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Reviewed on Jan 27, 2025(Enrolled 2023)
What Students Say
Likes
- Courses Offered in CompSci and Information Science.
- PCHE cross-registration program allows students from University of Pittsburgh to enroll into other universities in the PCHE like CMU.
- Campus and student facilities.
Dislikes
- Expensive Tuition Fees.
- Challenging Climatic Conditions.
- Networking opportunities are limited.
Course Curriculum
6
- In my course, there are 5 core courses - Algorithm Design, Database Systems, Applications of Networks, human Information Processing and Information Security and Privacy.
- There are almost equal number of hard, medium and easy courses. Personally, I found Information Security and Privacy, Machine Learning and Database systems hard. There are many easy courses like Human Information Processing, Cloud Computing, and Information Visualization. All the courses are mix of both practical and theoretical knowledge. All the courses are designed to include interesting projects under the guidance of professors, offering hands-on experience and resume-worth projects.
- The most positive aspects of the courses is that they all offer project-based learning experience along with collaborative approaches.
- The most negative aspects of the courses is that most of them have weightage for attendance in the class.
- The courses in Information Science are 3 hours long, typically from 9 AM to 12 PM, 12 PM to 3 PM, 3 PM to 6 PM, or 6 PM to 9 PM. It largely depends on the availability of class rooms and professors.
- The average number of students varies by course; its class strength varies from 9 to 50.
- At least 50% of the students are Indians.
Admission Experience
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I applied to 7 universities. I have listed them below with the comments:
1. University of Pittsburgh - Accepted and received confirmed admission.
2. CMU - Rejected, CMU is extremely competitve and requires really good backgroud and experience for the courses, also requires writing at least 5 extrememly good quality essays while submitting the application.
3. University of Southern California - Accepted for spring 2024, received confirmed admission
4. University of Michigan - Rejected, this is also very competitive and requires personalised Statement of Purpose and proven track-record and expertise for master programs.
5. Michigan State University - Accepted, received confirmed admission
6. University of Colorado, Boulder - Accepted, received confirmed admission
7. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - Rejected, this university is one of the best for CompSci and the selection process requires you to the best in your field. -
Among the 4 universities I got accepted to, I picked the University of Pittsburgh. Here are my reasons why I chose University of Pittsburgh:
1. Pittsburgh is largely a city of students and scholars, offering great opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals willing to thrive and learn. The University of Pittsburgh Campus and its surrounding neighborhoods are relatively safe. In my 1.5 years here, I’ve never had a bad experience. Even when returning home late at night from the library, I’ve always felt safe. People here are kind, respectful, and treat students well.
2. The University of Pittsburgh stood out to me because of its unique programs, including the opportunity to enroll in or audit courses at PCHE universities like CMU. The university provides excellent part-time opportunities, such as Graduate Research Assistantships and Teaching Assistantships, which come with a good stipend. - The admission process is straightforward. It begins with submitting an application form along with a Statement of Purpose, three Letters of Recommendation from former professors or employers, and a TOEFL or IELTS scorecard. For TOEFL, the minimum required score is 95. Once the application is reviewed and approved, you receive an official admission letter from your department dean. You can then accept or decline the offer by the specified deadline. After accepting, the university processes your I-20 form, and you can apply for your visa. Once the visa is approved, you pay the first semester’s fees and attend orientation programs to begin the course. The Office of International Services (OIS) is the University’s immigration specialist, serving all campuses and the 6000 international students, scholars, staff, and faculty. The OIS team backs students and make the admission process seamless.
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I applied for the Fall intake at the University of Pittsburgh. Fall offers better courses availability and time to adjust to the climate. This also gives enough time to prepare and apply for summer internships.
The last date to apply for Fall intake is Feb 15th. I completed the application and submitted by Feb 15 2023, I got accepted by the admission team by March 20 2023. I got my official admission offer by the Dean on 10th April 2023. After accepting my admission offer, I received my I20 on May 27th 2023. I had my Visa appointment on July 11th 2024 and I started my course on 15th August 2023.
Faculty
8
- The faculty-to-student ratio in my MSIS program is relatively moderate, providing better learning experience.
- I enrolled in courses that have equal weight to research and development. All the courses I enrolled in had 1 to 3 projects, at least 4 assignments, paper presentations, and research proposals. Yes, the content and quality of teaching surely help in securing knowledge and applying the concepts, while a lot more aspects actually count while securing a job.
- Faculty or advisors usually don't assist students in finding part-time or full-time jobs. There is a talent portal for students to find part-time jobs. Full-time jobs are fully student's responsibility.
Campus Life
10
- University of Pittsburgh has 5 campuses and Pittsburgh campus is a main campus. The 5 campuses are Bradford Campus, Greensburg, Johnstown, Titusville and Pittsburgh.
- I love the libraries and study places at University of Pittsburgh. Hillman Library, Cathedral of Learning has best study spots. The university has at least 3 gym and wellness facilites, cafes, student health centre and pantry.
Part Time Jobs
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Most of them secure Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA) positions.
The pay ranges from $10 to $20 depending upon the role and responsibilities. There are remote or on campus job roles. There are course graders, course facilitators job roles too.
Maximum of 20hrs per week is allowed if you are on F1 visa.
At the University of Pittsburgh, it is very easy to find a part time jobs at the campus. - The pay ranges between $10 to $20 per hour and it depends on the role and responsibilities. As F1 student, you also have to make sure your pat time job is not impacting your studies. So few jobs also offer flexible work hours. At the university of Pittsburgh, there is a dedicated job portal for students looking for part time jobs. The job portals
Placement
6
- Almost 80% of your graduating batch secures employment within 6 months of completing their course. The average salary range that most students in your program can expect to earn upon graduation depends on several factors and is hard to guage. Students usually find jobs after graduation by applying on their own using online job boards.
- There are no campus recruitments or internships. There will be career fairs.
- The placement experience in the current job market is difficult and we all just thrive to seek any job suitable for our qualifications. All major companies have hired graduates from my program in the past.
Accommodation
Off Campus
6
- I have opted for off-campus. I found friends who also got accepted into the University of Pittsburgh through discord and whatsapp. I looked for accommodation with my friend in apartment.com or zillow. I also took help from seniors in Pittsburgh to verify the accomodation.
- Finding a good accomodation was really challenging, there are aspects you would want to consider like heating, rent, neighborhood, utilities.
- Finding a reasonable accomodation closer to campus was challenging.Consider giving importance to good heating in the house; make sure heating is included in your rent and don't have to pay extremely high electric bills. It is also good to stay closer to the campus.
Exams
- I had a waiver for GRE and I had to submit only TOEFL scores. The minimum TOEFL score is 95. GRE is optional, TOEFL or IELTS are required and both are accepted.
- For the application process, 2 Statement of Purpose and 3 Letter of Recommendation from previous employers and professors are required. 1 page resume is also required.
- There is an English test from the university after accepting the offer, it is mandatory to take the english test if the scores are below 102 in TOEFL.
- There was no interview as a part of application.
Events
8
- The popular events are homecoming, Thanksgiving, Football matches and a lot more. Few games like women volleyball, men football have free tickets for students. The student organization for international students and Indian students are really good and offer funded experiences like golf, amusement parks, short trips, block parties, Indian Festivals, Ice skating.
Fees
- The tuition fees per semester varies from $23K to $24k. This includes Graduate Activity Fee, Security & Transportation Fee, Computer/Network Service Fee, Wellness Fee and GR Tuition SCI OS.
- The fees is charged per semester and for lesser than 9 credits, the fees is charged per credit.
- The monthly estimate including Rent and Food is $700. Pittsburgh Regional Transportation is already included in the tuition fees. Gym subscriptions are included too.
Scholarship
- Yes, there are a couple of scholarships but they are very competitive and selective. I did not recieve any scholarships. 2 students from my batch recieved scholarships.
- I recieved full-sponsorship from University of Pittsburgh to attend Grace Hopper Conference 2024 including academic registration fees ($749), Round trip flight charges and stay at 4-star Kimpton Hotel Palomar Philadelphia.
