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Courant is getting better, but when I was there the faculty was lackluster and was so heavily based on mathematical theory that it was getting smoked by more mo
by wdewind 12y ago
Courant is getting better, but when I was there the faculty was lackluster and was so heavily based on mathematical theory that it was getting smoked by more modern programs like CMU's or Stanford's. I would not recommend Courant to anyone looking to study CS, but it may have changed. Evan Korth was doing a lot to make moves, but a lot of the faculty was antiquated and it looked like he was fighting an uphill battle. During one of my lectures I literally had a TA stand behind a professor as he lectured and wave his hands frantically as the professor taught us incorrect things. The TA would stay behind for a few minutes and explain what the professor, in his senility, had gotten wrong. Another class I had a teacher cancel literally 2 weeks in a row of class, as well as probably 4 or 5 other individual classes throughout the semester (nearly half the semester was canceled because he was "sick"). Of course the tested material remained the same...
All that for the bargain price of just $55,000 a year. I dropped out 6 months later and have never looked back.
- magicalist 12y ago> so heavily based on mathematical theory er, that would be the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and while the CS department is within it, it's not really surprising that they would have a focus on mathematics. And they are indeed very well respected, especially in applied mathematics (and to a lesser extent, pure mathematics). Not sure why this comment bothered me so much, but there are important things outside of CS :) I'm not very familiar with their reputation in computer science circles, however.
- wdewind 12y agoSorry, you're absolutely correct, and I didn't mean to imply otherwise. As a math institute I have no problems with it, and it has a great reputation. I have a number of friends who felt the program was good. Regardless, the main problems with the place are the people teaching in the CS program, not the material being taught (although that could use an update as well).