Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences Academic Information Session Neha Rawal Associate Director, ICS Student Affairs

Computers and technology are everywhere No notes for this slide

Interdisciplinary Education Biological & Physical Sciences: Modeling Medicine: Imaging Humanities: Data Mining No notes for this slide Biological & Physical Sciences: Modeling Art, Education, & Social Ecology

Only School of Computing in the UC The Bren School of ICS is the only computing-focused school in the University of California’s 10-campus system. The School’s independence (as opposed to being a department within an engineering school) enables us to take the broadest possible scope (and depth) of computer science and information technology studies. The establishment of ICS as a small, independent department 40 years ago reflects UCI’s vision that the computing discipline would expand beyond the boundaries of engineering or mathematics. ICS was re-named as a School in 2003, and in honor of philanthropist Donald Bren for his $20 million gift to help the School recruit highly distinguished faculty. Three departments (Computer Science, Informatics, Statistics) drive and direct the School’s broad range of instructional and research efforts. * UCIRVINE UCIrvine

Quick Facts about ICS Founded in 1968 as Department of Information and Computer Science Established in 2002 as an independent school Only computing-focused school in UC system Three departments: Computer Science Informatics Statistics

Corporate Connections

Curricular Diversity 6 Majors Business Information Management (with The Paul Merage School of Business) Computer Game Science Computer Science Computer Science and Engineering (with The Henry Samueli School of Engineering) Informatics Software Engineering 6 Minors (some major and minor combinations are restricted) Bioinformatics Digital Information Systems Health Informatics Information and Computer Science Statistics

Curricular Diversity UCI offers choices galore! 80 majors and 66 minors to date Freshmen 1-unit seminars (limited to 15 students), such as: Sports & Statistics (ICS Dean Hal Stern, instructor), DIY Electonics (Prof. Ian Harris, instructor), Games for Learning, (Prof. Mark Warschauer, instructor) Big Bang Theory UTeach Program seminars: Where Students Become the Teacher, topics include: How 2 Solve Puzzlers (ICS Peer Advisor Igii Enverga, student instructor, and Bren Professor Mike Goodrich, faculty advisor), Science & Craft of Coffee, Harry Potter Muggle Culture Education Abroad Program

Project-Based Learning Bachelors of Science degrees Some majors have two quarter to one-year long senior-design project courses CGS, CSE, INF, SE Other majors allow students to select their project courses from an extensive list of options CS

Research Opportunities Student-initiated research Bren:ICS Honors Program UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Provides guidance, funding and faculty mentor Campus programs that provide a stipend and summer housing, such as: Summer Undergraduate Research Program Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Information Technology (SURF-IT)

Faculty Excellence & Accessibility All ICS faculty teach both undergraduate and graduate courses. ICS faculty are involved in undergraduate recruitment, workshops about grad school, mentoring and research. The size of our undergraduate student body (~850) means that most students will experience upper-division courses that are sized to allow for more opportunity for faculty/student interactions. Bren ICS faculty want to see our students succeed. PICTURED ABOVE: Ian Harris working in the lab with his students, conducting research on software security Elaheh Bozorgzadeh (faculty panel; talking to undergraduates about how to successfully apply for grad school) Padhraic Smyth (chatting with students over lunch at Grad Visit Day) Commencement

Committed to Student Success Engaged and accessible faculty Weekly office hours by faculty and course TAs Associate Dean hosts weekly drop-in hours Academic counseling staff Help students find most efficient way to meet all their academic goals Inform students about programs/opportunities that enhance learning and build their resume Guide students to appropriate campus resources Learning & Academic Resource Center (LARC) FREE workshops/tutoring & fee-based tutoring Math, Physics, and Chemistry Departments FREE drop-in tutoring ICS Tutoring Peer to peer (fee based) The undergraduate experience is structured to encourage student success: Faculty and Teaching Assistants hold weekly office hours. The academic advising relationship begins before students start their first quarter, and continues up to graduation. Bren:ICS mandated new student orientation sessions are designed to ensure that students are able to enroll in major related courses their first quarter with relative ease. Small group tutoring for some courses is available through UCI’s Learning Assistance Resource Center. The math, physics, and chemistry departments host free tutoring centers for all UCI students. Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Andre van der Hoek, holds weekly office hours and is available to hear students’ comments, concerns, and feedback about their specific experiences or about the School in general.

Building a Diverse Community The CS/IT discipline appreciates, seeks out and is made stronger by diversity – diversity of experiences and perspectives, and in gender and ethnicity. The Bren School works to attract and retain a diverse student population to help us continue to expand the boundaries of the discipline. Pictured here are two organizations that encourage diversity in the student body, and help support our outreach and retention efforts. WICS’ mission is to encourage women to complete their college degree in information and computer sciences and to pursue a successful career in the field by providing support and networking to help them achieve these goals. Note for Hal: WICS members are pictured with Prof. Judy Olson The SAGE Scholars program is an program that places students in high-tech internships for which they receive not only financial support but also significant mentoring and community. Many of the students are the first in their families to attend college. Note for Hal: SAGE Scholars *may* be pictured with Prof. Debra Richardson. ALSO PICTURED ABOVE: Gillian Hayes (Girls Inc and WICS project; taken at Orange Coast College; teaching young girls about engineering) Bill Tomlinson (EcoRaft demo; an interactive installation designed to help children learn about restoration ecology) Each of you, as prospective students, are positioned to add your unique talents, interests and strengths to our student body. We believe that our commitment to diversity makes for a welcoming and inclusive community for all our students, and establishes a strong “home base” from which our students can experience the larger UCI community. Women in Information and Computer Sciences (WICS) SAGE Scholars WICS/Girls Inc. EcoRaft Demo

Student Life Bren Brawl: Friendly competition among student gamers Bren:ICS students at UCI Leadership Conference ICS/Blizzard Alumni Night Bren ICS supports a student body that is engaged in the larger UCI campus community, and is inclusive, supportive and enriching. Students are actively guided and nurtured by their professors, fellow students, alumni, and staff in various departments across the campus. Students get regular communication from academic counselors about other ways to enrich their learning through education abroad, research, leadership, work experience, company info nights, and community service. The School facilitates faculty, alumni, and peer networking opportunities. An active student body provides multiple leadership and involvement opportunities. Student Showcase participants ICS Student Council members at ICS/Boeing Alumni Night

Questions? Get prompt responses and different perspectives: Academic counselors/peer advisors: ucounsel@uci.edu 949-824-5156 (M-F 8-5) Faculty: Tony Givargis Associate Dean for Student Affairs adsa@ics.uci.edu