SYLLABUS

Course objectives

The goal of this course is to introduce undergraduate students to CSE research and give them basic skills to participate in research early on in their education. After taking this class, students will have:

• An understanding of research in CSE: Students will be able to accurately describe what research in Computer Science & Engineering involves.

  • They can describe the general process of scientific/academic inquiry

  • They can describe the process of research funding, peer-review, different types of scientific publications, and citations

  • They can enumerate and describe different sub-fields of CSE research, the different types of research methods and processes used in them, and the different types of research contributions across these areas

  • They can describe the academic career progression and the day-to-day of research jobs

  • They can enumerate key skills, attributes, mindset, and habits (e.g., creative, curious, independent, good communicator, etcetera) that help researchers succeed

  • They can identify research programs/opportunities and the steps they need to take to apply

• Basic research skills: Students will know what general skills are key in research and have practice with some of their subfield-specific skills.

  • They will have experience in finding, reading, presenting, and critically evaluating research papers

  • They will have experience in conducting a literature search, understanding the state-of-the-art

  • They will have practice using tools for managing citations, writing papers, and creating figures, slides, or posters (e.g. Overleaf)

After achieving these learning goals, students should be able to confidently decide whether they would like to pursue research and know which sub-field of CSE and what type of projects might be right for them. They should also be well positioned to apply for positions that fit their preferences.

Please review our AI Policy for guidance on incorporating AI tools into your learning for this course.

Lecture Participation

Lecture attendance is required for this course. Participation will be tracked using PollEverywhere and displayed on Canvas, so students can monitor their recorded attendance throughout the quarter. Students can miss up to 2 lectures without affecting their grade.

Grading

This is a CR/NC class. Students will have weekly assignments they need to complete and will submit a weekly self-evaluation (which will also serve as feedback about the course for future offerings). Instructors will provide qualitative feedback on ways to improve the artifacts that students create as part of assignments (e.g. paper summaries, presentation slides, research proposal) and will grade the assignment as either "satisfactory" (S) or "not yet" (N). Students can request a re-evaluation of their artifacts after addressing all the feedback from the instructors.  Students who receive an S on at least 8 out of 10 assignments, participate in at least 8 of the 10 lectures, and complete all 10 self-evaluations will receive a "CR" grade in this class.

Assignments and Late Policy

Weekly assignments will be introduced during class time. Often, the in-class activities will involve getting started on the assignment. Most assignments are focused on practicing the skill covered in class and will involve submitting an artifact (e.g. paper summaries, presentation slides). Assignments are due the following Tuesday at 11:59PM unless otherwise noted (see Assignment 10). Students must receive a "satisfactory" rating on at least 8 out of 10 assignments to receive a passing grade in the course. Please review our AI Policy for explicit guidance on using AI tools on the assignments.

Due to issues with students submitting late assignments in previous offerings, we have now imposed a stricter assignment due date policy. Late assignments that are not submitted within one week of the original due date will not be graded and may lead to students receiving an "X" (incomplete) or "NC" (no credit) grade in the course. Further, assignment submissions and resubmissions will not be accepted after Dec 11 (except for the final assignment, which must be submitted by the published deadline). Students who have not obtained a "satisfactory" rating on at least 8 out of 10 assignments by Tuesday December 15, 2026 (must be submitted by Friday December 11) will receive an "X" (incomplete) or "NC" (no credit) grade. 

Note that CSE 394 must be passed to continue to the next course in the sequence (CSE 494). Students with an "X" (incomplete) or "NC" (no credit) grade in CSE 394 will not meet the CSE 494 prerequisites and as a consequence will not be able to participate in a guided research project next quarter.

Academic Integrity

We follow the Allen School’s policy for academic integrity and misconduct. Please review our AI Policy regarding student misconduct involving AI tools.

Inclusion

We welcome students from all backgrounds and adhere to the Allen School’s Inclusiveness Statement. If anything related to the course makes you feel unwelcome in any way, let the instructor know.

We are eager to provide any necessary accommodations.

For disability accommodations, please see the UW resources at http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/current-students/accommodations/.

Religious Accommodation: Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW's policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available here: Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.