Twenty-seven admitted prospective Ph.D. students attended this year’s invitation-only GradFest event for the opportunity to discover what makes UTCS unique, explore research areas of interest, meet our faculty and graduate students and enjoy the famous Austin, Texas lifestyle (consistently ranked in the top 10 U.S. cities to live in).
This year’s event, held March 27-28, 2009, was a departure from the format of past years. Research and poster sessions were revamped into a new conference format with concurrent sessions. Prospectives had three tracks to choose from throughout the day: 1) attend panel discussions presented by faculty and corporate partners, 2) tour labs, or 3) meet with faculty in an individual or small group setting to ask questions and learn more about their research and courses.
After a day of lectures, lab tours, and faculty meetings, prospective students were off to the GradFest dinner where they had the opportunity to socialize with UTCS faculty, current grad students, and staff. Current grad students organized several social events that highlighted the Austin lifestyle following the dinner .
The event was full of discovery and dialogue, thanks to the participation of faculty, staff, and current graduate students.