The Tao of PhD: Thriving in the Allen School’s Graduate Program
CSE 590X - Winter 2022
Welcome!
Our final meeting will be on Thursday March 10th, from 4:30pm–5:50pm on Zoom. Look at course logistics for more information.
We will use the Ed discussion board for all sorts of communication and assignments. This website will mirror the weekly announcements, and contain additional resources and course information. Email the staff if you cannot access the discussion board!
Update: All notes and assignments are accessible to the UW CSE community here.
Week 10b - Catch up, open up, wrap up!
Our final meeting, which will be all about tying up any loose ends, opening up about questions we have been pondering on, and wrapping up our seminar! :)
Week 10a - Academic Writing
Writing papers. Fun for some, but dreaded by many. This week, we will study key principles and practices of well-organized, carefully crafted technical writing. Sandy Kaplan, the CSE writing guru, will join us for this session.
This session has no required readings, but you can find several optional ones here.
Week 9 - Handling feedback
This week will be about handling feedback, especially from your advisor(s). This is something many students struggle with, e.g. taking it personally rather than acting on it constructively, or getting depressed about it when we shouldn’t. We will be bringing in a panel of four faculty to provide their wisdom and advice on this topic.
This session has no required readings, but you can find several optional ones here.
Week 8 - Self confidence, imposter syndrome, and rejection
We all realize that grad school is challenging and our colleagues are smart – often brilliant – and dedicated. Are they smarter and accomplishing more than we are? In week 8, we will discuss some of the common difficulties grad students face in terms of self-confidence and mental health, and identify resources for getting help when you need it.
Readings
- Take this self-assessment: Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale
- Dealing with rejection: a three-pronged approach by Aditya Parameswaran
- Willingness to look stupid by Dan Luu
- Please look past the attitude to learn the valuable concept within
- (Optional) Breaking the cycle of academic perfectionism by Kerry Ann Rockquemore
- (Optional) The NeurIPS experiment by Eric Price
- (Optional) Grit: The power of passion and perseverance by Angela Duckworth
- (Optional) Fake it till you make it by Amy Cuddy
- This research has has faced some controversy, but it is still an excellent source of motivation
- (Optional) The unmet mental health needs of foreign students by Bhargavi Bharadwaj
Week 7 - Break!
Week 6 - Reading research papers
On the scholarly path, you will need to quickly read and understand many and varied research papers. There is always more to read than the time you have! You need to prioritize while making sure that you are gaining sufficient depth and expertise. You will not only want to comprehend the technical contributions of the papers you read, but also identify their strengths and weaknesses, and, importantly, the research avenues they inspire. In week 6, we will discuss approaches to doing so.
Readings
- How to read a CS research paper by Philip Fong
- How to read an engineering research paper by William Griswold
- (Optional) How to read a computer science research paper by Amanda Stent
- (Optional) How to read a research paper by Srinivasan Keshav
Week 5 - Time management, hard work, and work-life balance
We all know how important working diligently and with focus is in grad school. Yet, many of us struggle with procrastination, occasional lack of motivation, and time management issues. In week 5, we will discuss the reasons we procrastinate, techniques for managing our time effectively and how each of us can be the best “whole” person possible.
Readings
- The awesomest 7-year postdoc or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the tenure-track faculty life by Radhika Nagpal
- Time management tactics for academics by Nick Feamster
- Tips for work-life balance by Matthew Might
- Guilt-free time management: The Eisenhower method revisited
- (optional) Time management (video) by Randy Pausch
- (optional) Productivity hints for academics by Matthew Might
Week 4 - Speaking and presentation skills
In week 4, we will be focusing on speaking and presenting skills. You will practice these skills by working on an “elevator pitch”. Basically, this is the answer to the question, “what are you working on?”. Having an elevator pitch in your back pocket will be useful to you and pay dividends when you meet other grad students or faculty in the Allen School, when you meet people at a conference and, of course, when you interview for internships and jobs.
Readings
- Tell me a story: Why you need a good elevator pitch by Nick Feamster
- Creating an effective poster by John Wilkes
- How to give a technical presentation by Mike Ernst
- (Optional) Tips for giving clear talks by Kayvon Fatahalian
Week 3 - The advisor-advisee relationship
In week 3, we will review basic rules of thumb about getting the most from your relationship with your advisor and making sure the relationship is mutually beneficial. Your relationship with your advisor is vital to your professional success and will remain important throughout your career. Your advisor should be someone that you resonate with, whose research vision inspires you, whose working style and personality mesh well with yours, who is supportive, whom you deeply respect, and who elicits your best in terms of high quality research, creativity and productivity, a sense of well-being, and an entree into the computer science research community.
Readings
- How to get good advising
- Disclaimer: This document is long, so can choose to skim parts of it. Please definitely read pages 1–11 and the final section (page 28). You are also likely to find the sections on “Your rights” (page 11), “Your responsibilities” (page 13), and the FAQ (page 26) highly relevant.
- (Optional) Managing your advisor by Nick Feamster
Week 2 - Choosing exciting and significant research topics
In week 2, we will read and discuss inspirational articles about the elements of compelling research and ways to approach the question of choosing research topics. We will explore concerns you may have such as whether the research you are doing excites you and fits you, and how to make sure your research focus evolves in the most positive and productive way possible. We will discuss common pitfalls, mistakes and misconceptions that sometimes arise early in grad school and get ourselves psyched up for a future of inspiring and well-motivated research.
Readings
- You and your research by Richard Hamming
- Here is a video version of (roughly) this talk.
- Please read the “formal talk” (pages 2-11); other parts are optional.
- Disclaimer: This document is long and rambling. However, it is still so full of wisdom (from someone who was so successful) that you should focus on, and ignore the anachronistic references.
- Research patterns by Nick Feamster
- Importance of stupidity by Martin Schwartz
Week 1 - Introduction
In week 1, we will get to know each other. We will share our reasons for joining the PhD program and how those may have evolved since first applying to grad school. We will also discuss our objectives for the seminar, including content and workload (which will be light) and Allen School community guidelines for creating a respectful and inclusive environment for all.
Readings
- Do you need a PhD? by Nick Feamster
- Advice for new graduate students by Jennifer Rexford