“Students are often intimidated by the combined bachelor’s/master’s program because of the cost of one undergraduate degree,” says Nirmal Krishnan, a graduate student in the Department of Computer Science.
Krishnan obtained a bachelor’s in computer science in May and will soon obtain his master’s in computer science in December as one of the first-ever Gerald Masson Fellows.
Established in memoriam of the department’s inaugural chair and the founding director of the Information Security Institute, Gerald M. Masson, the Gerald Masson Fellowship enables undergraduates to apply for and begin taking courses towards a master’s in computer science before completing their bachelor’s degree. The fellowship provides a 25% tuition waiver for the semester in which an awardee is conducting their graduate research, provided they are enrolled full-time.
Krishnan learned about the fellowship from Joanne Selinski, an associate teaching professor of computer science and the director of undergraduate studies for the department. Krishnan’s research interests include computational genomics, latent variable models, and deep learning.
“I think artificial intelligence and machine learning are going to be driving the future and I want to be equipped with the necessary skills to be successful,” he says.
Krishnan recently accepted a job at Microsoft as a software engineer in its Cloud and AI division, which he will start shortly after he graduates in December.
Gerald Masson Fellow Yu-Chi “Kiki” Chang says the fellowship’s support enables her to focus less on finances and more on her studies. She chose to attend Hopkins because of her interest in conducting research with leaders in her field.
“Johns Hopkins gives you the opportunity to work with world-class scientists and the computer science field lets you do so in a collaborative environment,” she says.
Chang obtained dual bachelor’s degrees in computer science and applied mathematics and statistics in May. Her research interests mainly lie in computational genomics; as such, she’s currently working with Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Steven Salzberg on a newly published comprehensive gene catalog called CHESS. Chang plans to graduate with her master’s in May.
Learn more about the combined bachelor’s/master’s program here.