I have not done it (yet ), and I don’t know anything about computer science…BUT…I would say to do the leg work of first sifting through all the universities that there are, and then see which one has the best program for you, and then consider if you’d want to live there

I’m planning on applying to a few graduate schools in Europe and have done a little bit of the prelim stuff. First off, I’d tell you that as often as not, it seems masters programs are in English unless they have a good reason not to be (i.e. if they are in France or Germany…haha). So you’ve got that going for you. But one thing to be aware of is their deadlines are wayyyy out of whack with ours over here. For instance, grad school apps over here are usually due in December for the next fall; in Europe, it can be almost April or even June sometimes before they have to be turned in, because class might not start till September or October. Just something to keep in mind.

Also, and this may vary by field, but it seems that European grad school tends to take a lot less time than its American counterpart….maybe because ours are focused on making money for the uni whereas theirs are about teaching you what you need to know? But whatever the reason, it’s a definite plus in my book. 1 year is better than 3 right?

As Feicht said, definitely do your research and consider what you want to do with the degree. If you want to get the degree and then enter into the workforce you should be fine as long as you find a decent program. However, anyone wanting to go into academia in the U.S. should know that a one-year master’s degree from a school overseas is not seen as equivalent to a master’s from a program in the U.S.

I think it depends on the situation, really. Obviously our schools over here take every opportunity they can to shake you upside down to get as much money out of your pockets as possible, so they might have a built-in resentment to anyone who went abroad for some education. But from what I’ve seen, the bigger problem is really the deadlines for everything to avoid large time gaps in your education. I’ve known people who’ve gone back and forth between European universities and places like Yale, so I don’t think it’s an absolute rule.

This can of course be discipline and program-specific, but I know people who did one year programs in the U.K. and then started Ph.D. programs in the U.S. assuming they would be on equal footing with those who had done longer master’s programs here in the U.S. They had to either complete all of the same requirements as those who were starting with a bachelor’s degree or had to petition to get out of certain requirements.

Yeah that’s the kind of thing you have to deal with in American education. But hell, you run the same risk from transferring from one American university to another, so I’d say it’s worth the risk.

University of Birmingham