Fall 2023: Week 9

Advising Updates

Apply to Graduate by November 3, 2023!

The deadline to apply to graduate and have your name appear in the Winter 2023 Commencement program is November 3, 2023. Visit the student center’s instruction page and the Office of the Registrar’s webpage for detailed instructions on how to apply to graduate.

Major/Certificate Declaration Pause

Computer Sciences Advising Team will be pausing Computer Sciences major and certificate declaration processing from November 10 through November 26. All declaration requests submitted by 8:00 am on November 10 will be processed, but after that we will be putting our processing on pause until the morning of November 27. The declaration request forms will still be open for submission, but the processing of request forms will be paused. This timeline will also be posted on our website and forms. Once we resume processing, students who have submitted a request will receive an e-mail welcoming them to the Comp Sci major/certificate.

Please note that Comp Sci enrollment restrictions on some Comp Sci courses are in effect until Wednesday, November 29.

Mandatory Major Declaration Holds

L&S students who may have a Mandatory Major Declaration Hold can still connect with CS advisors via advising@cs.wisc.edu or via an advising appointment to have discussions about their Comp Sci major declaration plans.

Interested in CS, but Haven't Declared?

Starting the week of November 6, Comp Sci advisors will be hosting limited advising appointments for undeclared, CS-interested students. We will resume having more open appointments for all CS-interested students during the week of December 4.

Upcoming Events

dotData: MatPlotlib vs Seaborn Workshop

Wednesday, November 1: 6:00 pm, CS Building: Rm 1240

Matplotlib vs. Seaborn Workshop

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 1st at 6pm

Location: Computer Sciences 1240

Learn about plotting in Python with Matplotlib and Seaborn!

Please bring a laptop; food will be provided.

MadData24 Liaison Committee

We are currently recruiting members for the Liaison committee for MadData24! This is a great resume-building experience of helping plan and execute a data-based hackathon. Apply now!

Dr. Yibo Lin: Accelerating Timing Closure of IC Design with Heterogeneous Computing and Machine Intelligence

Friday, November 3: Noon - 1:00 pm, Engineering Hall: Rm 4610

Want to be a WACM Mentor or Mentee?

Apply by Monday, November 6, 2023!

UW Madison’s chapter of ACM's Women in Computing organization (WACM) is hosting its annual Mentoring Program! This year-long program is targeted towards women & non-binary students who are looking to connect with others and learn more about Computer Science and technology within academia and industry.

WACM is currently looking for students who are interested in participating either as a mentee (Freshman/Sophomore-level undergraduates) or a mentor (graduate students, Junior/Senior-level undergraduates). Mentors will lead mentoring families with up to 3-4 mentees and engage with students through both organized and informal events throughout the year. Participants will have the flexibility to cater the experience to their group with the guidance of WACM and other mentors/mentees! Don’t worry if you’re unsure about which application to fill; we encourage you to apply to the one you align with the most, and always email us with any questions!

Why should you join the mentoring program?

Meet in a small group setting with peers just as fascinated with computing and tech as you are.
Participate in mentoring program-only events — last year, we had events like succulent planting, cookie decorating, and a final picnic!
Gain confidence and learn about how you can succeed

If you are interested in participating in the program as either a mentor or mentee, please fill out the form before Monday, 11/6 at 11:59 PM CST and we will reach out to you shortly with the finalized mentoring families!

MENTEES: https://forms.gle/7qBwRM26rvVpCiLt6

MENTORS: https://forms.gle/Yksi37vvDByYEHEL6

Additionally, if you have any suggestions for the program, especially how we can improve, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/zKmAL7iKf6Senxzt8.

Your feedback is always appreciated!

Please contact kseow@wisc.edu or any of the Mentoring Co-Chairs, if you have any questions; we’re excited to see you soon!

WebDev UW Kickoff Meeting

Tuesday, November 7 @ 7:00 pm, CS Building: Rm 1240

Get to Know NeuroTech!

12th Annual Workshop to Increase Diversity in Mathematical Modeling and Public Health

Application Deadline: November 19, 2023

Looking to Advertise Your Student Org Event?

Does your student organization have a kick-off coming up?

Planning an event you want others to know about?

Feel free to send an announcement to advising@cs.wisc.edu!

We will add it in our next newsletter!

Thinking Ahead: Fellowships, Scholarships, Certificates, and Grad School

Become a WISCIENCE Peer Leader

Application Deadline: October 31

CS Grad School Info Session

Wednesday, November 1: 4:00 pm, CS Building: Room 1240

Internship, Job & Co-Opportunities

Career Events

Alumni Career Panel: User Experience (UX) & User Interface (UI)

Wednesday, November 1, 2023: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Want to learn more about careers in user experience and user interfaces? Stop by this informal virtual panel session to get tips and advice from UW alumni professionals who work in this field. Feel free to drop in whenever you like to listen, ask questions and make professional connections.

Career Tips

Career Tips from L&S Successworks!

Be sure to check out the Technology, Data, and Analytics Career Community for some AMAZING resources!

Cover Letters

What is a Cover Letter?

A cover letter always comes with a resume -- it is intended to spotlight some of your best experiences from your resume, and to compare them to the job for which you’re applying.

A cover letter is not about your skills; it’s about the job you’re applying to, and how your skills are a good match for it.

Okay, but how do I write a cover letter?

Start by looking at the job description and picking out some of the Required Skills that you feel you can really prove yourself with.

Then, write a five-paragraph essay (in letter format) which demonstrates those skills from your work examples. Focus the paragraphs on the skills, rather than your individual jobs.

A cover letter is not just an essay version of your resume.

Do I really need to write a cover letter for every single job?

Yes and no….. It’s really critical that a cover letter is tailored for each job -- a cover letter with no mention of the employer or the job is bland and boring. How does the interviewer know you didn’t send the same letter to fifty other companies?

You don’t need to write a brand-new cover letter from scratch every time, though. The job might be different, but your skills don’t change! You can use previous letters to start new letters.

Want more info? Check out SuccessWorks’ resources on cover letters, or make an appointment with an advisor!

Computer Sciences Undergraduate Program

cs.wisc.edu / advising@cs.wisc.edu