SOFT QUESTION: MS in statistics (computational statistics specialisation) vs MS in CS(data science specialisation) [closed]

Question

Question: I aim to pursue a PhD in ML/deep learning from a top university in the US/Europe. Should I choose an M.Stat or an M.Tech in CS from the Indian Statistical Institute to strengthen my PhD application and research foundation?

Background: I hold a BS-MS in pure mathematics and wish to build a solid foundation before applying for a PhD. I am equally interested in computational statistics and data science. The Indian Statistical Institute is highly regarded for its statistical programs but less so for CS. I seek advice on which master's degree would be more attractive to PhD committees and better equip me for impactful research in ML/deep learning.

Thank you for your insights.

PS: If this question is not meant for here, please tell me the appropriate platform I will post it there. Thanks for your patience. Apology for the trouble caused.

Answer 1

I am not sure about the exact courses taught in either of these degrees/programs. And as you said you have done BS-MS in pure mathematics, that probably means you must have a strong theoretical foundation of mathematical concepts. However, there are three problems/aspects that I see here,

1. You did not make it clear how much your BS cover concepts related to ML/DL. Even though the initial concepts do not involve complex maths, but the complexity tends to increase as you learn advance concepts.
2. Where I see your theoretical foundations are strong, your programming skills could be shaky (just as assumptions and partially from my experience looking at other people). You really need to be good at programming including, but not limited to, python,R, numpy,scipy and so on.
3. Your experience with research - both reading and writing research papers. Because in your PhD you are expected to write high quality papers - a lot of papers.

You can make your decision based on the above three points, you can see and do your own research that which program is fulfilling most or all of the above points.