CPS 701
Introduction to Graduate Study

Instructor
Jeff Chase (chase@cs.duke.edu)
Logistics
Meets once per week: see the calendar
Fall 2022: Friday 3:30 - 4:45, North 311

Announcements

  • 11/18: Mentoring! How to manage your advisor. See the slides [PDF, PPTX]
  • 11/11: visit with Prof. Pardis Emami-Naeini
  • 11/4: visit with Prof. Alicia (Nicki) Washington
  • 10/28: Panel with visiting alum Dr. Jeff Phillips
  • 10/21: visit with Prof. Lisa Wills
  • 10/14: visit with Prof. Bruce Maggs
  • Cancelled sessions: 9/30 due to Tropical Storm Ian; 10/7 for Fall Break
  • For 9/23: How is computer science different from natural science? How does that change what computer scientists "could" or "should" do? How does it change the kinds of questions we investigate? How does it change the nature of our claims and methodologies?
  • For 9/9 and 9/16 we talk about scientific inquiry as a social process and why that is important/necessary, referencing ideas from Constitution of Knowledge (CoK) by Rauch. Slides: [PPTX, PDF].
  • Have a look: Individual Development Plan (IDP) form for years 1 and 2 [PDF, DOCX].
  • We will ask you to fill out an IDP form next semester for the Annual Progress Review.
  • Have a look: CS PhD requirements

 
CPS 701 is an introduction for incoming graduate students in computer science. Topics for discussion include: computer science as a research discipline, views of what consitutes a research contribution, approaches to research in different subfields, tools and methodologies, publishing and presenting research results, the role of computer science as an "amplifier" in other sciences, ethical and policy issues, the information technology industry, grants and funding, and guidelines for success as a graduate student and as a scientist.

Topics