Georgia Tech OMSCS Tier List Class Review

Criteria

The critera are:

1. How well-presented is the class?
2. How hands-on is the class?
3. What are the class mechanics like?

The classes I took

1. Knowledge-based AI
2. Reinforcement Learning
3. Robotics
4. Machine Learning for Trading
5. Machine Learning
6. AI
7. Computer Networks
8. Human-Computer Interaction
9. AI, Ethics and Society
10. Grad Algos
11. Software Development Process

Knowledge-based AI

• Well-presented?
  • Yes, of course, it’s a Joyner class!
• Hands-on?
  • Yes, it’s actually quite a lot coding, and has some really cool projects
• Class mechanics
  • Yes, very well organized
• Tier? A

Reinforcement Learning

• Well-presented?
  • Yes, it is well presented (although very tough stuff!)
• Hands-on?
  • Sort-of hands on. Alot more reading than coding/building in this class
• Class mechanics
  • Yes, great interaction with the TAs on EdStem, however, grading was very subjective and slow to get back to the students
• Tier? B

Robotics

• Well-presented?
  • Yes!! This class rocks!!
  • It was very cool videos and stuff, really neat stuff.
• Hands-on?
  • Yes, you do a bunch of cool projects in this class
• Class mechanics
  • Nothing to write home about, but still pretty good
• Tier? S

Machine learning for trading

• Well-presented?
  • Yes, it is a bit slow in the content (it’s tough but also, I think simplified for our beginning status as students in stock trading haha)
• Hands-on?
  • Yes, you actually do a lot of coding and building in this class
• Class mechanics
  • Good
• Tier? B

Machine learning

• Well-presented?
  • Very well presented content
• Hands-on?
  • Tedium honestly, not super hands-on it felt.
  • Felt like a lot of busy work
• Class mechanics
  • Pretty ambiguous and mysterious grading! Good luck!
• Tier? C

AI

• Well-presented?
  • Yes! It was super cool
• Hands-on?
  • Yes!! Super intense programming here! Seriously, tough programming.
• Class mechanics
  • Yes there was actually the most feedback and participation from any of the other clases. (Maybe beacause it’s so hard, students just had to come together to get through it 😭😂)
• Tier? A

Computer networks

• Well-presented?
  • Yes, it was a bit dry sometimes (I mean the topic itself can be dry haha)
• Hands-on?
  • Yes, there was actually 1 really good lab (the first), that was relevant to networking (I use it in my job as a networking engineer)
• Class mechanics
  • Yeah
• Tier? B

Human-computer interaction

• Well-presented?
  • Yeah, it’s interesting, but pretty simplistic/obvious
• Hands-on?
  • You do a lot of writing in this class, but it is pretty busy work-y. Mostly writing papers.
• Class mechanics
  • Yeah there’s a lot of support for students in this class (it’s a Joyner class)
• Tier? C

AI, Ethics and Society

• Well-presented?
  • Yeah I think so
• Hands-on?
  • A bit fluffy
• Class mechanics
  • Yeah pretty chill
• Tier? C

Graduate Algorithms

• Well-presented?

  • Well I didn’t finish it so 😂 but the lecture videos were actually really cool

• Hands-on?

  • It used to not be, but I have heard it is getting better.
  • 

• Class mechanics

  • Not great at all 😂 (well sort of, like a “C” level)

• Tier? D

Software Development Process

• Well-presented?
  • Yeah, it actually was
• Hands-on?
  • Yes, the way you do the group project is very similar to how you do real software-engineering
• Class mechanics
  • Yeah it did feel like TAs/professors did get back
• Tier? A

The final Tier-List made by yours truly