=NP https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1586091. Also, if you look at the two most recent theory hires of the respective departments you'll find them to be of similarly impressive credentials (IAS postdoc, formidable publication record). I don't have the qualifications to really speak more on the subject, but I don't object to the claim.
Re: Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
#45I'm just surprised my CS department made the list. That's nice at least. Even though we are at the bottom...
Is it NC State? I found the instruction there excellent--at least for theory classes like Automata, Decision And Complexity Theory as well as Data Structures. They offer a real distance education that is run just like an in-person class, with videotaped lectures, projects, and proctored exams. They are one the few universities that offer the full repertoire of bachelor CS classes online, a little known secret. Even t…
The ranking here is about research output, not quality of teaching.
Re: Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
#46I'm just surprised my CS department made the list. That's nice at least. Even though we are at the bottom...
This list isn't all that meaningful because they have a narrow definition of "CS theory." It's perfectly meaningful of course if you want a ranking based on that narrow definition.
That's true, but I do think its disappointing we rank so far behind our neighbors (Duke, UNC) in CS in it seems every ranking.
Re: Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
#47It is hard for me to believe that uchicago.edu should outrank illinois.edu. Illinois.edu is a famous top-tier CS program; uchicago.edu is a top-tier university with a relatively small CS program.
At U Chicago many people believe in studying only academic theory. The attitude is that if you're smart enough, you can learn everything practical in industry... if you're one of those unworthy people who wants to go into industry. This attitude affects undergraduates the most, but permeates the whole academic atmosphere. It's not unexpected that a top-tier school that focuses only on academia would outperform in pro…
Lower selectivity? That may have been true a decade or two ago but their accept rate is under 10% now.
Re: Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
#48Dear MIT : one day, you will receive your deserved comeuppance. Best regards, CMU.
Dear CMU : We'll get there someday, but I'm not holding my breath. - NCSU
Re: Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
#49Re: Ranking of CS departments based on theory papers
#50It is hard for me to believe that uchicago.edu should outrank illinois.edu. Illinois.edu is a famous top-tier CS program; uchicago.edu is a top-tier university with a relatively small CS program.
Think of the difference as being like the difference between teaching future engineers and future scientists.
I think many CS programs are, or should be, how to engineer software. Of course, any engineer must study the science behind the field.