Computer ScienceGraduate Student Orientation

Kevin Almeroth

September 18, 2003

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Schedule

• 9:00-9:15   Refreshments and pictures

• 9:15-9:40   Welcome and Introductions

• 9:40-10:00   Department Information

• 10:00-10:10   Break

• 10:10-11:00   PhD & MS Information

• 11:00-11:30   Joe Navarro (Assoc Dean of Students)

• 11:30-11:45   Matthew Allan (CS GSA Rep)

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Welcome and Introductions

• Welcome to the Department and

Congratulations on making it this far!

• Introductions

– Office staff: Juli Gotschalk-Pippin

– Facilities staff: Richard Kip

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Topics Covered

• Department Numbers

• About our Courses

• Course Load

• M.S. Program Overview

• Ph.D. Program Overview

• Student Responsibilities

• Sources of Advice

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Questions to be Answered

• What am I supposed to take my first quarter?

• How should I plan my first (and more) year?

• What are my responsibilities as a grad

student?

• Who do I go to when I have more questions?

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Department Stats

• 25 Faculty (plus 3 regular lecturers)

• 574 CS Undergrads and 217 CE Undergrads

• 198 Graduate Students

– 118 PhD students (28 new—8 new transfers)

– 80 MS students (27 BS/MS students) (20 new)

• 2,255 Engineering (1,575 Ugrad and 680 Grad)

• 19,799 Campus (16,780 Ugrad and 3,019 Grad)

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About our Courses

• < 100: Lower division courses

• 100 level: Upper division courses– 19x: special, cannot fulfill upper division reqs

• 2xx level: Graduate courses– 290: special topics

• Others– 595: Group Studies/Seminar– 596: Research Studies– 502: TA Training/Work– 597: Exam Preparation

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About our Courses

• What is the one year course plan?– http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/courses/teaching.shtml

• Very little change year-over-year…– Lower division courses offered most quarters– Upper division courses typically stay the same– Regular grad courses stay the same

• …Except for 290 courses– Some change frequently

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Course Load

• Critical to maintain at least 12 hours– After choosing courses, augment with 59x hours

• TAs should take 502• RAs should take 596• Others should take 597

– Take MORE than 12 hours to give yourself room in case you need to drop a course

• If you want to do research, limit the number of “real” courses– Courses have hard deadlines, research doesn’t– Easier but more important for PhD students

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M.S. Program Overview

• Course requirements– 42 units of:

• 100 level (excluding 190+)

• 200 level

• 595, 596, 598

– How many of each depend on which plan

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M.S. Program: Plans

• Plan I: Thesis– Research-oriented with a formal thesis

– Research: pay attention to advice on getting started

• Plan II: Comprehensive examination– Course-Oriented

• Plan III: Project– Research-oriented without a thesis

– Compromise of thesis and exam options: less research than thesis but more courses

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M.S. Program Overview

• Course Areas: – Foundation, Systems, Applications

• Depth requirement• 4 courses in your Major area with a B or better.

• Breadth requirement• 1 course in other 2 areas with a B or better.

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Transitioning/Multiple Degrees

• Good MS students who want to continue with their PhD are encouraged if their work is good.– Project/Thesis advisor is the key.

• PhD students can earn an MS degree along the way:– Use thesis option

– Complete course requirements

– PhD Proposal satisfies thesis requirement

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Ph.D. Program Overview

• Course requirement • 8 graduate courses with a grade of B or better• Really quite minimal!

• Yearly evaluation (important!)

• The 4 Milestones1. Screening Examination2. Major Area Examination3. Dissertation Proposal4. Dissertation Defense

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Ph.D. Screening Examination

• 10 subjects (optional sub with two others if CSE)– Each subject corresponds to an upper division course– Two subjects correspond to a graduate course

• Examination given in the Fall & Spring.

• Pass a subject by either:– Passing the subject examination– Get a grade of A- or better in the (ugrad or grad) course.

• Deadline: Complete all 10 within 6 quarters.• TA/RA deadline: Complete all 10 within 3 quarters.

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Ph.D. Screening Examination

• Recommendation for Passing– Plan the graduate courses you want to take in

your first year– Identify areas those courses will satisfy– Identify which remaining areas you think you

can pass through the exam, take those.– Study and take courses for the rest.

• Another option– Take all the exams and see what happens

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Ph.D. Student Evaluation

• All Ph.D. students are evaluated

• First year is critical– Complete screening exam requirement– Work on major project (grad classes)– Continue project work as independent study or start new

research project– Progress in finding an advisor– Plan for Summer 2004– TA evaluations– Participation in Department activities

• Remaining years are based on research progress

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Other Activities

• Research Groups– 595 seminars (including TA training and

introduction to research in Fall and Winter)

• Department Colloquia– Distinguished Lecturers and other visitors

• Graduate Student Association

• Social Events– Friday coffee hours, picnics/cookouts, etc.

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Sources of Advice/Information

• Other students

• Dept WWW pages

Advisors

GraduateProgram

Assistants

FacultyAdvisor

GraduateAdvisors

InitialAdvisor

ResearchAdvisor

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Summary

• The Program– Learn the system (classes, infrastructure, etc.)– PhDs: Use sources of advice, get into research– MS: Develop study plan, decide direction

• Sources of Advice– Grad program assistants, grad advisors, academic advisor,

research advisor, other students, etc.

• Life Outside of Classes– Participate in Dept activities: colloquia, GSA, WWW

pages, social events (picnics, happy hours), etc.

How to Succeed in Graduate School

Matthew Turk

CS Orientation

September 18, 2003

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Caveat emptor

• These are my opinions, not departmental policies

• Talk to others to get their views

• These comments are intended for those who want to do research– All PhD students, MS students doing

theses and projects

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What is graduate school all about?

• The PhD process is an apprenticeship – not a job– You’re here to accomplish something and to

become something

• It’s not like being an undergraduate student– Most of what you learn comes outside of classes

• “What’s on the exam” is not your main concern

– Requires a different set of skills– Results count (not time, not effort)

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Why are you here?

• Possible reasons:– I couldn’t get a good job with just a BS

degree.– I don’t know what I want to do, so I hope

graduate school will help me figure it out.– I want to make more $$$.– My father thought it would be good to do.– Surfing in Santa Barbara

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Why I hope you’re here

• Better reasons:– I am passionate about research, about

exploring new intellectual territory, about pushing the frontiers of technology, about computers and their applications.

– I want to change the world.– I want to become a world expert in X.

• And fame, fortune, and surfing, too…

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How to Succeed in Graduate School

• 10 pieces of advice guaranteed to make you a likely candidate for a Turing Award someday:

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1. Manage Yourself

• Goals, priorities, and planning– Set goals, and keep them updated– Make a plan for each day, week, month, quarter

• “Failing to plan means planning to fail”

– Prioritize – do important things first– Don’t waste time – kill your TV

• Keep track of how you spend your time• Computer Science Web Browsing Engineering• “Is this activity helping me to achieve my PhD?”

– Keep a notebook, write these things down

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2. Develop intellectual discipline

• Think!– Set aside time for thinking. Really.

• Read!– Get to know the literature in your area intimately

(not superficially)

• Act!– Don’t feel like you have to know everything first– Don’t worry about being wrong

• Evaluate!– Solicit feedback – most ideas aren’t so good…

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3. Be proactive

• Don’t wait to be told what to do– Don’t be passive; in fact, be aggressive!– Make things happen

• You will not be spoon-fed– What you get out of graduate school is a non-

linear function of what effort you put into it.

• Graduate school can be very unstructured– Unlike law school or medical school– So it’s up to you (not your advisor)

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4. Learn to communicate well

• Speaking– Communicate clearly

• Writing– Organization and clarity

• Presenting– Not just “talking,” but communicating– Even a lecture is a two-way interaction

• These are skills that can be learned!– Practice talks (videotaped), write short papers, ask

friends and colleagues to help you, OISS, …

Your intelligence and ideas will be judged by your ability to communicate in English

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5. Develop an intellectual community

• Among your peers at UCSB, create something different and special– Ask questions– Discuss ideas– Brainstorm– Argue, challenge– Collaborate

• Don’t be polite• Don’t be a loner

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6. Schmooze! (a.k.a. Networking)

• Get to know the people in the department (faculty and grad students), and other people in your field– Don’t wait – introduce yourself!

• Go to conferences and meet other grad students and “famous” researchers– Be aggressive!

• Talk with visitors: “pick their pockets”– You never know who will someday offer you a job,

write a reference letter, review your paper, give you invaluable feedback or insight….

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7. Choose a good research problem

• This is the hardest, and most important, part of research!

• The Goldilocks problem:– Not too hard, not too soft, not too hot, not too cold,

not too big, not too small

• Think, read, act, evaluate– And talk to everyone – not only your advisor

• Passion or duty?

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8. Understand the faculty

• We are very busy.– That’s no excuse. We do have time for you.

• We know more than you do.– At least for a little while.– But not as much more as you might think.

• We are not superior beings.– Most of us have first names.– Give us feedback too!

• We are part mentor, part colleague, part human.

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9. Study successful people

• Senior grad students, faculty, pioneers, leaders in your field, …– Read biographies– Who are your heroes, mentors?

• Seek advice– But modify it to your particular situation

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10. Have a Life

• Work hard, schmooze, think, read, program, experiment, build, study, practice, ….– So little time and so much to do!!

• Still, amidst the chaos of graduate school, it is very important that you do not lose sight of who you are and what makes you tick.– Have a social life – Don’t neglect your family and friends, your health, your

sanity– Do make time for things that are important and

meaningful to you

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Ron Azuma, HRL Labs:

Being a graduate student is like becoming all of the Seven Dwarves.

In the beginning, you're Dopey and Bashful. In the middle, you are usually sick (Sneezy), tired (Sleepy), and irritable (Grumpy). But at the end, they call you Doc, and then you're Happy.

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Further Research

• Lots of links to good advice for graduate students:– http://

www.cs.ucsb.edu/~mturk

– Click on “Info for Students”