CRA for Students

This page contains information of special interest to:

- Undergraduates (Awards, Grad School Options, and Diversity)
- Graduate Students (Job Hunting, Career Building, and Diversity)

Of Special Interest to Undergrads

Awards

• The annual CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Award Program recognizes undergraduate students who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research. Nominations are made by the student's department.

Grad School Options

• A set of slides on "Why choose a Ph.D. in CS?" (440 KB PDF).
• The Graduate Student Information Guide (PDF) is filled with advice on planning for graduate school. Although written for women, this is an excellent guide to anyone considering advanced study.
• A CRA database allows you to rank CS Ph.D. Programs by any of 20 characteristics (based on results of a National Research Council study of Ph.D. Programs in Computer Science).
• CRA's Forsythe List of North American departments granting Ph.D.s in CS & CE can be used to find department websites.

Diversity

• The Distributed Mentor Project (DMP) matches outstanding female undergraduates with female mentors for a summer of research at the mentor's institution. See also the Canadian DMP program.
• Collaborative Research Experience for Undergraduates (CREU) program which provides research experiences for groups of undergraduates from underrepresented groups during the academic year at their home institutions.
• The CRA-W Distinguished Lecture Series sends faculty and industry researchers to campuses to encourage women and minorities to attend graduate school. Get your school to apply!
• CRA is a co-sponsor of the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference, which highlights the technical contributions and career interests of diverse people in computing fields. The next will be held in October 14-17, 2007.
• CRA was the original sponsoring organization of what is now the Institute for Women and Technology's Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, which celebrates the technical contributions of women in computing. The next will be held in October 17-20, 2007.

Of Special Interest to Graduate Students

Job Hunting with a Ph.D.

• The May 2002 Computing Research News article entitled "The Ph.D. Job Hunt - Helping Students Find the Right Positions," is a good place to start.
• CRA's "Job Announcements" is one of the best places to find positions available to computing researchers.
• For academic jobs:
  • the Taulbee Survey provides salary and demographic data for faculty in CS & CE;
  • a CRA database allows you to rank CS Ph.D. Programs by any of 20 characteristics (based on results of a National Research Council study of Ph.D. Programs in Computer Science); and
  • CRA's Forsythe List of North American departments granting Ph.D.s in CS & CE can be used to find department websites and contact information.

Career Building

• The Academic Careers & Effective Teaching Workshop aids graduate students and junior faculty as they choose or begin their careers. The next one will be held February 25-26, 2008, in Washington, DC.
• CRA and CRA's Women's Committee have sponsored a series of Career Mentoring Workshops for men and women starting academic careers. You can view slides from the most recent CRA-Women workshop, held April 16-17, 2005. Other workshops were held February 23, at the 2005 SIGCSE Symposium and in conjunction with the 2003 FCRC, June 7-14, 2003. The next will be held at the June 2007 FCRC, in San Diego, California. Edited transcripts from previous workshops are available, a must read!
• The CRA-W Grad Cohort for Women Program holds workshops intended for Computer Science and Engineering students in their first year of grad school. Students meet for two days with 10-15 senior researchers who share pertinent information on the transition from student to researcher as well as more personal information and insights about their experiences. The most recent was held March 31 - April 1, 2006, in the San Francisco area.
• A number of articles on computing research labs and centers have been collected from back issues of Computing Research News.
• Computing Research News, CRA's electronic bulletin and research policy blog can keep you up to date on issues facing the CS & CE research communities. Sign up now!
• CRA's Best Practices Memo on Evaluating Computer Scientists and Engineers for Promotion and Tenure has information you (and your future department) should know. 

• Systers Academia is a mailing list modeled after the Systers network but targeted to graduate and faculty women. Sign up!
• CRA is a co-sponsor of the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference, which highlights the technical contributions and career interests of diverse people in computing fields. The next will be held October 14-17, 2007.
• The CRA-W Grad Cohort for Women Program holds workshops intended for Computer Science and Engineering students in their first year of grad school. Students meet for two days with 10-15 senior researchers who share pertinent information on the transition from student to researcher as well as more personal information and insights about their experiences. The most recent was held March 31 - April 1, 2006, in the San Francisco area.
• CRA was the original sponsoring organization of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, which celebrates the technical contributions of women in computing. The next will be held October 17-20, 2007.
• More complete information on CRA activities relating to diversity can be found on the CRA-Women and CDC websites.

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