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This class is designed to introduce new PhD students to research activities in the department, assist them in finding a faculty advisor, and train them to be effective communicators---both in class and in other presentations.
Most of our in-class meetings will begin with research talks by several CS faculty members. The purpose of these talks is to familiarize you with the cutting-edge research happening in our department, so that you may gain a larger understanding of the field. These will also help you narrow your research advisor search, if you have not already chosen and advisor.
The rest of class will focus on preparing you to be an effective communicator, whether presenting a technical topic to a research audience or in a class.
Once the meetings are complete, you will participate in independent study with your chosen advisor for the rest of the semester. A detailed schedule is included on this website.
Time and Place: Tuesday and Thursday, 11a-12:30 in GDC 2.216
Attendance Policy: Attendance is required at all class meetings. The material in this class requires active participation, so the only way to fail is by not participating. Up to three grace days will be allowed where you can miss for any reason (notifying the instructors is not required). Note that if you miss two days in a row, we will contact your advisor.
After you use up your three grace days, you will fail the course unless you make up any additional missed days. Making up additional absences means you will demonstrate understanding of that material by writing a 500 word essay on it. For example, if you miss a guest speaker, you must contact that guest speaker to interview them before completing an essay summary of your discussion. If you miss another student's presentation, you must contact them/their team and ask for a summary of the presentation before completing an essay on this topic.
Note that this means by missing class, you are creating work for others, so take this into consideration when you are scheduling your time. Time management and juggling a number of smaller, ongoing tasks (in addition to your main research) are essential skills in graduate school, so we will be practicing them here from day one!
Finally, if you do have an emergency that will require missing more than three days of class, please contact all instructors through Ed, and we will work with you to help manage the situation.
Some classes or portions of classes may be recorded using the Lectures Online system. This system records the audio and video material presented in class for you to review after class. Links for the recordings will appear in the Lectures Online tab on the Canvas page for this class. You will find this tab along the left side navigation in Canvas.
To review a recording, simply click on the Lectures Online navigation tab and follow the instructions presented to you on the page. You can learn more about how to use the Lectures Online system at http://sites.la.utexas.edu/lecturesonline/students/how-to-access-recordings/.
You can find additional information about Lectures Online at: https://sites.la.utexas.edu/lecturesonline/.
Class recordings are reserved only for students in this class for educational purposes and are protected under FERPA. The recordings should not be shared outside the class in any form. Violation of this restriction by a student could lead to Student Misconduct proceedings.
Instructors:
Dr. Alison N. Norman
(ans"at"cs).
Dr. Devangi Parikh
(dnp"at"cs).
Dr. Sarah Abraham
(the shark"at"cs).
Office hours are by appointment.
Communication Class announcements will be posted on Ed Discussion or sent via email through Canvas or the UT system. Please be certain to regularly check both your CS email account and the email address you registered with UT as your official address.
Prerequisites: Admittance to the UTCS Ph.D. program.
Assessment: In this class, you are evaluated on a credit/no credit basis.
To obtain credit for this course, you:
We ask that all students work with us to create a welcoming environment that is respectful of all forms of diversity, including the forms singled out in this section: diversity in gender, mental health, religion, ability, parenting status, and outside responsibilities. This section also discusses what to do if you face an emergency during the semester, such as a death in the family, and harassment reporting requirements.
Personal Pronouns: Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name, unless they have added a "preferred name" with the Gender and Sexuality Center (http://diversity.utexas.edu/genderandsexuality/publications-and-resources/).We will gladly honor your request to address you by a name that is different from what appears on the official roster, and by the gender pronouns you use (she/he/they/ze, etc). Please advise us of any changes early in the semester so that we may make appropriate updates to our records.
Mental Health: Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, getting enough sleep and taking some time to relax. This will help you achieve your goals and cope with stress. All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. There are many helpful resources available on campus and an important part of the college experience is learning how to ask for help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is often helpful. If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety or depression, we strongly encourage you to seek support. You may begin by talking to any of us, and we'll help you get connected to resources, or the Counseling and Mental Health Center is here to help you. http://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/individualcounseling.html.
Religious Holy Days: Religion (or lack there of) is an important part of who we are. If a holy day observed by your religion falls during the semester and you require accommodations due to that, please let us know as soon as possible. Email is an acceptable form of communication, though please use the format described above so we are more likely to receive it. If we do not indicate that wehave received it, please do talk to us in person (virtually) or follow-up again in email. In order to guarantee accommodations around exams and other big deadlines, wewill need notice of two weeks or more. If you are unable (or forget!) to provide that notice, please contact us anyway in case we can still accommodate you.
University-required language: A student who is absent from an examination or cannot meet an assignment deadline due to the observance of a religious holy day may take the exam on an alternate day or submit the assignment up to 24 hours late without penalty, if proper notice of the planned absence has been given. Notice must be given at least 14 days prior to the classes which will be missed. For religious holy days that fall within the first 2 weeks of the semester, notice should be given on the first day of the semester. Notice must be personally delivered to the instructor and signed and dated by the instructor, or sent certified mail. Email notification will be accepted if received, but a student submitting email notification must receive email confirmation from the instructor.
Students with Disabilities: Our policy is to fully support all students with disabilities to the best of our ability. At no time is it required that you disclose the nature of your disability to us, and we will not ask you to do so.
If you are a student with a UT-acknowledged disability, we ask that you meet with us in person to discuss accommodations as soon as you have your accommodation letter in hand. We do ask that you meet with us by the 12th class day so that we can put your accommodations in place as soon as possible.
If you are a student with a disability that has not yet been acknowledged by UT's Services for Students with Disabilities, we hope that you will be willing to disclose your status to us and we ask that you meet with us in person to develop a plan for your success this semester.
University-required language: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.
Policy on Children in Class/on Zoom: Children are always welcome. We understand that if you have childcare responsibilities you are a special-level of exhausted. Please talk to us if you need help.
Policy on Outside Responsibilities and Other Circumstances: As we face this outbreak, many of us have been removed from our usual academic environments and thrust into new circumstances with new and evolving responsibilities. If you find that those responsibilities or circumstances are preventing you from participating in this class, please contact the instructors as soon as possible.
Emergency Situations: If you experience an emergency situation during the semester, Student Emergency Services is here to help you. They can help in the event of family emergencies, medical or mental health concerns, and interpersonal violence, among other situations. If you experience such an emergency, you may contact them directly through email (studentemergency@austin.utexas.edu) or by phone (512-471-5017), or you may contact one of us and we will assist you with the process.
Harassment Reporting Requirements: Senate Bill 212 (SB 212), which went into effect as of January 1, 2020, is a Texas State Law that requires all employees (both faculty and staff) at a public or private post-secondary institution to promptly report any knowledge of any incidents of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking "committed by or against a person who was a student enrolled at or an employee of the institution at the time of the incident". Please note that the instructors and the TAs for this class are mandatory reporters and MUST share with the Title IX office any information about sexual harassment/assault shared with us by a student whether in-person or as part of a journal or other class assignment. Note that a report to the Title IX office does not obligate a victim to take any action, but this type of information CANNOT be kept strictly confidential except when shared with designated confidential employees. A confidential employee is someone a student can go to and talk about a Title IX matter without triggering that employee to have to report the situation to have it automatically investigated. If you would like to speak with someone who can provide support or remedies without making an official report to the university, please email advocate@austin.utexas.edu. For more information about reporting options and resources, visit http://www.titleix.utexas.edu/, contact the Title IX Office via email at titleix@austin.utexas.edu, or call 512-471-0419.
University Resources for Students
A fundamental principle for any educational institution, academic integrity is highly valued and seriously regarded at The University of Texas at Austin. More specifically, you and other students are expected to maintain absolute integrity and a high standard of individual honor in scholastic work undertaken at the University. This is a very basic expectation that is further reinforced by the University's Honor Code. At a minimum, you should complete any assignments, exams, and other scholastic endeavors with the utmost honesty, which requires you to:
In the preparation of this course, we used materials from TIDES.
Copyright Notice: These course materials, including, but not limited to, lecture notes, problem sets, and projects are part of the introduction to the PhD course in the UT Austin Computer Science Department. You must ask permission to use these materials.
This copyright extends to any and all video or audio recordings of this class.
We do not grant to you the right to publish these materials for profit in any form.