Masters in Computer Science from Ireland. Why Ireland though? How Ireland out of the blue?
Actually, Ireland has recently come up to be one of the strongest centers for CS and DS. It is also being called the next Silicon Valley. This is because Dublin has recently emerged as a hub for major companies like Twitter, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, PayPal, etc. All these companies have set up major offices in Dublin.
Another contributing factor for Ireland's recent step into the limelight is that there are many great universities there. Some of which are University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, National University of Ireland Galway, etc. They all come under the top 250 universities in the world for CS according to QS World Ranking.
Ireland is an English-speaking country with a very large Indian community. The weather may be a little dull but their value for education is extremely high. A postgrad course could be anywhere between 12-24 months long depending on your university and choice of course. Many universities also provide co-op opportunities which will help you strengthen your industry contacts and help you get exposure while you're still completing your education.
Students are allowed to work 20 hours a week during the semester and 40 hours a week during the vacations. Indian students are also very welcomed there since the demand for CS is ever increasing. Indian students are also permitted to stay back for two years after completing their education in order to find a job.
One more plus point is that a GRE score is not mandatory for applying to most universities. A good TOEFL or IELTS score along with good academics is more or less enough to get into a good university.
Average tuition fee for undergrad and post-grad courses for non-European students range from €8,000- 30,000 while cost of living varies between €6,000-10,000 per year. Scholarships in some form or the other are also readily available to anyone worthy. The returns on your investment will definitely be good as the competition in Ireland isn't as high as that in the USA or in Canada.
Another question arising in your mind would be:
If my aim in life is to work or settle in the United States (like a lot of other people) then why Ireland?
Well, you can always complete your education in Ireland, join a big tech firm there and later request a transfer to another location. This way you will not only have a degree from a great university, but also will be slightly more easily exposed to opportunities or positions in big companies that otherwise would be extremely competitive in a country like USA.
So now are you convinced that maybe Ireland is a good choice after all?
