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 or a DocuSign form.

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 10 credits 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 DocuSign form for your CSS graduate academic advisor and program coordinator to review.

DocuSign Form: CSS 400-Level Petition

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.

Google Form: Graduation Petition

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.   

DocuSign Form: CSS 600 Independent Study or Research Contract

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 DocuSign 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 a Supervisory Committee

When a student would like to register for their thesis/project credit(s) they must first form a committee of faculty who will supervise and grade their efforts and results of their work. In order to enroll in thesis/project credit, all core classes (except CSSSKL 594) must be completed. 

Before beginning this form, the first step is to read the degree program’s Thesis/Project Process and then consult with the students' faculty advisor and the CSS graduate advisor to determine which option best aligns with their individual goals. 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 of your degree webpage: Computer Science & Software Engineering Thesis/Project Process or Cybersecurity Engineering Thesis/Project Process.

After the student has identified their proposed committee members (need names and emails ready for the form) and written their thesis or project proposal on a separate document they are ready to send the draft to the supervisory committee. Once you get approval from your comittee, you can begin the form and upload the proposal to the DocuSign form. 

• Follow the proposal format as specified in the Proposal Guideline document found in the degree program’s Thesis/Project Process (linked above). Proposal answers should be as detailed as possible. Minimum length is three pages, excluding the cover sheet. Consult with your chair for more guidance. 
• A supervisory committee will consist of a student’s faculty advisor (who will serve as committee chair) and at least 2 – 3 additional faculty members. At least two of the committee members must be CSS faculty whose primary appointment is in the Division of CSS. The chair and at least one-half of the total membership must be members of the graduate faculty. The student needs to list the names of their supervisory committee on the form. The proposed committee members must sign by their name in order for the form to be sent to the next member to sign. IMPORTANT: the student must fill in the name and email for each committee member's signing role in the exact same order they entered them to access the DocuSign form. If not entered in the same order, they will not be able to sign at the correct signature line. 

After the student completes sections 1 (student information), 2 (proposal attachment and student signature), and lists the names of their supervisory committee in section 3 of the form it will be automatically sent out for review and signature by the supervisory committee (section 3), CSS graduate academic advisor (section 4), and finally the CSS graduate program coordinator (section 5). Once this form is approved, the academic advisor will email the student a faculty code to register for thesis/project credit.

DocuSign Form: Request to Form Supervisory Committee