Transcript Graduate Studies at UMBC CSEE: How to Succeed Marie desJardins CSEE Department, UMBC [email protected] September1999 Thanks to Anupam Joshi for providing the previous version of these slides!

Graduate Studies at UMBC CSEE:
How to Succeed
Marie desJardins
CSEE Department, UMBC
[email protected]
September1999
Thanks to Anupam Joshi for providing the previous version of these
slides!
Department Overview
Academic Integrity
What Do I Do Now?
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Department Overview
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About the Department
 Three programs: CS, CE and EE
 Each program offers MS and Ph.D degrees
 250+ graduate students, 1200+ UGs
 Largest Ph.D.-granting department on campus;
largest number of FT and PT students in sciences
 External research funding ~$6 million
 The most well funded UMBC academic department
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Why Choose CSEE at UMBC?
Strong curriculum
 Careful balance of theory and practice
Excellent faculty in a research department
 Students exposed to cutting-edge
developments
First rate facilities
 Improving – we’re finally in our new building!
 Great Location, Nice Atmosphere!
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CSEE Faculty
~34 FT tenure track faculty, and 6 FT
lecturers
 Additional growth expected over next five
years
~20 adjunct faculty
 Drawn from local industry and government
agencies
 Provide a unique practical perspective
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Research Opportunities
 CSEE faculty bring in ~ $6m/year in external support for
research
 Puts us in the same league as top 25-50 CS departments
nationwide in funding / faculty
 Ample money to support most graduate students
 Travel to conferences, equipment
 Caveat Emptor – not every grad student will get support
 Provides exposure to leading edge technologies and
development
 Develops student’s ability to do creative, challenging work
independently and in teams
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For More Information...
Chairman
Dr. John Pinkston
[email protected]
Graduate director for
CS
Dr. Krishna Sivalingam
[email protected]
CE
Dr James Plusquellic
[email protected]
EE
Dr. Gary Carter
[email protected]
Department
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Room 325, ITE Building
University of Maryland Baltimore County
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore MD 21250
410-455-3500 (main office), 3000 (student
affairs)
[email protected]
Web
http://www.csee.umbc.edu/
[email protected]
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Mailing Lists
 VERY IMPORTANT!
 e-mail [email protected]
 subscribe csee-grad-(cs | ee)
 subscribe csee-grad-(ta | ra)
 Critical information is posted to these lists
 You are are responsible for ALL messages to these
lists
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Academic Integrity
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Academic Integrity Policy
 “By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the
responsibilities of an active participant in UMBC’s scholarly
community, in which everyone’s academic work and
behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty.
Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to
commit these acts are all forms of academic
dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct
could result in disciplinary action that may include, but is
not limited to, suspension or dismissal.”
[Statement adopted by UMBC’s Undergraduate Council and
Provost’s Office]
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What Does It Apply To?
 Classwork: Homework, exams, projects
 Research work: Research proposals, project reports
 …even if not published, if something is represented as your
work it must be your work
 Publications: Technical papers, grant proposals
 If you have to ask if it applies, the answer is almost
certainly YES.
 When still in doubt, ask your professor/advisor!
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Academic Integrity Violations
 Cheating:
 Copying answers from another student or any outside
source
 Obtaining exam questions illegally
 Fabrication:
 Falsification of data or results
 Misrepresenting your qualifications
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Plagiarism
 REPRESENTING SOMEBODY ELSE’S WORDS
AS YOUR OWN IS PLAGIARISM.
 “But I listed the reference in the bibliography.”
 If you didn’t explicitly quote the text you used,
and cite the source where you used the text, it is
plagiarism.
 “But I only used some of the words.”
 Scattering some of your own words and
rephrasing isn’t enough; if the ideas are not
restated entirely in your own words, it is
plagiarism.
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Plagiarism
 “But only the introduction and background material are
borrowed; all of the original research is mine.
 If somebody else’s words appear in any document
that you have represented to be written by you, it is
plagiarism.
 “But it was only a draft / not an official classroom
assignment, so I didn’t think it counted.”
 If you represented somebody else’s words as your
own, even in an informal context, it is plagiarism.
 Sometimes attribution gets overlooked through
oversight, but it is your responsibility to minimize the
possibility that this can happen.
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Plagiarism exercise
 Original passage:
 I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
America, and to the republic for which it stands, one
nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
 Unacceptable summary:
 I promise loyalty to the United States flag, and to the
country for which it stands, one nation, with freedom
and fairness for all.
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Plagiarism exercise II
 Original passage:
 I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
America, and to the republic for which it stands, one
nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
 Acceptable summary:
 The Pledge of Allegiance represents a promise to be
loyal to the United States of America, and restates the
premises of American government: independent states
united by the ideals of freedom and democracy.
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Abetting
 Helping another student to cheat, falsify, or
plagiarize will generally result in your receiving the
same penalty
 Know what your project partners are doing; if you
turn a blind eye to their cheating, you may be
hurting yourself
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Penalties
 Each professor sets his or her own policies.
 Typical penalties depend on the severity, and
whether it is a first offense. They may include:
 Receiving a zero on an assignment (even if only part of
the assignment was plagiarized or copied)
 Being required to redo the assignment, without credit, in
order to pass the class
 Receiving a full grade reduction in the class (e.g., an A
becomes a B, a B becomes a C)
 Suspension or expulsion from the university
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What Next?
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Lifecycle of an MS Student
 Take courses.
 Talk to your advisor, s/he is there for a purpose!
 Ask other students as well.
 2-3 / semester is a good load if you are supported.
 Can transfer up to 6 credits, but …
 Do a thesis
 6 credits, typically takes 2 semesters
 May also do a project (3 credits/1 semester, but you end up
doing more courses)
 Thesis vs Project considerations
 Get a job and make mucho dinero 
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Lifecycle of a Ph.D. student
 Take courses and find an advisor – make sure you
take the courses needed for comps early on
 Take the comps, and hopefully pass them
 Ideally year 1, must be <= 2 years for FT, <= 2.5 years
for PT
 Do more courses, read papers, start thinking of a
problem, start work on that problem
 Defend your proposal
 Work some more, stop sleeping, drink tons of coffee,
get dinner from vending machine, write papers,
present papers, write dissertation
 Defend Thesis
 Get job and make mucho dinero 
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Research Advisors
 Each of you has been assigned a temporary advisor who is
just that – temporary
 Your temporary advisor will not necessarily be your
research advisor, and is under no obligation to take you on
as an advisee
 You are responsible for finding an advisor who will guide
your research – whether MS or Ph.D.
 Ideally, do this early on in your second semester, but
positively by the end of your first year
 Renewal of support depends on it!
 Finding a research advisor should not be left until the last minute!
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How Not to Find a Research Advisor
 Repeat
 Room=Select random (CSEE_Faculty_office)
 Occupant’s research area =
google_lookup(name(room))
 Knock on door
 Pretend to be interested in <Occupant’s research area>
and express strong desire to work with them
 Until (Found assistantship/advisor)
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How to Find a Research Advisor
 Decide which area(s) interest you
 All areas is not a valid answer!
 Take classes in those areas
 Very important – even more important than taking comp classes, if it
comes down to a choice!
 Talk to students who work in those areas – ask them what
they do, what are the interests of their advisor, inside scoop
on the group etc.
 Go to as many (relevant) talks as possible
 Read a lot on the topics you’re interested in
 Downselect to a few faculty members, arm yourself with
knowledge about their projects and how you might fit in…
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How to Contact a Potential Advisor
 Knock on door or set up an appointment by e-mail
 Icebreaker questions:
 I’m interested in areas X, Y, and Z. Can you tell me more
about your research in those areas?
 Do you have any ongoing projects that I might be able to
learn more about or contribute to?
 May I sit in on your lab meetings?
 Be persistent…
 Stay in touch with your potential advisor(s)
 …but not annoying
 Remember that faculty are usually very busy and have
limited time
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