CSE Gradcom (2011-2012)

The CSE departmental committee on graduate affairs (Gradcom) meets weekly to discuss all aspects of the Ph.D. program, including research, coursework, and department culture. The members of Gradcom for 2011-2012 are:

Gradcom is also assisted by Julie Conner in the Student Affairs Office. This year's student representative is Nima Nikzad.

Meetings

Our weekly meetings generally take place Friday 1-2 pm in room 1223. We welcome suggestions for agenda items from all members of the department.

Fall Quarter

Date Agenda
9/23 Administrivia, brainstorming, review of new requirements.
9/30 MSR graduate fellowship (due 10/6). Czar: Lawrence.
10/7 Discussion of flagged students from spring quarter review.
10/14 Dissertation awards (due 10/31). Czar: Vineet.
10/21 Meeting with alumni board.
10/28 IBM graduate fellowship (due 11/1). Czar: Mihir.
11/4 General faculty meeting.
11/11 Summer graduate teaching fellowships (due 11/18). Czar: Alex.
11/18 General faculty meeting.
11/25 Thanksgiving vacation.
12/2 Holiday party.

Winter Quarter

Date Agenda
01/13 Meet with new Director of Student Affairs
01/20 No meeting
01/27 Google graduate fellowship nominations
(deadline: 02/01; czar: Victor)
02/03 Discussion of NSF ethics requirement
02/10 Intel graduate fellowship nominations
(deadline: 02/17; czar: Lawrence)
02/17 Oversight of 2012-2013 course scheduling
02/24 Graduate student voices
03/02 Preparations for Visit Day
03/09 Prospective PhD Student Visit Day.

Awards and Fellowships

The department maintains an up-to-date list of awards and fellowships for Ph.D. students in computer science. Many of these awards restrict the number of students that the department can nominate for consideration. Examples include the ACM Dissertation Award, the IBM Scholars Program, the Microsoft Research Fellowships, the Google Ph.D. Fellowships, the Intel Scholarships Program, and the Summer Graduate Teaching Fellowships. For such awards, Gradcom solicits nominations and selects which students the department puts forward.

Events

Gradcom organizes and promotes occasional events with the help and support of the CSE Graduate Student Association. We welcome additional suggestions from outside the committee. So far on this year's agenda:

  • Graduate Student Town Halls

  • Research Haiku Contest

  • Torrey Pines Hike for First-Year Students

  • CSE Movie Night

Student evaluations

Gradcom closely monitors the cases of individual students who are not making satisfactory progress through the Ph.D. program. Typically, these cases involve failure to complete one of the following requirements:

Requirement Normative Time to Completion Hard Deadline
research exam
 end of second year end of third year
thesis proposal
 end of third year end of fourth year

As part of a comprehensive annual review, members of Gradcom also meet individually with all Ph.D. students in the department. One-on-one interviews with members of Gradcom are typically scheduled during the spring quarter of each year. However, students should feel free to contact members of Gradcom throughout the academic year.

Archives

Gradcom 2010-2011
Gradcom 2009-2010