Forms

Form requirements

All responses must be typed (hand-written documents will not be accepted). Depending on the form, submission is either through a Google form, DocuSign form, or a PDF form emailed to stemgrad@uw.edu.

Select a form to view the instructions and access the form:

• CSS 400-Level Course Petition
• Graduation Petition
• CSS 600 Independent Study or Research Contract
• CSS 601 Internship Agreement (international students only)
• Request to Form Supervisory Committee

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CSS 400-Level Course Peition

To be used when requesting enrollment in a CSS 400-level course that will be counted toward your degree requirements. Remember, that a maximum of 10CR of 400-level classes is allowed with prior GPC (Graduate Program Coordinator) permission. Please read the following information carefully before filling out the petition form.

Generally, requests are processed within one week of receipt. During peak times of the academic year (e.g. first week of registration, summer orientation), responses may take longer. To allow time for review and approval before the quarter begins, please submit your request at least two weeks in advance. For inquiries into petition status, email the CSS Graduate Advisor.

Taking a 400-level class may be a good option if you have not previously studied the topic(s) in your bachelor’s degree or GCSDD program, and at least one of the following conditions applies:

1. There is no corresponding elective offered at the graduate level (e.g. CSS 485 Artificial Neural Networks, CSS 436 Cloud Computing).
2. The corresponding elective at the graduate level will not be offered during your degree plan. In this case, you should first discuss with the Graduate Advisor and appropriate faculty member, the possibility of doing an independent study (CSS 600). If an independent study is not feasible, a 400-level course may be approved instead.
3. You would like to pursue an elective area as part of your thesis/project option, and the 400-level course provides needed framework for the knowledge of a relevant topic.

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT RELATIVE TO CSS 400-LEVEL COURSES

• Two courses with a high percentage of overlapping content may not be taken (e.g. CSS 449 and CSS 549; a CSS course that covers similar topics to a class you took as an undergraduate).
• CSS 430 is not an appropriate option if you have completed 503, 533, or 534, as the course content overlap is significant, and not informative to anyone who has already taken one or more of these classes. For students who have not yet completed 503, 533, or 534, please understand that Operating Systems is an expected requirement for anyone who has been admitted to the MS degree programs. If you think that 430 would benefit your studies, you may complete the form in the link below.

Complete the Google form to submit it to your CSS graduate academic advisor.

CSS 400-Level Petition form

Graduation Petition

To be used when a student would like to petition a waiver of any program requirement. Students must provide appropriate supporting documentation such as a course syllabus, transcript, etc., so the CSS Division has the information needed to review and approve/deny the request.

Complete the Google form to submit it to your CSS graduate academic advisor.

Graduation Petition form

CSS 600 Independent Study or Research Contract

To be used when a student would like to begin an independent study or research project on computing topics conducted under the direction of a faculty member. 

If a student would like to complete an independent study or research project, the first step is to discuss potential topics with a faculty member and academic advisor before beginning the form. Please answer questions 1-7 in a separate document, and make sure it is approved by the faculty member before uploading to the form. Limit your answers to a maximum of two typed pages. 

1. Independent Study/Research Project Title
2. Describe the proposed focus and goals of this research.
3. Describe how this project will inform your further work on your final project or thesis.
4. How will this work contribute to the knowledge base of computing-related research?
5. What specific research methods/techniques do you plan to use in conducting this research?
6. What specific deliverables will you provide to your faculty mentor for evaluation? 
7. Provide a detailed approach as to how your work will be documented and a schedule of activities with estimated due dates.

After you’ve completed the questions and your answers are approved by your faculty advisor, you are ready to start the process of getting the CSS 600 contract signed via Docusign. The form will instruct you to enter your name and email as the student, as well as your faculty advisors name and email. 

Once you click “Begin Signing” the form will appear with indicators for you to complete. Once you complete the form and sign your faculty advisor will receive an email to review and sign via DocuSign. Your academic advisor will receive a final copy and email you an entry code to register for CSS 600 once approved.   

CSS 600 Independent Study or Research Contract form

CSS 601 Internship Agreement (international students only)

To be used when an international student is requesting CPT credit for an internship. Students must have an internship/company offer letter (step 1) and typed internship agreement responses (step 2) ready in order to send the faculty advisor the agreement for final review and signature (step 3). Once this form is signed and approved, the academic advisor will email the student a faculty code to register for CSS 601 and request they complete a CPT application through the International Student Portal. 

If a student would like to proceed with the internship agreement, follow steps 1-5: 

Step 1: Find an internship that will provide you with relevant work experience, and get a written offer letter, specifying start/stop dates of internship, assigned duties, salary, and number of hours you will be expected to work each week. Students are encouraged to reach out to the STEM graduate career counselor for support with their internship search. 

Step 2: Answer questions 1-5 in a separate document and be prepared to upload the document to the agreement form. Limit your answers to a maximum of two typed pages. 

1. Clearly describe the details of your internship work, including the benefits of the proposed work (i.e., what is this internship experience intended to accomplish?).
2. Provide a clear, detailed description of the academic merit of your proposed internship, and how it relates to your stated goals as defined above. Academic merit is defined as ways in which you will further develop your core and advanced technical skill levels as they pertain to your graduate studies and goals.
3. Provide a detailed plan for your internship experience, including proposed deliverables and due dates.
4. Provide a list of potential barriers and/or problems that may slow down or potentially prevent the successful completion of the work outlined for this internship experience.
5. What methods and criteria do you propose for evaluation of this internship? Be specific.

Step 3: Find a full-time CSS faculty member, preferably, one whose research interests are related to the work you will be doing as an intern, and set up a meeting with the faculty member to discuss your goals for the internship (i.e., your answers to the five questions on the CSS 601 Internship Agreement form). If this instructor agrees to be your faculty advisor for the internship, you can proceed with submitting the agreement form electronically: CSS 601 Internship Agreement form. 

Step 4: Once the faculty advisor signs the agreement and is approved, the academic advisor will email the student a faculty code to register for CSS 601.

Step 5: Once registered for course credit, complete a CPT application through the International Student Portal.

Request to Form Supervisory Committee

To enroll in thesis/project credit, all core classes (except CSSSKL 594) must be completed. Students type the information in sections 1, 3, 4 of the form. Submit the completed form with your proposal (section 2) to your committee for review/signature approval. Once all committee members have signed in section 3, this form and proposal must be submitted electronically in one PDF file to the CSS graduate academic advisor by emailing stemgrad@uw.edu. A faculty code will be sent to the student for registration after the CSS graduate program coordinator has also approved the committee/proposal.

For a full explanation of the thesis/project process, including style guides and rubrics, visit the 'Thesis/Project Process" page under the 'Current Students’ section your degree webpage: Computer Science & Software Engineering Thesis/Project Process or Cybersecurity Engineering Thesis/Project Process.

Request to Form Supervisory Committee form