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Questions from Students and Potential Students

Questions from Students and Potential Students

Can I take directed research under your supervision?

I do not consider supervising directed research for students until they have first taken Computer Science 530 or 555 from me. Because I do not have the time to supervise research for all the students that make such requests, I use the students performance in CSci530 to decide which students to supervise, agreeing to supervise research for only those students that demonstrate the ability to do research and show the motivation to work with minimal supervision.

I teach Computer Science 530 in the fall semester and sometimes I also teach 555. If you would like to take directed research from me you must enroll in, take, and complete 530 or 555 during a semester when I will be teaching it, or have taken 530 or 555 from me in the past.

Please note that I will NOT assign topics for directed research. If you have taken a class from me and performed well in the class, you must write a proposal for the directed research work you plan to complete. If the topic is in an area that I find interesting, and if you demonstrate in the proposal that you have a clear plan for completeing the work under my guidance, and if based on your performance in the classes you have taken from me and based on the proposal you convince me that the contribution of the work will be greater than the effort that I will need to devote to supervising the work, then I will consider supervising the work.

Your proposal should include a statement of the importance of the proposed contribution including references to related work, a clear statement of the tasks to be accomplished, a plan for how I will evaluate your progress on the tasks to be completed, and an discussion of the guidance that you require from me to help guide the work.

Please send the proposal to me with a listing of the grades you received in the classes you have taken from me (including component grades, i.e. mid-term, final, paper) and the title of your paper in the class. Tell me also how many units of directed research you plan to take.

Can I be your student?

I do not consider advising students until they have first taken Computer Science 530 from me. Because I do not have the time to superviose research for all the students that make such requests, I use the students performance in CSci530 to decide which students to supervise, agreeing to supervise research for only those students that demonstrate the ability to do research and show the motivation to work with minimal supervision.

I teach Computer Science 530 in the fall semester. If you would like to have me advise your studies, you must enroll in, take, and complete 530 during the fall semester. Based on your performance in that class I will consider your request for the following Spring semester.

Can I be your Teaching Assistant?

If you have already been granted a TA position by the computer science department, I will consider your request to be the TA for Computer Science 530. If you have not already been granted a TA position by the Computer Science department you will need to go through the department to request such a position - and I will be unable to consider your request until you have been granted such a position.

As an instructor, the department allows me to make a request for a specific teaching assistant from the TA pool. However, by department policy, as a member of the research faculty, I do not have any TA slots that I can grant to students that have not already been given those slots by the department.

Can I be your Research Assistant?

At the present time I do not have any funding available for new research assistants. If I do have such funding in the future your chances of obtaining such a position are enhanced by taking Computer Sciences 530 in the fall semester, and by demonstrating your research abilities through personal interaction as part of that course.

I have applied to USC, can you tell me the status of my application, or look at my application and tell me my chances of being accepted?

or

I am considering applying to USC, can you look at my qualifications and tell me my chances of being accepted?

I am not on the admissions committee, nor do I have any knowledge of or access to the status of your application. I also do not have the time to provide feedback on the chances for acceptance of individual applications. I receive many such requests each month, and to take the time to respond would make it impossible for me to complete any research. Please use the established departmental procudures for checking the status of your application. Questions should be directed to [email protected].

I have some questions about Computer Science 530

Please see the CSci555 frequently asked questions list.
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