HACKER Q&A
📣 hope693

Getting a master degree in CS abroad


Hey guys, I am going to finish my Bachelor in CS soon. Currently studying in Germany and was looking forward to get a master degree abroad. I know that this will look good on my CV and I can get to know another culture/country and I really like that, but that is not my main reason. My main reasons are to learn, expand my skills, network, but also find some friends for life.

For that reason I was looking into the University of the countires, which are considered to be the leading Cybernations (UK, US, Russia, China and Israel).

The US fees are way to expensive for me.

Do I need to explain why I dont want to go to Russia?

UK is a solid option imo.

I read a lot of different opinions about a master degree in China. Some say it's awesome, some people say u actually don't learn much, if u attend classes in english. (Of course I would learn the language, currently starting, but I don't think I can get good enough in one year to attend classes in chinese)

Israel is a solid option too, but the lectures of they top Universities are in hebrew, unless a student, who studies abroad for a semester, is attending the class. So i would need to get good in hebrew asap or did I missread something on their website?

Any advice or proposal of an other country/city would be greatly appreciated.

  👤 NonEUCitizen Accepted Answer ✓
US graduate school in CS is free if you get a research assistantship or teaching assistantship -- the published fees are high but the RA or TA funding pays for you, so don't rule out applying. Most CS graduate students in USA who are from other countries are RA's or TA's.

Countries to consider that were not in your list:

1. Canada. University of Waterloo has a very good reputation. In recent years, University of Toronto has become the top place for AI.

2. Singapore. Check out National University of Singapore. Singapore is an easy way to start experiencing Asia for westerners. If you end up in Singapore, do take trips to the other countries in the region while you're there.

3. Taiwan. If you're open to EE instead of CS, National Taiwan University might be the best place in the world to learn about semiconductor manufacturing.

4. Switzerland. ETH has a top-notch reputation, but its location may not be culturally different enough for you.

It's also possible to "learn, expand skills, network, but also find some friends for life" as well as "get to know another culture/country" by finding a job in another country right after your BS instead of going for an MS (but for some countries, grad school may be an easier path to a job in terms of visa).

👤 weatherlite
> I know that this will look good on my CV

Kinda, not by much I think. Only do it if you're actually interested in the material, otherwise - if your main motivation is better job prospects, grinding out Leetcode and data structures for 2 years is a much better investment than doing a masters.