Getting Involved In The Department

Be A CS Advising Associate
In the CS department, we try to assign a CSAA to each faculty advisor who has a large enough advising group. The CSAA is an upperclassman or co-term who is available to answer questions about classes and give an older student's perspective to the advisees. This allows advisors to focus on answering more abstract questions that the students may have about computer science and the different options CS students have after graduation. The CSAA also acts as a liaison between the students and the faculty advisor. New students are sometimes intimidated by their advisors and are thus hesitant to approach them. This is where the CSAA can step in and facilitate interaction. Not only can the CSAA encourage students to seek out their advisor, but they can also help organize events where the students and the advisor get a chance to talk and mingle.

CURIS
CURIS is the CS Department's Summer Research College. In the Winter, sudents are matched up with professors who have projects availble for Undergraduates. They then do some preparatory work in the Spring, and work full time on the project for 10 weeks in the summer. Students are provided with free on-campus room and board as well as a stipend which is usually in the $2000-$4000 range. CURIS is a great way to try out research and get to know a professor along with his or her graduate students. For a more extensive discussion about doing research, please see our Undergraduate Research Page.

Be a 106 Section Leader
The Section Leading Program is aimed at giving qualified undergraduate students of all majors a unique opportunity to teach as a part of their undergraduate experience. As a Section Leader, you will teach a weekly section of 8-11 students, grade assignments and exams, and help to staff the Tressider Lair Help Hours. As a first quarter Section Leader, you will recieve academic credit for the program (CS198 - not applicable to the major) and if you return in future quarters, you will be paid an hourly wage (usually around $14/hour). Many people start section leading as early as their Sophomore or Junior year and stay involved throughout their time at Stanford. It usually ends up being a pretty tight and fun group of people, so you will meet not only many new students, but older ones as well.

Women In Computer Science (WICS)
WICS is an organization within the Stanford Computer Science Department whose purpose is to support and promote women in Computer Science by encouraging discussion and raising awareness of the issues they face. WICS serves to bring women together who share common interests, concerns, and ambitions. The WICS mentoring program is aimed at providing a social network and environment of understanding and support for students facing the unique cultural issues associated with being a female in Computer Science today. In addition, WICS organizes a lecture series featuring women in Computer Science telling the stories of their research and academic passions in the context of their lives as students, academics, and women in Computer Science as well as many other academic and social events.

IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE (pronounced "eye-triple-E"), is the largest technical organization on campus, with over 400 undergraduate and graduate student members in the CS and EE departments. The IEEE aims to foster a technical community at Stanford, supporting research, career development, community involvement and social events. The organization also offers a number of competitions, fellowships and grants. General meetings are held every second Tuesday of the month at 5pm in Packard 101. Each meeting features a brief talk by a distinguished industry leader, with speakers spanning the vast spectrium of CS/EE sub-disciplines and related industries. Dinner is served after the talk. Students of all backgrounds are welcome to attend.

Come to Events!!
Don't underestimate the value of attending CS social events. They give you an opportunity to meet other students in the department as well as some faculty and lecturers. They also usually end up being surprisingly fun! If you'd like to be involved with helping to plan CS events or have ideas of your own, contact the Course Advisor - she'd love to hear what you have to say!