The University of Oregon

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Computer Science (This Major's Salary over time)
If I had another shot at graduate school, I would not attend the University of Oregon's PhD program in Computer Information Science. When a department has more than 50 PhD students, yet is only able to graduate one PhD a year (and some years, none), that is a definite warning sign. During the past two years, almost one-third (1/3) of the PhD students have left with or without a Masters degree, preferring to have wasted 2-3 years of their life than to stick with this ailing department any longer.

Many professors in the department (especially the tenured ones) are unable to secure research funding. This is especially hurtful with such a small faculty size (around twenty). Most graduate students have to fight to join the few research groups that actually succeed in getting funding. These groups are mostly working in the field of Networking, although popularity & funding availability of this field has been waning in recent years. The department is also unable to attract good junior researchers: This may have something to do with the isolation of the Pacific Northwest (and Eugene), as well as the politics and poor academic quality of the department itself. The dept. has been trying to hire 1-2 faculty per year for the past 5-6 years, and in that time period have only managed to hire 3 new professors. Many outstanding candidates interview here as a means for preparing for tougher interviews at higher quality institutions (and, when given an offer, refuse it).

At such a small department, one would expect to find a friendly, family-like atmosphere. Not so at UO CIS. Department functions, such as colloquiums, talks, picnics, free lunches, etc., are held infrequently. Attendance at these events is also very low. Most of the (few-and-far-between) activities are geared towards outdoorsy people. Students sequester themselves into cliques: the three main cliques are dividied along ethnic/racial lines; Chinese, Indian, and White-American. American students of non-White racial backgrounds are not to be found here. However, most Indian students have left the department, so there are now only two visible cliques.

Much of the work asked of the PhD students is menial, repetitive, secretarial, and errand-oriented in nature. The quality of research coming out of this department is quite low: You will not find many UO students publishing in the best journals or conference proceedings. Professors are usually the first authors in publications coming out of the department, since graduate students are relegated to errand-boy status (and asked to do most of the "busy-work"). There are not enough PhD graduates to judge this by, but it seems that students graduating from UO CIS have difficulty finding faculty positions at decent quality research universities.

Before going to graduate school, do as much research as possible. Visit, talk to professors, current students, and past students. For me, the UO CIS program was a waste of two years of my life that I could've spent working or learning at a department that's actually got it together.