Student Life
You can get involved in CSE and enrich your student experience without making a major commitment. Take a moment to talk with CSE faculty, staff, and your fellow students through these quick activities:
- Use the undergrad labs: The labs on the lower level of the Allen Center and 1st floor of the Gates Center are a great place to work in groups or individually. If you’re new to the department, other students can tell you which labs are more social and which offer a quieter workspace.
- Go to Office Hours: Office hours can be useful even if you don’t have urgent questions. Stop by to check your understanding of tricky concepts. If you find a course particularly challenging, talk with your instructors before you fall behind.
- Go to advising: Check in with the advisers or the peer advisers to plan ahead, ask questions, or let us know how your quarter is going.
- Attend school-sponsored events: The Allen School offers many events to help you socialize, plan for a career, and explore the field. Watch the CSE undergrad news blog and calendar for upcoming events.
Colloquia and Distinguished Lectures
Most of the colloquia and distinguished lecture talks are open to everyone and feature a wide range of topics and speakers. Come hear about new developments in your favorite CSE research areas and listen to presentations by leaders in industry. No need to RSVP.
Enhance Your Student Experience
The Allen School offers a variety of exciting, and sometimes challenging, opportunities for undergraduate students to enhance their educational experience. We encourage you to explore the options available to enrich your time as an Allen School student.
Capstones
The Allen School’s capstone courses are senior-level project courses that invite students to work in interdisciplinary teams to solve a substantial problem with knowledge gained from many areas in computer science and engineering. Students define the problem, design a solution, develop a prototype, and present their work. Computer Engineering majors are required to complete a capstone course in order to graduate; Computer Science majors are encouraged, but not mandated, to pursue a capstone course as a way to demonstrate what they have learned and tackle interesting problems in a setting that emulates what they will encounter in graduate school or industry employment.
Teaching Assistant Program
Becoming a teaching assistant (TA) is a rewarding way to share the knowledge you have gained with your fellow students while providing essential support for Allen School courses. Duties vary depending on the course and the instructor, but they may include conducting quiz section meetings, hosting exam review sessions, preparing course materials and assignments, and holding regular office hours for tutoring students.
Research
The Allen School encourages undergraduate majors to engage in research alongside faculty and graduate students to experience the excitement and the challenge of scientific discovery while receiving credit towards their degree.
Study Abroad
The Allen School study abroad program offers direct exchanges with four partner universities: KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden; ETH Zurich and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland; and Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany. These exchanges enable you to experience studying abroad while fulfilling CSE degree requirements. In addition, UW has hundreds of other options for studying abroad if you are interested in pursuing electives or general education requirements in another country.
Internships
All Allen School students are encouraged to pursue internships (CSE NetID required) as a way to explore careers and gain valuable experience putting what they learn in the classroom into practice. There are a variety of resources available to help you connect with companies seeking interns.
Student Organizations
The Allen School has many Affiliated Student Organizations. We have Social, Diversity & Access, Career & Industry, and Technical Student Organizations that our undergraduate population is encouraged to participate in, offering a wide range of programming.
Student Advisory Council
The Student Advisory Council serves as a collective voice of undergrad and masters’ students in the Allen School. The Council aims to address key issues in the Allen School including but not limited to: student wellness, diversity, curriculum development, and opportunities to engage in social good.
Minority Scholars Engineering Program (MSEP)
Open to all students, the Minority Scholars Engineering Program (MSEP) is a College of Engineering program supporting more than 400 African American, Hispanic, and Native American undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in engineering and science. MSEP promotes high academic standards and leadership among participants. The organizaiton also hosts three Engineering student societies: the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
Women in Science & Engineering (WiSE)
Women in Science & Engineering (WiSE) (an organization & annual conference) is a university-level program housed in the Center for Workforce Development. WiSE focuses on recruiting and retaining women of all ethnic backgrounds and creating an academic and social climate that is conducive to the success of both men and women undergraduate and graduate students. The annual WiSE conference brings together professionals and students of all levels for social, academic, and professional development. CSE department sponsors the registration fee for CSE majors to attend the conference.
Volunteer with the Carlson Center
The Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center engages undergraduates in understanding, building, and improving our communities. The Center offers programs that combine academic coursework with community-based learning and leadership. Opportunities for learning outside the classroom can deepen your understanding of complex philosophical, economic, and political issues and help you develop a sense of civic responsibility at the UW and beyond.
College of Engineering Clubs and Organizations
The College of Engineering offers many more ways to get involved with the engineering community at UW. Joining a student group is a great way to connect with other students and learn more about other departments in the college of engineering. Whether you want to work hands on with an engineering design project or you just want to meet other students, it all starts with attending a meeting or contacting one of the officers or the faculty sponsor.