   Computer Graphics Graduate Schools
  After being out of school and in industry for 5 years, I have decided to go back to school for an advanced degree in Computer Science, focus being on graphics. I plan to apply as Ph.D. I found I never truly enjoyed being a worker over being a student. My favorite times at work are when I get to do some research, or experimental projects, which unfortunately are few and far between. Also, after looking at jobs descriptions of positions I'd like later in life, they almost all ask for advanced degrees.I am finding it a bit difficult to research where to apply. I was wondering if any of you have some tips on schools that have a healthy computer graphics department. I am pretty familar with northern California schools already, but really have little idea what's available out of state. (One friend suggested U. of Wisconsin-Madison. Apparently a lot of their grad students went to Pixar and ILM afterwards.)   
  It really, really depends on where your interests lie. Computer Graphics is far too wide a field to give good "in general" advice, beyond recommending a couple of powerhouses like UNC and Berkeley which do "everything". What do you want to research? What has interested you in the past?   ;  The two that have interested me the most are lighting models and computational geometry. As an undergrad, I did some work on scientific visualization, which was somewhat interesting.   ;  Take a look at UCSD.   ;  You should already know exactly what you want to research and know generally what your research and thesis topic is going to be.1.  Find current research papers on that topic.2.  Make a note of the authors' names3.  Look at related works, also noting the names of authors4.  From those names, identify the professors most closely involved in your topic5.  Find out where they teach, which should be very easy6.  Contact them directly, explaining your desire to become a PhD student in that specific field, explaining your background, and explaining the research you would like to perform.7.   If they cannot take you --- perhaps they have too many students at the time, or are too junior of a professor to be a PhD adviser --- scratch their name off the list and go back to #4.If a professor likes your background and wants you as a student, they can help make sure you get through the admissions requirements.  You will still need to do a few things like the general and subject GRE tests, letters of recommendation, and complete and pass the other admissions requirements, but assuming you meet the minimum requirements the professor can encourage the process along and select you specifically from the applicant pool.   ;  Thanks for the advice. I have felt that I should have gone to grad school immediately after graduating instead of working. Resources for the application process would have been better. This is also the first time in a long time I have to consider GPA and standardized tests, and I don't know how much weight being a professional software engineer carries for admission.   ;  It varies by the school, and by the professor.FWIW, I think frob's advice is a bit overstated. Of the many CS PhD students and graduates I know, exactly zero came in already knowing what their thesis topic would be. It makes sense to seek out a professor who's doing the stuff you want to do, but don't plan on having your thesis topic nailed down for at least a year or two. Moreover, some professors may be turned off by a personal statement which says, in effect, "I want to come to your department and I will be doing this and this and this", because it doesn't show that you're going to be flexible or helpful for their needs.That's not to say, of course, that you shouldn't be specific in your personal statement or in your choice of professors (and frob is spot on there: At least as far as computer graphics is concerned, choose a professor, not a university). But these should be examples of things that you're interested in, and perhaps a demonstration of your familiarity with the field, not a statement of What You Will Be Doing.   