North Carolina State University Reviews

"The Research on various topics that is done here at NC State is really state of art. But I won't rate the graduate courses very high as they are not very coherent and well planned."

"It is really easy to access help and feedback from advisors and professors. Everybody seems extremely excited about what they're studying."

"The experience is interesting. But I am not familiar with the job market yet."

"Pros: Love the area Cons: REALLLY needs more diversity"

"I think that my current program has provided a wonderful experience by combining challenging and innovative courses with cutting-edge research."

"Pros Good industry affiliation Cons Insufficient financial aid"

"Pros -Very high quality program - Up to date equipments and facilities Cons - Being worry about the financial support."

"Very easy to get plugged in on research projects, and as long as you are, faculty availability is endless. Not too much presence of out of state, American students though"

"Pros: Sense of community among grad students, competent instructors, wide array of resources (libraries, online forums, etc.), good financial aid opportunities, lively social scene, fun events, good health plan, getting a good education at a lower cost than other schools. Cons: Lack of student parking, cost of living and transportation, concern for one's safety around campus and city at night, some staff members' disregard for students who can't afford to live closer to school and/or can't afford daily transportation, lack of support for student financial situation during the summer."

"- High Quality of mentoring by faculty - Opportunity to work with others outside of program - Strong administrative support - Classes are set to challenge, but do not overwhelm"

"All the benefits of a big program in a fantastic location."

"Academic and financial support have been adequate, but no more. In particular, funds supporting graduate research and travel (to academic conferences, etc.) have been lacking. Tuition is quite affordable, and faculty are energetic and engaged."

"My graduate program allows for students to produce engineering-related projects involving physics and chemical engineering in the materials science realm. These endeavors lead to decent industry or academic positions, and help provide practice applying interdisciplinary concepts. The workload of the classes, while not a tremendous burden, could be more suited to preparing the students for the future. However, sub-par classes is likely a consequence of working at a research university. Something must suffer. The workload for the research of each student's dissertation topic is dependent upon the professor -- some require more self-motivation than others. In any case, the work will be stressful and difficult at some point, but will lead to a better and more professional student, in the end."

"As with any large public university research funding is heavily dependent on government aid and the economy overall. Thus, the positions for students as research assistants can fluctuate more than a private institution. Overall, the area and quality of the faculty can't be beat. The value of the education, which I would define as quality professors over cost of attendance is probably top 5 if not the best in the nation."

"Faculty members are very responsive and care about student learning. Raleigh is a great place to live. Depending on the semester, the course offerings can be slim."

"The graduate program is highly specialized but strongly connected to the industry partners for research. Financial aid for international students are limited in this department primarily due to small number of corporate sponsors. The workload is a lot for graduate students. The use of technology (such as Moodle, email, open source software) in all the classes have facilitated an open environment for learning and collaboration. The faculty are approachable and supportive. I can walk through campus safely every night and cost of living is reasonable for a student budget of $1000 per month."

"The new facilities and instrumentation are great. Centennial Campus is beautiful and accessible. I think the departmental staff are very helpful and there is a nice atmosphere of collaboration in the MSE department. The department is actually growing, although it's only a top-20 or so program in MSE currently. I think the rank will increase over time. Housing is not the cheapest but definitely not as expensive as some other places. The climate is nice and the area surrounding Raleigh is a great mix of nature and downtown attractions."

"Pros - Excellent Infrastructure and Faculty. Cons - Sometimes, its a bit too hectic."

"My program is spread out across many departments, so it can be difficult to form professional or personal relationships with the people in the program, but they go out of their way to have regular social gatherings and seminars to keep the program cohesive."

"Faculty are wonderful and always willing to help. Some early level courses were not well thought out."