Apply to CSE 197
- Do you have an offer of employment at an internship?
- No: CSE 197 and CSE 191 complement internships that you have been offered; these courses do not offer internship opportunities.
- If your internship has already started, you are not eligible to enroll in CSE 197. Exception: if you are currently working part-time and have been offered a subsequent full-time internship, please see below.
- Yes: continue below.
- Is your major in CSE?
- No: See your major department for Field Study options. I will not be supervising any students not majoring in CSE for CSE 191 and CSE 197.
- Yes: continue below.
- Does your internship satisfy all of the following criteria:
(1) projects are related to your CSE major,
(2) full-time (at least 30 hours of work each week and at least 8 weeks long),
(3) paid, (4) on-site, hybrid, or remote work, (5) with a designated company mentor / supervisor.
- No: You are not eligible for CSE 197 but may be able to enroll in CSE 191.
- Yes: continue below.
- Have you enrolled in CSE 197 before?
- Yes: A student may earn 4 units of elective credit once for CSE 197. If you are interested in academic credit for the purpose of international student CPT requirements, enroll in CSE 191 instead of CSE 197.
- No: continue below.
- Will you be part of a cohort of interns at your company participating in an established internship program?
- No: Prepare a paragraph explaining (1) how your employment is different from a full-time / regular job, (2) the learning goals you have for your time at the company, and (3) the structures available from your employer to help you meet these goals. Depending on this information, you may or may not be eligible for CSE 197.
- Yes: continue below.
- Will this be your first time employed by this company?
- No: Prepare a paragraph explaining (1) how your employment is different from a full-time / regular job, and (2) the learning goals you have for your new internship (as opposed to your previous internship(s) at this company). Depending on this information, you may or may not be eligible for CSE 197.
- If you currently work at the company part-time: you may still be eligible to take CSE 197 with a full-time internship at the same company. However, you must confirm that your full-time internship will be supervised by a mentor at the company and that there will be educational and/or novel components to your work that distinguish your experience from the part-time work before it.
- Yes: continue below.
- Are you planning to be in San Diego in the Fall (following your internship)?
- No: Where are you planning to be during the Fall quarter? You may still be eligible to enroll in CSE 197 but may have to complete alternate work in lieu of presenting at the Summer Internship Symposium. You must notify me before enrolling in the course that you are interested in this option.
- Yes: there will be a Summer Internship Symposium (date and details TBA) where each student will be expected to present their internship and CSE 197 experiences. If you plan to enroll in CSE 197, stay tuned for the date of the symposium and make sure you have no schedule conflicts.
- At least one week before the start date of your internship: Fill out the 2024 application form to record the details of your internship.
- During the enrollment period for the quarter in which you enroll in CSE 197: Complete EASy (Request Type: Special Studies) Upload your internship offer letter as part of your EASy request. Your documentation should include confirmation that your internship is technical in nature and meets the eligibility criteria above. If your formal offer letter doesn't include key pieces of information (e.g. start and end dates), also upload other documentation from the company that does.
- If relevant, submit an iPortal request for CPT approval.
- At least one week before the start date of your internship: Fill out the 2024 application form to record the details of your internship.
- During the enrollment period for the quarter in which you enroll in CSE 197: Complete EASy (Request Type: Special Studies) Upload your internship offer letter as part of your EASy request. Your documentation should include confirmation that your internship is technical in nature and meets the eligibility criteria above. If your formal offer letter doesn't include key pieces of information (e.g. start and end dates), also upload other documentation from the company that does.
- If relevant, submit an iPortal request for CPT approval.
Filling out the EASy form:
- Quarter: Term you wish to add CSE 197 to your schedule (not necessarily the term during which you are at your internship; see FAQ).
- Request Type: Special Studies
- Department/Program: Computer Science and Engineering
- Course: CSE 197 - Field Study-Computer Sci&Engin
- Instructor: Minnes Kemp, Mor Mia
- Section: To be assigned by Office of the Registrar
- Grading Option: Pass/Not Pass
- Requested Total Number of Units: 4 units = 120 hours of research over the course of the quarter (approximately 12 hours/week)
- Number of units previously received for this project: 0
- Prerequisite course work or knowledge for this project: [[Fill in the qualifications from the job ad for the internship position you will have]]
- Nature and frequency of contact (hours per week): Full time internship + regular reflections
- Means of Evaluation (paper, final, etc.): Weekly assignments and final project
- Proposed plan:[[Fill in the name of the company and your job title for the internship. Include details of the projects you'll be working on (if available).]]
- Supporting documentation: Upload a PDF of your offer letter that includes your internship start and end dates.
Once you complete the application process described above, the EASy request for CSE 197 will be routed to obtain the appropriate approvals: typically the instructor and the Department approvals are required; if a student doesn't meet the course requirements (minimum GPA 2.5 and at least 90 units), or if adding CSE 197 would cause student to exceed unit limits (4 units of Special Studies per quarter and 22 units total per quarter) then college approval is also required. If approved, the Office of the Registrar will enroll students in the course. The student will be notified via email that they have been approved to enroll. Make sure to enroll for the class P/NP ; students who complete the course successfully and enroll for a letter grade will be assigned a B by default.
Once you are notified by the CSE Student Affairs and/or Prof. Minnes that your application has been approved, you will be considered part of the CSE 197 cohort (regardless of when you officially add CSE 197 to your TritonLink schedule). Check your @ucsd.edu email regularly for course updates.
Quick Link to Course Assignments
CSE 197 Course Requirements
Course Overview
Through CSE 197, you will identify and deepen the connections between your UC San Diego coursework and real world problems. You will also reflect on the growth of your professional, problem-solving, and technical skills over the internship. You will share your experiences with other student interns and discuss multiple perspectives in groups. The goal is that sharing these experiences communally will enhance each of your internships.
Each weekly post should have quick notes (bullet points are fine) and a deeper reflection (at least 300 words, but more is fine). Keep your posts well-organized and easy to read. The title of each post should include your name, group name, and the week number. (See Assignments for a description of your group name.) The last weekly post has a special prompt and should be titled Last week.
Every week, you'll also read your group members' posts. Pick at least two posts and respond to them with specific questions: what do you want to know more about, and why?
Near the completion of your internship, you will prepare a poster highlighting key achievements of your internship. These posters will be presented at the Summer Internship Symposium during Fall Quarter.
In your writing in this course, be honest, empathetic, and analytical about your experiences.
- Honest
- Be truthful about your experiences and your reactions to these experiences.
- Empathetic
- Listen openly to the experiences of others and offer your support.
- Analytical
- Go deep with your reflections and look for (perhaps surprising or unexpected) connections.
You need to read, understand, and follow the instructions here in order to pass the class. There may not be warnings during the term if you are not on track to satisfy all requirements.
Learning Goals
By the end of CSE 197 students will have demonstrated the ability to:- Select appropriate techniques from their coursework to solve real world problems.
- Apply their coursework to solve real world problems in the real world.
- Identify their personal areas of strength and weakness in solving real world problems.
- Work effectively as a member of a large project team.
- Identify resources for solving problems that arise, and then independently solve these problems.
- Communicate effectively in written form about technical problems and solutions.
- Demonstrate professional and ethical behavior.
Required Activities
- When you are hired for your internship, apply to join CSE 197 (Link to application).
- Before your first day, complete the Week 0 assignment (Link to assignments).
- At the end of each workday, make a short diary entry (reflection) on your activities. You will not be posting these entries publicly, though I may ask to see them at some point. As you write, pay special attention to: what knowledge you applied from your UC San Diego education; problems, frustrations, successes, key moments; any professional or ethical dilemmas.
- At the end of each week (e.g., Friday afternoon or evening), write and post a reflection for the week (at least 350 words), following the weekly prompts.
- Read the other posted reflections by Monday morning. For at least two of your group members, pose a question to the writer of the reflection: what would you like to hear more about in what they described? Why? You might also offer a thoughtful comment on how their experience resonated or contrasted with your own. Note: since you and your group members may have different internship start dates, you may be responding to different prompts each week. That's ok! Use the comments and followups to engage in discussions about your shared experiences.
- At the end of the term you will prepare a poster highlighting special achievements over your internship. Depending on your enrolment and other circumstances, you will either present your poster at the Summer Internship Symposium during Fall quarter OR you will prepare a written alternative final assignment for the course.
Minimum Passing Threshold
This class is offered P/NP only (no letter grade option*). To pass the course, you must pass each of the following required components:
- Professional behavior
All supporting documentation is submitted promptly, assignments are submitted on time, work presented is consistent with the UC San Diego policy on academic integrity (in particular, information shared about the internship experience is truthful and also respectful of any professional obligations for nondisclosure).
Any violations of academic integrity or company nondisclosure agreements will result in failing the class.
Initial logistics: If your week 0 post is not complete and on Piazza within one week of your start date, you cannot pass the class.
- Weekly reflections and group discussions
-
Work is thoughtful, respectful, and satisfies all criteria laid out in the assignments.
Daily reflections: You must spend at least 5 minutes reflecting on your internship on at least 50% of the work days of your internship. Dishonest or incorrect reporting of the time spent on these reflections is considered a violation of academic integrity in this class.
Slip days for weekly reflections: Weekly reflections are due each week of your internship on Sunday 11:59pm anywhere on Earth. Over the duration of your internship, you may use up to 3*(number of weeks in your internship) slip days from these deadlines.
For example, for a 10 week internship, if you post all of your weekly reflections on time for the first 8 weeks, you may post the last two weeks' reflections up to one month late.
Alternatively, during a 12 week internship, you may routinely post your weekly reflection on Monday instead of Sunday evening and still have a few slip days left over. Other configurations are okay, so long as they don't exceed the slip day allotment.
You must submit each weekly reflection, even if it is late. Slip days will continue to accrue on an assignment past its deadline and until it is submitted.
- Final assignment
- Summer Internship Symposium poster or alternative assignment satisfies all required criteria, as does attendance and presentation at the Symposium and completion of required forms.
*If a letter grade needs to be assigned, the default passing grade used will be a B. Check with TritonLink to make sure you enroll as P/NP.
Course Credit
A student may earn 4 units of elective credit once for CSE 197. To earn credit for CSE 197 the student must be engaged in an approved full-time, on site/remote/hybrid internship and supervised by a faculty member following the approved syllabus. Students may not earn elective credit for CSE 197 with a part-time or short-term internship.
Students with Summer internships may enroll for CSE 197 either in the Special Summer Session or in the Fall Quarter. Students with CPT requirements must enroll in CSE 197 concurrently with their internship. Regardless, the work for CSE 197 will be coupled with the Summer internship and the bulk of CSE 197 must be completed while on-site at the internship.
CSE 197 Assignments
- Week 0 - Logistics: Piazza introduction, company consent, and groups
- Week 1 - Technical Skills
- Week 2 - Personal and Professional Growth
- Week 3 - Ethics and Society
- Week 4 - Technical Skills
- Week 5 - Personal and Professional Growth
- Week 6 - Ethics and Society
- Week 7 - Technical Skills
- Week 8 - Personal and Professional Growth
- Week 9 - Ethics and Society
- Week 10 - Technical Skills
- Week 11 - Personal and Professional Growth
- Week 12 - Ethics and Society
- After week 12
- This prompt should be answered for each week at your internship after week 12 and before the last week at your internship
- Last week
- This prompt should be answered after your last week at the internship
- Final assignment
Week 0
All of the following must be completed before you start your internship.- Get started on Piazza
-
Sign up for the Piazza Discussion Forum for the summer: https://piazza.com/ucsd/summer2024/cse197
Post an introductory note. The title/summary of the post should be: Introduction: FIRST NAME LAST NAME The folder of the note should be "intro", so that other students can find your post easily. Your introduction should include:
- Your background: name, year, favorite UC San Diego courses so far (not necessarily just CSE), plans after graduation, etc.
- An introduction to your internship: where will you be working? What are you most excited about? Do you have any prior experience?
- Two things you are doing to prepare for the internship.
- Reflect on your goals and motivations
- Fill out this survey before your first day of work: https://forms.gle/DKsxHDoH9dRKHnm87
- Obtain permission from your company
-
You will need your company's consent for your participation in CSE 197. Share our class website (this page!) with your manager or supervisor to describe the course activities. If your company has concerns about your participation in the course, I can work with them to look for reasonable accommodations to allow you to participate in CSE 197. However, it is possible that some companies will disallow their interns from sharing any information about the internship experience; in such a situation, the affected students would need to withdraw from CSE 197.
Fill out this form to document receiving consent from your company to participate in CSE 197: https://forms.gle/PiUejxrCtyuks2rX6
If you cannot complete this step until you arrive at your internship and meet your supervisor directly, be extremely careful about you share about your plans and company on Piazza until you clear it. You must have your company's permission to participate in this course before the end of the first week of your internship.
- Find your group
-
Each week, you will share your reflections and experiences with other students in CSE 197. You can pick your own group members: groups should have three to ten members. To find teammates, you can read other students' introduction notes on Piazza, and/or use Piazza's "Find a Teammate" post, and/or form a group with people you already know who are taking the class this term.
Once you have your group, decide on a group name. Each group member needs to fill out this form to officially join the group: https://forms.gle/eX7TX4N8HBUeTzkT8
If new members join a group after some members have already submitted the form, the new members should submit the form with the updated group information. The original members of the group do not need to resubmit the form.
- Ready, set, go...
- Have a great start to your internship!
Week 1 - Technical Skills
- Quick notes
- On what did you spend your time this week?
- Reflection
- What are your learning goals for this internship? What will you do to work towards these goals?
Week 2 - Personal and Professional Growth
- Quick notes
- What interpersonal accomplishments are you most proud of so far?
- Reflection
- Share an example of interpersonal struggle from your internship experience. How is it similar or different to an instance of interpersonal struggle you have faced at UC San Diego? How might you approach such a challenge differently in the future?
Week 3 - Ethics and Society
- Quick notes
- Think back to your internship search process. What attributes of an internship or company were important to you? To what extent did you research the values and ethical stances of companies you considered?
- Reflection
- What values are important for professionals in the tech industry to uphold? How do you translate your personal ethical values to your work?
Week 4 - Technical Skills
- Quick notes
- What technical accomplishments are you most proud of this week?
- Reflection
- Describe a technical struggle from this week. What were your expectations about the struggle and/or your ability to overcome it? Did they help or hinder your ability to overcome it? How might you approach such a challenge differently in the future?
Week 5 - Personal and Professional Growth
- Quick notes
- Think back to before you landed this internship. Describe the roles of the many different people that you communicated with while you were searching for and securing the internship. Include those at your company, at UC San Diego, and beyond.
- Reflection
- Do you identify as a Computer Scientist? Is there another part of your life that you more readily identify with? Are there situations when you are more or less likely to think of yourself as a computer scientist? (If you prefer, you can replace "Computer Scientist" with "Engineer" or "Developer" in the above questions.)
Week 6 - Ethics and Society
- Quick notes
- In what ways does your company communicate to you its norms and expectations for professional and ethical behavior?
- Reflection
- Describe a recent newsworthy example of a company that is facing an ethical question or issue. (Choose a company from the sector in which you’re working.) What impacts do public ethical dilemmas have on how you act as a professional? How do they change how you see your role as a professional?
Week 7 - Technical Skills
- Quick notes
- What technologies have you been working with you? What strategies do you use to learn unfamiliar tools or technologies?
- Reflection
- What coursework from UC San Diego (whether in CSE or in other courses) has been most useful for you in your internship so far? In what ways? Were you surprised by any connections?
Week 8 - Personal and Professional Growth
If this week was the last week of your internship: use the "Last Week" prompt instead of the prompt here.
- Quick notes
- What personal and interpersonal accomplishments are you most proud of so far?
- Reflection
- In what ways can lessons learned during your internship impact your approach to interpersonal interactions at UC San Diego (with teammates, classmates, instructors, etc.)?
Week 9 - Ethics and Society
If this week was the last week of your internship: use the "Last Week" prompt instead of the prompt here.
- Quick notes
- In what ways has your internship affected the people around you and the world more generally?
- Reflection
- What impact would you like to make on the world through your professional activities? How important is it to you that your work have an impact on others? In what ways has your internship experience changed your thinking about this?
Week 10 - Technical Skills
If this week was the last week of your internship: use the "Last Week" prompt instead of the prompt here.
- Quick notes
- What are the roles of each of the team members you interact with regularly. What technical skills are important in each role?
- Reflection
- Looking forward, what has this internship taught you about the role you would like to play in your career? What technical skills would you like to develop to work towards this role?
Week 11 - Personal and Professional Growth
If this week was the last week of your internship: use the "Last Week" prompt instead of the prompt here.
- Quick notes
- What does your company / manager / supervisor do to motivate you and your team members and to create a positive work environment?
- Reflection
- Think back to the moments in your internship where you have felt most motivated and energized about your work. What sparked this motivation? In what ways has your level of motivation and personal engagement affected your success at your internship and at UC San Diego?
Week 12 - Ethics and Society
If this week was the last week of your internship: use the "Last Week" prompt instead of the prompt here.
- Quick notes
- What steps do you take to ensure that the products you are creating have a positive impact?
- Reflection
- To what extent should computer scientists and software engineers be accountable to society for the ways in which their products are used?
After Week 12
Use this prompt every week after week 12 NOT INCLUDING the last week of your internship
- Revisit a previous week's theme
- Pick a theme from a previous week. Answer the "Quick notes" prompt based on your experiences this week. How have your thoughts on the reflection topic changed or evolved over the past ten weeks? Specifically address questions raised by your group-mates following up on your post OR find a blog post / newspaper article / journal publication related to the theme, link it, and discuss why you find it compelling.
Last Week
- Quick notes
- What was most meaningful to you in this internship?
- Reflection
-
[[If you are not graduating after this internship: ]] In what ways will your attitude toward your studies at UC San Diego change as a result of your internship? How will your experiences this summer shape your approach to next quarter and beyond?
[[If you are graduating after this internship: ]] In what ways have your studies and your internship this summer complemented each other? Based on your internship experience, what is one recommendation you have for students who will be back at UC San Diego next quarter?
- What's next?
- Congratulations on completing your internship! You have one more assignment for CSE 197.
Final Assignment
- Submitting poster + final documents
- To access this Google form, you will need to be logged in to your @ucsd.edu or @eng.ucsd.edu account.
Final document upload form 2024 (TBD) - If you're enrolled in CSE 197 during Special Summer Session
- Your final assignment has two parts:
- Poster: Contents, formatting, samples, and resources available below; the poster will be submitted via the "Final document upload form" by September 13, 2024.
- Concluding reflection: Your final paper must be submitted via the "Final document upload form" by September 13, 2024.
- If you have a summer internship and are enrolled in CSE 197 during Fall quarter
- Your final assignment has three parts:
- Poster: Contents, formatting, samples, and resources available below; the poster must be submitted via the "Final document upload form" by Wednesday September 18, 2024 so that it can be processed in time for the Symposium.
- Summer Internship Symposium: All students with summer internships who are enrolled in CSE 197 are expected to present during the Summer Internship Symposium. If you have documented reasons you cannot attend the Summer Internship Symposium (Date TBA), you may complete the concluding reflection instead of participating in this symposium. The deadline for this alternate assignment is October 30, 2024. You will still need to complete and submit the poster and final course survey whether or not you participate in the Symposium or complete the alternate assignment.
- Final survey: will be emailed out in Week 7 of Fall quarter; it must be completed by the end of Week 10 to pass CSE 197.
- If you have an academic-year internship or are enrolled during Winter or Spring
- Your final assignment has two parts:
- Poster: Contents, formatting, samples, and resources available below; the poster will be submitted via the "Final document upload form" by Friday of Week 10 in the quarter in which you are enrolled.
- Concluding reflection: Your final paper must be submitted via the "Final document upload form" by Friday of Week 10 in the quarter in which you are enrolled.
Concluding Reflection Paper (alternate final assignment)
Write a one- to two- page report reflecting on your internship experience. In this report, address (at least) each of the following.
- Technical Skills: Pick one of weeks 1,4,7,10. Re-read your post for this week, as well as all your group members' posts for this week and all follow-up discussion within your group. Summarize common themes in these reflections. Mention differences of opinion within your group, and articulate why you support your own point of view. Comment on how your thoughts about these themes have changed, deepened, or been reinforced over the course of the internship.
- Personal and Professional Growth: Pick one of weeks 2,5,8,11. Re-read your post for this week, as well as all your group members' posts for this week and all follow-up discussion within your group. Summarize common themes in these reflections. Mention differences of opinion within your group, and articulate why you support your own point of view. Comment on how your thoughts about these themes have changed, deepened, or been reinforced over the course of the internship.
- Ethics & Society: Pick one of weeks 3,6,9,12. Re-read your post for this week, as well as all your group members' posts for this week and all follow-up discussion within your group. Summarize common themes in these reflections. Mention differences of opinion within your group, and articulate why you support your own point of view. Comment on how your thoughts about these themes have changed, deepened, or been reinforced over the course of the internship.
- Goals: Identify one or two specific goals that you have for your continued studies and career that were inspired by your internship experience. Outline some concrete plans to work toward these goals.
Posters: Requirements and Resources
Your poster should sum up your key lessons learned at the internship and engage or teach your audience. The audience for your poster includes: your peers in CSE 197, first- and second-year CSE majors who want to learn about internships, your CSE professors, and industry professionals. Design your poster so that it speaks to each one of these groups. Incorporate text and graphics in your poster to make it visually appealing.
If you created a poster as part of your internship, you might be able to reuse some of the poster text. But, you must also address specific UC San Diego connections to answer all of the questions below. We will print this poster for you if you participate in the Summer Internship Symposium.
- Required poster content
-
- Your name, your company's name, start and end dates, company location.
- A completely nontechnical (jargon-free) two-sentence description of your internship project. (This description may be vague if necessary to satisfy non-disclosure rules.)
- Technical Skills: Clearly describe a technical challenge you or your team faced and your personal contributions to overcoming it. Be precise and accessible to a general audience.
- Personal and Professional Growth: What were the main lessons you learned about working in a professional setting and/or on a team? Give personal examples to illustrate these lessons.
- Ethics & Society: Give a specific example of way(s) in which your project or the segment of the industry you were working in positively impacts the world.
- Connection to UC San Diego: What techniques from your coursework did you apply to solve real world problems? What will you bring back from the internship experience to the continuation of your education at UC San Diego?
- Optional additional content
- Perks and highlights of your company. Surprises from your internship. Useful technical tools you used to complete your project. Inspirational quotes or messages. Struggles or challenges and how you overcame them. Lessons learned from 1-1 or informational interviews with mentors at your company.
- Supervisor/Manager/Mentor approval
- When you submit the poster, you will need to affirm that you have shown it to your supervisor and that they consent to its submission. If you will be working on the poster after your internship concludes, make sure you record contact information for your supervisor / manager so that you can get their approval for the poster.
- Formatting guidelines
-
- Your poster filename should be LASTNAME.FIRSTNAME.YEAR.pdf . Your name must appear somewhere on your poster.
- You will submit a PDF file of your poster via a Google form.
- The poster must be formatted to be 3 feet across and 2 feet high (in landscape orientation).
- Check the dimensions of your file size either in Acrobat or Preview. Posters that are too small or too large may not be printed.
- You may use as many colors as you like in your poster. The maximum file size is 10MB.
- Resources for posters
-
- Selected posters from previous years' Summer Internship Symposium are available on the website.
- Powerpoint is popular for symposium-style posters. One source for templates is https://www.posternerd.com/sciposters-templates
- Overleaf, the online IDE for LaTeX, has many templates available: https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/tagged/poster
- Disclaimer: many templates and resource pages are designed with a standard science research presentation in mind, where the process is based on the scientific method. Since your symposium presentation will not necessarily fit into this category, pick and choose which pieces of advice are relevant.