What do you think of U of Louisiana, Lafayette (Baton Rouge: transplants, low crime)

[opti900]

Hello everyone,

I am considering to go to U of Louisiana at Lafayette for the Master's program in Computer Science. Any1 give me some comments about the CS program or the city of Lafayette? Is it easy to find a computer-related job after I graduated? I have no ideas cause I am from outside the US.

Your suggestion is greatly appreciated!

[SBCmetroguy]

Why not go to LSU in Baton Rouge ??

[stormweary]

opti900:
if you look down on the Louisiana forum there is an Acadian thread that has some comments about Lafayette.

[opti900]

to SBCmetroguy: Yep, I thought about LSU. It has larger campus and CS department. My problem is when I applied to it online, I found no MS in CS program offered at that time and I dont want to involve too much in academia to pursue a phd.

to stormweary: Thank you very much for the info. I'll go and check it right now.

*editted:
Now I know Lafayette is an oilfield city. So what you guys think of U of Louisiana, does it have good reputation in the state and even the nation? And what is the computer industry like at Lafayette?

[ArizonaGirl]

When I lived there CajunBot was all the rage. Supposedly UL-Lafayette is one of the top 10 Computer Schools in the country, but do your research and don't take my word for it. Cajuns are proud people and I've noticed some of them tend to exaggerate about how wonderful it is to live in Louisiana.

[Fath0m]

Stay away from LSU's Computer Science program. Its non accredited last time I checked. I go there currently. I had actually researched U of Lafayette, its computer department really is outstanding. It is actually one of the first mainstream colleges to adopt a "video game design" curriculum, although this may not seem special it does show a progressive mindset in the computer department.

[lululed]

Hi,

I am not a graduate of the computer science department. However, I received my BA and two MS degrees at ULL (two were then USL). Lafayette is a cultured city with low crime and great public schools. I left and went out of state and back again but out of area only to return here again. It is very humid (or so newcomers comment) in the summers. We have very little by way of winter. The food is the best around. There simply is none better. Housing is difficult to find with the influx of hurricane transplants from NO. The university is the 2nd largest in the state to LSU. It is also, I believe having lived in BR and attended LSU, a much friendlier place here in Lafayette!

Contact the department directly...ask your more specific questions of them directly. 3374821000 (ull info line).

Best of luck to you. And, if you do choose us....WELCOME !!

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Fath0m

Stay away from LSU's Computer Science program. Its non accredited last time I checked. I go there currently. I had actually researched U of Lafayette, its computer department really is outstanding. It is actually one of the first mainstream colleges to adopt a "video game design" curriculum, although this may not seem special it does show a progressive mindset in the computer department.

You are wrong about staying away from LSU's Computer Science program. But LSU Chancellor Sean O'Keefe can explain why better than me, copied and pasted to save myself time:

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to reassure you about your decision to study computer science at LSU. In step with the National Flagship Agenda, the Department of Computer Science, jointly with the Center for Computation & Technology, aspires to a ranking among the country’s top 30 computer science programs by 2010. The department boasts an excellent reputation and outstanding faculty, as well as national visibility through such key technologies as grid computing, wireless sensor networking, robotics research, software engineering, biological computation and cyber security.


It should be noted that accreditation has little or nothing to do with national reputation, productivity of the graduate program, or research. Each accrediting agency has particular standards that it uses to evaluate programs, some of which may be related the Flagship Agenda and some of which may not. Accreditation is common in the professional schools such as engineering, education, and business (therefore, the Department of Accounting is accredited by virtue of its association with the Ourso College of Business). Accreditation is uncommon in the basic sciences and humanities.
The accrediting organization for computer science departments, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Accreditation Board, has developed the accreditation process for very small departments at primarily regional schools. Recently, accreditation has become linked to the engineering accreditation procedures for computer science departments that are located in colleges of engineering, and these departments are accredited based on and jointly with the Association Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation standards. LSU's Department of Computer Science is neither a small department at a regional school nor is it associated with an engineering curriculum.

ACM accreditation is not critical to the department’s contribution to the Flagship Agenda. On the contrary, the department has added strong new faculty, revised and modernized its undergraduate curriculum, and is placing its graduate students in industrial and faculty positions at prestigious research universities and laboratories around the world. Its collaborations with the Center for Computation & Technology and several departments are driving the advancement of IT across the campus and around the country (Penn State, Oak Ridge National Lab, Purdue University, for example). In addition, “Best Paper” awards by faculty, federal funding, collaborations with national labs and universities around the country and the world, and the placement of students in top IT-related companies and universities complements Flagship Agenda goals and contributes to its success.

[norbyd]

Lafayette is a nice city with a lot to like, but it is dead as far as CS jobs. Most UL CS grads must have to go to Houston, Dallas, or beyond to find work. The oil field is booming and companies are advertising jobs on billboards on Highway 90. I haven't seen a single one advertising CS jobs. It's 90% blue-collar stuff. I seldom see a CS job ad in the local paper. If one appears, they want someone extremely well-qualified and want to pay peanuts. I'm sure they can't understand why hardly any CS people want to work here.

[ducksburg]

Originally Posted by SBCmetroguy

Why not go to LSU in Baton Rouge ??

LSU in baton rough seems to be much better,however,I don't like LSU in Baton Rough,either