Computer Courses Draw MIT Students

Students who may once have had to decide whether to apply to Harvard or MIT are now making the best of both worlds.

Particularly in computer science at the graduate level, students from MIT are coming to Harvard for classes they cannot get elsewhere.

According to students and professors, MIT students are drawn to the range of research interests as well as to the prominence of Harvard professors, who are part of a computer science faculty that has grown stronger in recent years.

“Even though MIT has larger math and computer science departments than us, we do have some offerings not available at MIT,” says Salil P. Vadhan, professor of Computer Science 225, “Pseudorandomness,” which has seven MIT students in a class of 19.

Occasionally, MIT students also take math courses that are only offered at Harvard, such as Mathematics 55, “Honors Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra,” which has one MIT student in a class of 18 this year.

“I don’t think MIT has a course similar to Math 55. I think first-year courses for MIT are essentially for everybody. All the students take the same kinds of courses,” says Yum-Tong Siu, professor of Math 55.

There are over 300 MIT students cross-registered at Harvard, and over 400 Harvard students at MIT, according to the MIT Registrar.

DIFFERENT STROKES

According to several professors, some Harvard courses are particularly attractive to MIT students because liberal arts institutions are more likely to offer applied science and engineering courses based on individual professors’ research interests.

This allows students, those at the graduate level in particular, to better match their interests to specific classes.

“I happened to do research that was different from faculty at MIT,” says Vadhan. “There is no course at MIT similar to CS 225, so it’s quite natural for MIT students to take it here.”

“When you take such classes, it’s good to have professors who are actually doing research in that particular area,” Mihai Patrascu, an MIT student in CS 225, wrote in an e-mail.

MIT students say that the prominence of a Harvard faculty member and the small size of the class he or she teaches draw MIT students as well.

“If the Harvard professor is one of the best in the area, and the class is for such a small community,” MIT does not need to offer a counterpart to a computer science course at Harvard, Patrascu wrote.

GROWING STRONG

The flow of computer science students between Harvard and MIT has occurred as Harvard’s program has grown stronger in recent years, according to Harvard and MIT professors.

“I think the Harvard computer science faculty has become very strong over the last few years and are now offering many interesting classes,” wrote Srinivas Devadas, chair of graduate study in computer science and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, in an e-mail.

According to Margo I. Seltzer, associate dean for computer science and engineering at Harvard, the number of computer science faculty has doubled to 19 in the past six years.

John G. Morrisett, a prominent professor in programming languages, is the most recent newcomer.

“There has always been a trickle [of MIT students]. As we get bigger, there’s more chance of that happening,” says Steven J. Gortler, director of undergraduate studies in computer science.

But Harvard professors say despite their growth, the department remains small—and that this size helps keeps them competitive.

“We’ll never be a big as MIT, and thus we make every hiring decision carefully,” wrote Michael D. Smith, McKay professor of computer science and electrical engineering, in an e-mail.

“We have quite a few very well-known senior faculty and some young faculty that are viewed as rising stars.”

The Harvard computer science faculty, though much smaller than that of MIT, is strong in computer systems and theory, according to Devadas.

Associate Professor of Computer Science Michael D. Mitzenmacher ’91 says that there may be other differences as well, although some of these impressions may be “out of date.”

“I think the long-standing impression has been that Harvard’s courses are more theoretical than MIT’s, which has more of a hacking culture,” he said.

COMMUNITY

Another factor facilitating student exchange is collaboration between Harvard and MIT, according to professors.

MIT professors will often recommend the courses of Harvard professors whose research they have heard of or taken part in.

“Salil Vadhan is well-known by the math and computer science department at MIT,” says Kevin M. Matulef, an MIT graduate student taking CS 225. “He was a graduate student at MIT, and the people at MIT have encouraged collaboration.”

Vadhan says that this relationship is mutually beneficial to both schools.

“In my area [theoretical computer science], the Harvard and MIT research communities are very linked, and this combined community is a real benefit to the students,” Vadhan wrote in an e-mail.

Conversely, Harvard professors recommend their students take MIT computer science courses as well.

“Of course this is far from a one way street. Harvard students take MIT courses regularly,” wrote Harry R. Lewis ’68, McKay professor of computer science, in an e-mail. “MIT has expertise and courses in certain fields in which we do not.”

“I advise my graduate students to take courses at MIT on topics that aren’t offered here,” Vadhan says.

RED TAPE

The cross-registration process at MIT, normally reserved for juniors, seniors and graduate students, is “relatively easy,” says Matulef.

MIT graduate students who want to take Harvard courses must obtain signatures from the Harvard and MIT Registrars, an MIT faculty adviser or registration officer and the instructors of the courses they are interested in taking.

But MIT students seem to make a smooth transition to Harvard courses.

“The ones who are willing to make the journey from MIT are highly motivated,” says Leslie G. Valiant, who taught Computer Science 228, “Computational Learning Theory,” which had three MIT students in a class of around 20 last year.

And according to Adam L. Kirsch, a Harvard graduate student in CS 225, Harvard and MIT computer science students have more than interests in common.

“We are all cut from the same cloth,” he says.

—Staff writer Tina Wang can be reached at tinawang@fas.harvard.edu.