New Student Recruiting
Jonathan Aldrich will likely recruit a new Ph.D. student to start in Fall 2010. Topics will be individually developed between student and advisor, but a primary area of interest is the development of Plaid, a new programming language with radical design characteristics intended to support emerging programming paradigms.
To get an idea for the Plaid group's research, see the links and papers at Jonathan Aldrich's home page. If you'd like to learn more about the project, please contact me! To apply, see the computer science or software engineering program information.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What do you look for in students? The CS and SE Ph.D. programs expect a strong undergraduate or master's background in computing, exceptional promise for independent research, proficiency in English. In addition, the SE Ph.D. program expects some industry experience (generally >= 2 summers). I personally look for a strong interest in programming languages, specification, and/or verification, ideally some previous knowledge of programming language/type theory (though some of my students have aquired that after coming to CMU), an understanding of the state of software engineering practice in industry, and a philosophy of language design that is compatible with mine (e.g. valuing both object-oriented and functional paradigms).
- Are high test scores the most important? We consider a balance of different criteria when admitting students, including recommendation letters, the research statement, undergraduate grates, and test scores. Most admitted students are very strong in every category, but there are no arbitrary cutoffs.
- Here's my resume. Will I get into CMU? CMU is very competitive, with acceptance rates around 10-15%. I cannot provide feedback on individual applications or accept students outside the admissions process.
- How do I write a good statement? Write about research that you have done, or about a specific problem you are interested in. Include enough detail to show that you understand why the problem is important and have interesting and technical ideas about how to solve it. Also discuss the broad areas you are interested in; if there are particular faculty you think you might want to work with, definitely mention their names and projects, but I also encourage you to be open to working with several of the amazing faculty here at CMU.
- Is there funding available? All students accepted to the CS or SE Ph.D. programs are funded for tuition and a stipend, which historically continues for all students in good standing.
- When are applications due? December 15, 2009.
- Where can I find out more about the program? At the computer science or software engineering Ph.D. program web sites.
- Should I apply to the Computer Science or Software Engineering program? My students do programming language research that is deeply driven by real software engineering problems; therefore I naturally advise students in both programs. Students primarily interested in language research may find the CS program a better fit, in part because most other PL students and faculty are there. However, students for whom SE is a primary interest, or who have a particularly strong background in industry, may prefer the SE program. Note that the SE program requires at least a couple of summers' worth of experience in industry. Because the admissions requirements differ, it makes sense for some students to apply to both programs.