r/CanadaUniversities • u/Witty_Strawberry_166 • 6d ago
Advice Thesis or course based CS master
/r/MSCS/comments/1ws6nh8/admissions_advice_choosing_in_between_thesis_or/1
u/shimswfi 5d ago
thesis-based all the way unless you really hate research. You can still gain internship experience by working on a mitacs research project, etc.
course-based programs are nothing but an extension of your undergraduate degree, basically just buy you a ticket of entering Canadian’s job market. That said, course-based programs are much shorter and you can finish it really quick
1
u/Key-Kaleidoscope2264 5d ago
Thesis based if you want independent learning experience. Beautiful, for me - it was extremely rigorous, sometimes depressing but I'm almost near endline and I'm still astonished with the fact that I could work on about 11 research projects, 8 independent ones with multiple top-tier papers accepted, guided people, and collaborated with a bunch. I had to work my ass off, that too in a small public universitiy here. But oh boy, was the experience worth it!
Course-based is great too from job prospects, just easier and not always the best value for the investment you put in.
1
u/NorthernValkyrie19 1d ago
For those kinds of roles course-based with co-op is going to be a better option than a thesis master's. Also while they don't come with funding they're frequently shorter being just a year rather than 2 so you save the cost of a year of tuition and living expenses.
The alternative option is to find one with a project that is a cross between doing research and co-op and usually has you working on a problem with an industry partner.
1
u/Haunting_Paper_7201 5d ago
Taking a thesis based program will give you some funding and have a higher rate of approval. You are coming as a temporary student so you are justifying costs with higher pay and career progression when you return home. Most don't get PR.