UIUC Retrospective

Before I finished my undergrad at UTD I decided to enroll in a grad program so I could work on a second degree while working fulltime at Capital One. However in classic student fashion I missed every deadline except for UIUC’s online Master’s in CS (MCS). With like 2 days to go I turned on my thinking cap and got in with just my transcript and the mandatory Cover Letter. No GRE or Letter of Recs required. To minimize my suffering I hopped online and with some resources like https://uiucmcs.org/ and general web browsing I plotted out the courses I’d take and which semester I’d take them in. Now that I'm on the other end of that planned schedule I've decided to give my quick review along with the semesters I took the said classes below:

Classes Took Semester General Thoughts
Introduction to Machine Learning Spring 2024
  • Very clearly meant to be one of the first classes taken
  • Intro to Python + Intro to ML + Intro to Advanced Topics
  • Had some cool things
  • Very structured and streamlined for online learning
Advanced Bayesian Modeling Spring 2024
  • Definitely a grad level class - prof’s interest is in this field
  • Basically ML for people who like math more since it’s a statistics first approach to predictive methods
  • 100% worth taking even though it’s considered one of the toughest classes in the program
  • A fun fact is that this was the only class where I read the textbook chapters and grinded out practice problems - just to get a B+
Data Visualization Summer 2024
  • I took this class just to fill an elective slot
  • An introduction to graphs and d3.js
Data Cleaning Techniques Summer 2024
  • Another waffle class
  • While the papers were okay, the class felt too theoretical and lightweight to grab my interest
Practical Statistical Learning Fall 2024
  • The second class I think is 100% worth taking since it’s what most people consider “Machine Learning Engineering” (AKA deploying ML models in the industry)
  • No exams - just lots of coding projects and interesting topics
Cloud Computing Applications Spring 2025
  • The last class I can wholeheartedly recommend to everyone
  • Basically emulates what a modern SWE could do in AWS
  • Covers a lot of modern concepts in applied forms (eg. Map Reduce)
Software Engineering 1 Spring 2025
  • The second worst class I’ve taken
  • Felt like a waste of time and didn’t cover anything that felt applicable to my actual job
Text Information Systems Fall 2025
  • Easily the worst class I’ve taken because it was so disorganized
  • While the content was interesting, the constant miscommunications and late grading made the experience pretty miserable

Final thoughts:

Honestly I don’t really miss the weekends spent on some projects and assignments but getting my company to pay a good chunk of the tuition definitely helped a lot. If you're interested in learning more about the program from an anecdotal perspective then feel free to reach out! As for what I’m going to spend my weekends on, I’m not really sure. I have a few ideas and hobbies I’d like to work on but as for now I will be enjoying my well earned holiday break.

Stay frosty (or sweaty if you’re in Texas) and see you next time!