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Orientation for New Grad Students

Orientation for New Grad Students. Department of Computer Science Virginia Tech http://www.cs.vt.edu/~gpc. What I am going to talk about. Some rules Some philosophy Some fun. First things first. Degree programs and classification M.S. Thesis option Coursework option Ph.D.

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Orientation for New Grad Students

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  1. Orientation forNew Grad Students Department of Computer Science Virginia Tech http://www.cs.vt.edu/~gpc

  2. What I am going to talk about • Some rules • Some philosophy • Some fun

  3. First things first • Degree programs and classification • M.S. • Thesis option • Coursework option • Ph.D.

  4. Masters degree • Thesis option • 30 credit hours = 7*3 (courses) + 3*3 (research) • Coursework option • 33 credit hours = 10*3 (course) + 1*3 (indep. study) • What to do: • Sem 1: Decide track • Sem 2: Independent study • Sem 3: Thesis possibly or remaining courses

  5. Ph.D. degree • Thesis option (duh!) • 90 credit hours with at least 11*3 (courses) • Structured program • Qualifying exam • Preliminary proposal • Research defense • Final defense • What to do: • End of sem 1: Take qualifier (Feb) • Sem 2: Select advisor • Sem 3: Work with advisor to set milestones

  6. Good standing • 12 credits/semester (if full time) • More than 3 courses is brutal! • Ph.D. students can take at most 2 • Maintain overall GPA of 3.0 • Remove incomplete grades • File program of study before end of first year

  7. Why do research? • Good for your soul! • Learn a set of skills you can’t otherwise acquire • Unstructured discovery • Tackle real problems • Become an expert in a way nobody else can • More opportunities

  8. How to do research? • Don’t just take classes • Talk to us! • Get involved in research projects • Attend research seminars • Talk to current graduate students • Browse faculty websites • Checkout project group meetings

  9. Picking an advisor • Determine what you want from an advisor • Multiple factors interplay • Mentoring style • Research area • Availability of projects • Peer student research group • Talk to a lot of people • Faculty • Current students

  10. Some quick opportunities • To get better ‘researchy-minded’ • Take Dr. Shaffer’s CS 5014 (Research Methods in CS) • Pick courses to suit potential interests • HCI, SE, Systems: Obvious candidates • Bioinformatics: PPWS/GBCB 5314, CS 5124 • Parallel computation: CS 4234 • Graphics: CS 4204

  11. Some dates to mark • Open house for new CS building • September 14th (KnowledgeWorks Phase II, 2202 Kraft Drive) • FFF (Food + Fellowship + Faculty) • August 25th, 2pm (McBryde 655)

  12. Questions? • Just walk in! • Torgersen 2160L • Email • naren@cs.vt.edu

  13. What’s the fun stuff?

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