Freshmen Symposium - Spring 2010

The Computer Science Freshmen Symposium is a new course designed to integrate students into their first year as a Computer Science Major. The course will meet one hour a week and will have a very light homework load. The topics covered will help Freshmen students not only better survive, but excel in their Computer Science Courses.

Sign up for CS 1960 (Choose the section that best meets your schedule!)

Professor - H. James de St. Germain

Professor de St. Germain (Jim) is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the School of Computing and teaches the introductory Computer Science course for the EAE program. He has won the School of Computer outstanding Teacher award and is motivated to make each and every student excel.

Jim
Happy Students

Who should take this course?

If you are planning to major in Computer Science, you should take this course. If you are planning to register for CS 1410 or CS 2420 this semester, you should take this course. If you want to graduate on time with a higher GPA, you should take this course. If you want to excel in Computer Science, you should take this course.

Computer Science - the Facts of Life

Many students come into Computer Science knowing that they want to make computers do cool things, but not understanding that computers are very dumb (can only do very limited things) but very fast (can do them over and over again very quickly). Further, computers are literal, meaning they do exactly what we say instead of what we mean. Finally, computer programs are usually 100% correct or completely wrong. A single mistake at one point can cause an otherwise completely correct program to fail.

Because Computer Science and programs are seen through the lens of a computer and most progress is measured in terms of how well the computer interprets the meaning of the student's program, it is often hard for students to adapt to CS courses. The purpose of the Freshmen Symposium is to provide strategies for excelling in CS, as well as introducing students to a faculty mentor and to their fellow cohort of peers.

Topics

The purpose of the Freshmen Symposium is to prepare students to succeed in CS. Below is a list of topics covered. Please note: this list is not complete and the desires and needs of the students in the course will dictate some of the weekly topics.

  1. Who the SoC advisors are and why you should care.
  2. How to succeed in your first year.
  3. How to plan a 4 year program of study.
  4. How to plan your next year of study.
  5. How to schedule your week.
  6. The importance of Teaching Assistants.
  7. What tutoring is available.
  8. What facilities are available.
  9. What tools are available in the labs and how to effectively use them.
  10. Why Computer Science is not like other subjects.
  11. Why Computer Science requires a strong understanding of other subjects.
  12. What opportunities exist in the School of Computing.
  13. Who the faculty of the School are and why you should care.
  14. What scholarships can be applied for and how to apply.
  15. How to get letters of recommendation.
  16. How to correctly and effectively communicate with professors, peers, and potential employers.
  17. And many more...
Faculty Interaction
Faculty Interaction

Grading

The course will be graded on class participation and small written assignments.