Stacy President ( Ph.D candidate ) joins the NACS program and Dr Dorr's lab to investige how cognitive based approaches can be used in solving computer science problems. Stacy was drawn to NACS real-world applicability and innovative interdisciplinary program. Here is Stacy's account of how she chose to study at Univeristy of Maryland.

Inter-disciplinary was key to my needs ::

I wanted to study fields such as Cognitive Science, Psychology, and Neuroscience, while still utilizing my Computer Science background. During my master’s work in Computer Science, I became more interested in how the way people use computers can influence the development of computer systems and applications, and even more importantly, how cognitive based approaches can be used in solving computer science problems. With these interests in mind, I began searching for graduate schools that offered interdisciplinary programs. I wanted to study fields such as Cognitive Science, Psychology, and Neuroscience, while still utilizing my Computer Science background. I found that many graduate schools offered inter-disciplinary programs, but it appeared that students were put in a regular department and allowed to take classes in other fields, and the integration of multiple topics such as these was not really offered through classes and encouraged in research.

Recognized Institution + faculty

In addition to that, there were many other factors that motivated my choice in a graduate school and program. I looked for an institution that was well known for its academic programs and research. I wanted the faculty members, and particularly my advisor, to be well known in her field and offer a supportive and mentoring relationship. I wanted a program that offered many opportunities for collaborative research and displayed a good working relationship between the faculty members and their graduate students.

So far so good...

When I began researching the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science program at the University of Maryland, I was surprised to see the number of departments represented and the types of classes that were offered. This program seemed to fit my expectations of an inter-disciplinary program. During my campus visit, I met with various members of the department and was very interested in the types of research and collaborations that were offered. I also noticed that many of the faculty members whose research I had read about and were well known appeared to be very down to earth and easygoing. The students and faculty had an engaging and cooperative relationship, and the students seemed to be very passionate about their work and their experiences in the program so far.

But this is what i was worried about...

As I narrowed my decision and focused on this program, I was faced with one final issue. Having come from a very small undergraduate institution (about 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students), I wondered how I would adjust to a university as large as this one. The university and the NACS program met all of the criteria I had for a graduate program but the sheer size of the university was daunting.

a wider selection of classes, research areas and possibilities for collaboration, and many programs including graduate student support groups, extra- curricular activities, journal clubs, seminars and minority retention groups. The other graduate students commented that this factor was actually really positive, which I have found to be true. Attending a large university meant that mandatory classes are offered at least once a semester or year and a lesser chance that these classes are full, a wider selection of classes, research areas and possibilities for collaboration, and many programs including graduate student support groups, extra-curricular activities, journal clubs, seminars and minority retention groups.

I have now completed my second year in the program, and I have truly found it to be a challenging yet very exciting experience. I have learned so much about other areas without feeling overwhelmed. The program and my classes encourage learning and integration of research across many topics while being constrained enough to not overwhelm the students and maintain real-world applicability.