It made it seem a lot more fun and engaging of a pursuit. The consensus in the student panel seemed to be that it was very difficult but well worth it.

 Student participant, Explore Graduate Studies in CSE Workshop

Launched by Prof. Kevin Fu in November, 2014 and co-led by Profs. Jenna Wiens and David Kotz in 2015, THaW professors and students led two workshops in October 2015 on “Exploring Graduate Study in CS and Engineering”. These workshops targeted undergraduate students, primarily juniors and seniors, majoring in Computer Science or related fields. The workshops aimed to educate students about the potential for an exciting career in CS&E research, either in academia and industry, and to coach them in effective ways to prepare their graduate school application.

Both the University of Michigan and Dartmouth College hosted one-day workshops that were open to students from around the country.  A diverse set of more than 60 students enjoyed

• an overview of the exciting research underway at the two schools,
• Q&A panels of faculty and current graduate students,
• a writing clinic with tips and tricks for preparing their academic statement of purpose, and
• one-on-one advising by professors.

Survey results show that students overwhelmingly found the workshops to be helpful in thinking about their career options. Several students mentioned that the workshops increased their overall interest in pursuing graduate studies in CSE. The workshops were funded by the NSF through the THaW grant, by Dartmouth, and by the University of Michigan.