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Director of Undergraduate Studies

The Director and Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Kahlert School of Computing work closely with students and faculty to administer the undergraduate degree programs.

Director of Undergraduate Studies
James de St. Germain
Professor, Lecturer
germain@cs.utah.edu
MEB 3190B

Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies
Daniel Kopta
Associate Professor, Lecturer
dkopta@cs.utah.edu
MEB 3190A

Transfer & Prior Learning Credit

Transfer Credit

To petition for transfer credit to satisfy computing degree requirements, follow these steps:

  1. Locate materials that fully describe the course taken, including:
    • Course description
    • Outline of topics covered
    • List of assignment descriptions
    • Prerequisite courses
    • Textbook or required readings
  2. Verify that the transfer credits have posted to your Degree Audit. If you have a prior degree, you may need to provide an academic advisor with a copy of your transcript for verification.
  3. Follow the instructions below for each course you wish to petition:

Prior Learning Credit (AP, IB, and more)

https://admissions.utah.edu/information-resources/prior-learning-credit/

Capstone Experience

Every student pursuing a Kahlert School of Computing degree must complete a two-semester capstone requirement, choosing between a team-based software project or an individual research thesis.

Senior Project

Small teams of students develop significant software systems using disciplined software engineering practices in CS 4000 (AI, CS, and SD majors) or DS 4800 (DS majors) followed by CS 4500 or DS 4850.

Students may opt to complete a clinical capstone project sponsored by local industry.

Bachelor’s Thesis

An individual student conducts research under the supervision of a faculty member and ultimately produces a publication-quality description of the work in CS 4940 followed by CS 4970.  Both courses require permission from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.  For more information, interested students can self-enroll in the Canvas course for Undergraduate Research and Thesis.

Honors Thesis

Both the senior project and bachelor’s thesis options of the capstone experience may be used to satisfy the Thesis Work requirement of the Honors Degree.  For more information, see the Canvas course for Undergraduate Research and Thesis or contact an academic advisor.

Teaching Assistant Application

A student who has completed CS 2420 and has demonstrated excellent performance in one or more CS/DS courses is encouraged to apply to be a teaching assistant at https://ta.cs.utah.edu/.

Career Coaches

Career Coaches help students and alumni connect their academic experience to their career goals. Career Coaches can assist with exploring career paths, finding internships and jobs, developing resumes and LinkedIn profiles, preparing for interviews, applying to graduate school, and navigating salary negotiations.

Students are encouraged to meet with a Career Coach at least once each semester to discuss career goals and take advantage of available opportunities.

Schedule an appointment with a Career Coach

Additional Career Resources:

Internships & Academic Credit

Internships provide students with valuable opportunities to apply what they learn in the classroom to professional settings. Students are encouraged to work with a Career Coach when searching for internship opportunities and preparing application materials.

Students may also be eligible to earn academic credit for an internship through CS 4010: CS Internship. This elective course is typically taken during the summer between a student’s junior and senior year and includes coursework designed to support the student’s internship experience.

Enrollment in CS 4010 is by permission only. Students interested in receiving academic credit for an internship should review the CS 4010 pre-enrollment guidelines before requesting permission to enroll.

Undergraduate Research

The School of Computing offers undergraduate students opportunities to engage in faculty-supported research and gain hands-on experience working alongside faculty and graduate students. Research experience can help students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and technical skills while exploring areas of computing that may align with their academic and career interests.

Students interested in undergraduate research are encouraged to begin by exploring the following resources:

After reviewing these resources, students can contact faculty whose research interests align with their own to discuss potential research opportunities.

Related Courses

CS 3020: Research Forum 

Research Forum is a 1-credit course where students learn about current research in computing through presentations from faculty and other researchers. The course also introduces students to research opportunities and open problems in computing.

CS 4940 / CS 4970: Bachelor’s Thesis
Students interested in pursuing research may consider completing the Bachelor’s Thesis option as part of their senior capstone experience. This option provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. See the Capstone Experience information for additional details.

Scholarships

Kahlert School of Computing undergraduate students are eligible for scholarships offered by both the Kahlert School of Computing and the Price College of Engineering. Awards are available for full-time students for fall and spring semesters only. Continuing students, incoming transfer students, and entering freshmen are invited to apply.  See https://www.price.utah.edu/scholarships for the application and important dates.

Note: BS/MS students are eligible to receive undergraduate scholarship funding only while they are in the undergraduate portion of the program.

Laptop & Software Requirements

Laptop Requirement

Any student enrolled in a Kahlert School of Computing course with laboratory sections is required to bring and use their personal laptop during the lab class.

Do Not Share Laptops

Students should not share laptops for the following reasons:

  • Assignments and other coursework are private to a particular student and must not be shared.
  • A student may need administrative access to their laptop.
  • A student may need to install or uninstall software packages.

Backing Up Data

Each student is responsible for the data on their laptop and should back up this data to a remote location (e.g., UBox, Google Drive) regularly so that the loss of a laptop does not prevent the student from completing their coursework in a timely manner.

Suggested Specifications

Most modern laptops built within the last two years should meet the minimum requirements.  Students may use either Macintosh or Windows-compatible computers. At least 512GB of storage is recommended. Tablets are not recommended.

Required Software

The laptop may run Windows, OS X, or Linux, as long as it is able to run the software required by courses, which may include PyCharm and Python, Eclipse and Java, C#, Linux, or a virtual machine running Linux.  In general, it is the student’s responsibility to install and maintain the software on their laptop.

Access to the Price College of Engineering Software via Virtual Machines

The Price College maintains a repository of virtual machines that students can access via a web browser or standalone application.  See the Remote Access FAQ for more information on remotely accessing these machines.  In some cases, using a virtual machine alleviates the need for students to have specialized software running natively on their laptops.