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THE COMPUTER SCIENCE PhD PROGRAM AT CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY August 2021 approved by Venkatesan Guruswami Srinivasan Seshan Computer Science Department Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Contents 1 Welcome 4 2 Introduction 4 2.1 Program Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.2 Academic Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3 Overview of the Program 5 3.1 Primary Components to Complete Degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4 The Introductory Course For CS Doctoral Students 7 5 Community Spirit 7 6 Advisors 8 6.1 How are Advisor–Advisee Matches Made? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 Directed Research 9 7.1 Directed Research Expectations All Students Should Meet . . . . 9 8 Evaluation of Student’s Progress 10 8.1 Doctoral Student Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 8.2 Components and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 8.3 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 8.4 Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 8.5 Course Drop, Add, Withdraw procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 9 Course Requirements 13 9.1 Five Breadth Subject Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 9.2 Breadth Course Substitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 9.3 Twenty-Four Elective Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 9.4 Transfer Courses and PCHE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 10 Teaching Requirement 15 10.1 Evaluation and Certification of English Fluency for Instructors . 15 11 Written and Oral Communication Skills 16 11.1 Writing Skills Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 11.1.1 The Writing Skills Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 11.1.2 Benefits of the blog post format of writing skills requirement 17 11.1.3 Composition of writing skills committee . . . . . . . . . . 18 11.1.4 Process to satisfy the writing requirement . . . . . . . . . 18 11.1.5 Committee criteria for evaluation of post . . . . . . . . . 19 11.1.6 Resources to Help with Technical Writing . . . . . . . . . 20 11.2 Speaking Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 1 1 Welcome While this handbook is specific to your academic experience in our department, there are several other resources and offices graduate students are encouraged to consult during their tenure at Carnegie Mellon University. Information about The Word, the student handbook, the Office of Graduate and Postdoc Affairs, the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs and others are included in Appendices of this handbook. 2 Introduction Carnegie Mellon’s Computer Science PhD program aims to produce well-educated researchers, teachers, and future leaders in Computer Science. The PhD degree is a certification by the faculty that the student has a broad education in Com- puter Science and has performed original research in a topic at the forefront of the field. This document is an informal description of the Computer Science PhD pro- gram; herein “we” refers to all the faculty and staff involved in the PhD program. We are committed to the principle that students may achieve competence through a variety of methods, including courses, seminars, projects, and inde- pendent study. Our program is also unique in that we encourage and expect students to engage in research from their first day in the Department. To help students fulfill these requirements, we provide these educational opportunities: • An active research environment • The Introductory Course For CS Doctoral Students, intended to give an overview of the research interests of the faculty and to familiarize new students with the people and facilities of the Department • A large number of graduate courses: regularly offered area courses in algo- rithms and complexity, artificial intelligence, computer systems, program- ming languages, and software systems; advanced graduate area courses; special topics courses; practicum courses; and reading seminars—together covering a broad range of areas in Computer Science Students are encouraged to shape an educational program to suit their needs. Financial support and/or permission to continue in the PhD program depends on satisfactory progress each semester 4 2.1 Program Personnel • Department Head: Srinvasan Seshan • Director of the Doctoral Program: Venkatesan Guruswami • Graduate Programs Manager: Deb Cavlovich • TA Coordinator: Charlie Garrod • Student Ombudspersons: Alex Wang and Pallavi Koppol 2.2 Academic Calendar The Academic Calendar can be found at: https://www.cmu.edu/hub/calendar/ index.html. It provides information on all deadlines including registration dates, class start dates, add/drop deadlines, exam dates and more. 3 Overview of the Program Carnegie Mellon’s PhD in Computer Science is, above all, a research degree. When the faculty award a PhD, they certify that the student has a broad foun- dation in Computer Science, has advanced the field by performing significant original research, and has reported that work in a scholarly fashion. Before embarking on original research, we expect students to acquire a body of technical knowledge that includes a familiarity with the breadth of Computer Science as well as a deep understanding of a specialized area. • The Introductory Course For CS Doctoral Students is the first step in this process, exposing the student to the many ongoing research activities and projects in the Department and School. • Next, through structured coursework the student gains a broad under- standing of the fundamental research issues in major areas of Computer Science, and has the opportunity to gain a deep understanding in the student’s area of specialization. • Finally, the thesis work itself guarantees that the student understands the area well enough to advance the state of knowledge in the field. Below we sketch the progress of a typical student through the program. Since the program is flexible, the careers of some students depart from this script at one or more points. Around the start of October of the first year, each student is matched with a suitable advisor, who helps the student pursue directed research in an area of mutual interest. If the student’s research interests change, they are free to change advisors at any time, subject to approval. 5 During the first two years of the program, the student begins to gain the foundation of knowledge that will allow their to go on and become an expert researcher in Computer Science, primarily through the following two ways: • By mastering a body of graduate material, achieved by passing 72 univer- sity units worth of graduate courses. Seventy-two units is equivalent to six full-time (12-unit) courses. • By learning how to organize and begin to carry out original research, achieved by participating in directed research. What constitutes directed research is decided individually between the student and their advisor. Twice, usually during the first three or four years, the student serves as a teaching assistant. While teaching or taking courses, we expect students to spend at least half their time doing directed research. Our environment provides a myriad of opportunities for students to hone their writing and speaking abilities and to maintain their programming skills. We expect students to satisfy their communications skills requirements within their first three years. Each 12-unit course should require no more than a quarter of the student’s time during any one semester. So, typically a student tries to complete all coursework by the end of two years, at which point the student becomes involved in full-time research and starts thinking about research directions for a thesis. As the student’s thesis research direction becomes clear, the student writes a thesis proposal and assembles a thesis committee with help from the student’s advisor. The student then completes and defends the thesis, and graduates. 3.1 Primary Components to Complete Degree We require that each student: • Participate in directed research and complete at least 24 units of research at CMU or at an internship. • Pass 72 university units worth of graduate courses, with certain distribu- tion requirements. • Serve as a teaching assistant at least twice. • Demonstrate oral and written communication skills. • Write and orally defend a thesis, a significant piece of original research in a specialized area of Computer Science. The PhD program provides each student with a periodic evaluation of their progress. Continuation in the PhD program is contingent on making satisfactory progress. 6 7 Directed Research Students and advisors have different ideas of what directed research means and how progress can be demonstrated. It is the responsibility of both the student and their advisor to formulate for each semester a set of reasonable goals, plans, and criteria for success in conducting directed research. 7.1 Directed Research Expectations All Students Should Meet • During a student’s first two years, they should be doing directed research at least half time; once all coursework is completed, and before doing thesis research, directed research should full time (except when teaching). • We typically expect students to also use the summer semester to make progress on their PhD research. Students can either work on their research at CMU, as part of an internship at a company, or at another research center to make this progress. • There are official course numbers associated with both directed research at CMU and internships. Active students (excludes, LOA and ABS status; Dual Degree Portugal students; and students on vacation semester) must enroll in these courses each semester and will receive a pass/fail grade. • Active students are required to complete 24-48 units of Graduate Reading and Research each Fall, Spring and Summer semester. • During any semester, students may substitute up to 36 units of Computer Science Practicum for these research units. • Students typically substitute practicum units for research units 3-4 times during their PhD degree program. • Substituting more than 4 times requires approval from the PhD program director. • International students must consult with Office of International Education (OIE) for eligibility before seeking an internship/practicum or signing an offer contract. Note that neither research or practicum units count towards the 72 unit coursework requirement. Advisors are individually responsible for adequately supervising this portion of the PhD program. 9 8 Evaluation of Student’s Progress Evaluation and feedback on a student’s progress are important both to the student and to the faculty. Students need information on their overall progress to make long-range plans. The faculty need to make evaluations to advise students, to make support decisions, and to write recommendations to potential employers. 8.1 Doctoral Student Review The faculty hold a Doctoral Student Review (DSR) meeting1twice a year at the end of the semester to make a formal evaluation of each student in the PhD program. The purpose of having the advising faculty meet together to discuss all the students is to ensure uniformity and consistency in evaluating across all the dif- ferent areas, by all the different advisors, throughout the years of the PhD pro- gram in CSD as it inevitably changes. The meeting consists of two parts, one in which subsets of the faculty from different research areas (Artificial Intelligence, Computer Systems, Program- ming Languages, Software Systems, and Theory) meet, and the other in which the all advising faculty meet. The faculty measure each student’s progress against the goal of completing the PhD program in a reasonable period of time. The evaluation considers all components of the program using indicators and information sources described below. Through a Doctoral Student Review letter the faculty inform students of the results of this evaluation, which may include specific recommendations for future work or requirements that must be met for continued participation in the program. 8.2 Components and Indicators In their evaluation, the faculty consider the following components, though nat- urally only some of these components will be applicable in any given semester and they are not equally important at every stage of a student’s career. • Courses taken: Evaluated by the course instructor—brief prose evalua- tion/summary grade. • Directed research: Evaluated by research supervisor and other collaborat- ing faculty. • Teaching: Evaluated by the course instructor and two different teaching evaluation forms (one filled out by the course instructor and the other filled out by students, where appropriate). • Skills: Writing and speaking, evaluated by relevant faculty and forms. 10 • Thesis: Status summarized by the thesis advisor and commented on by members of the thesis committee. • Departmental/community service: Reported by the student and evaluated by relevant faculty. • Other: Lectures given, papers written, etc. Evaluated by cognizant fac- ulty. The faculty’s primary source of information about the student is the stu- dent’s advisor and the student statement. The advisor is responsible for as- sembling the above information and presenting it at the faculty meeting. The student should make sure the advisor is informed about participation in activ- ities and research progress made during the semester. Each student is asked to submit a summary of this information to the faculty at the end of each semester—the Student Statement for Doctoral Student Review at https://dsr. csd.cmu.edu. This statement is used as student input to the evaluation process and as factual information on activities and becomes part of the internal student record. It is strongly recommended that the student and advisor meet prior to the faculty meeting to review the information provided in this statement. 8.3 Recommendations Based on the above information, the faculty decide whether a student is making satisfactory progress in the PhD program. If so, the faculty usually suggest goals for the student to achieve over the next semester. If not, the faculty make more rigid demands of the student; these may be long-term (e.g., finish your thesis research over the next 3 semesters) or short-term (e.g., select and complete one or more specific courses next semester; prepare a thesis proposal by the next Doctoral Student Review). Ultimately, permission to continue in the PhD program is contingent on whether or not the student continues to make satisfactory progress toward the degree. If a student is not making satisfactory progress, the faculty may choose to drop the student from the program. The faculty also decide whether financial support should be continued for each student. Termination of support does not always mean termination from the program, details regarding termination of support are provided in the stu- dent’s evaluation letter. 11 9.3 Twenty-Four Elective Units Students must also take 24 university units worth of elective courses, at least 12 of which are from graduate courses offered by the School of Computer Science (not just the Computer Science Department); the other 12 may be from graduate courses offered by the rest of the University. These graduate courses must be level 700 or above. Students may use electives to gain additional depth of knowledge in the student’s research area, e.g., to complement their directed research or to pre- pare them for choosing a thesis topic. Students may also use electives to gain additional breadth of knowledge in an area outside of the student’s research area. Though students typically take courses to satisfy the elective units require- ment, there are three other means of passing these units: doing an internal project, carrying out an external project, or teaching a graduate course. In some areas such as algorithms, it might make more sense to take advanced courses; in other areas such as software systems, it might make more sense to do a project. For those who like to reinforce knowledge by teaching, we provide the opportunity to obtain elective credit by being a teaching assistant. We strongly advise students to choose electives in consultation with their ad- visor. The student and their advisor are both responsible for making sure that through these 24 elective units the student gains new knowledge, perhaps to fill gaps or to prepare for thesis research. They are also responsible for balancing how a student fulfills these units (through courses, projects, or teaching), taking into consideration the student’s career goals, the student’s strengths and weak- nesses in research, teaching, communication skills, and programming ability. Students are free to take more than the required number of elective units. 9.4 Transfer Courses and PCHE The Computer Science Department does not generally accept transfer credit from institutions other than Carnegie Mellon to count toward degree attainment. Carnegie Mellon University offers students the opportunity to take courses for credit through a cross-registration program with the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education (PCHE) and Cross-registration, which might be allowed as an elective selection with confirmation that the course is a PhD level course and approval from Doctoral Program Director. The Carnegie Mellon University transcript will include information on such courses as follows: Carnegie Mellon courses and courses taken through the uni- versity’s cross-registration program will have grades recorded on the transcript and be factored into the QPA for programs that use QPA. All other courses will be recorded on this transcript indicating where the course was taken, but without grades. Such courses will not be taken into account for academic ac- tions, honors or QPA calculations. (Note: suspended students may take courses elsewhere; however, they may receive transfer credit only if their college’s and department’s policies allow this.) 14 10 Teaching Requirement The ability to teach is an important skill for all scientists, not only for those who plan to teach after completing their degrees. Teaching skills include the ability to communicate technical material ranging from elementary to advanced, and to communicate technical material to audiences ranging from general to specialized. Thus, we expect students to develop and exercise teaching skills as part of their graduate education. Students have ample opportunities to present advanced material while work- ing on research projects, by participating in research seminars and by giving practice conference talks. To gain experience in presenting more elementary material, we require that all graduate students help teach two courses. The norm is for students to teach one introductory-level undergraduate course and one advanced-level undergraduate course. Current policy (which is subject to change from semester to semester) is that graduate breadth courses in the Com- puter Science Department with an enrollment of 20 or more are also eligible for TA credit. In particular, courses in other units in the School of Computer Sci- ence, or advanced graduate courses are not eligible for satisfying the teaching requirement. It is important that all teaching that is to count towards the teaching re- quirement must be assigned and approved in advance by the TA Coordinator. Students’ preferences will be taken into account, but cannot always be honored. We encourage students to teach more than twice. At the semi-annual eval- uation of students the faculty give special recognition to those who do an out- standing job as a TA and to those who teach beyond the required load. The School of Computer Science offers a TA workshop which we encourage students to take advantage of. General information about TA-ing can be found at: https://www.ugrad. cs.cmu.edu/ta/general.html 10.1 Evaluation and Certification of English Fluency for Instructors Graduate students are required to have a certain level of fluency in English before they can instruct in Pennsylvania, as required by the English Fluency in Higher Education Act of 1990. Through this Act, all institutions of higher education in the state are required to evaluate and certify the English fluency of all instructional personnel, including teaching assistants and interns. The full university policy can be reviewed at: https://www.cmu.edu/policies/ faculty/evaluation-certification-english-fluency-instructors.html The fluency of all student instructional personnel will be rated by Language Support in the Student Academic Success Center to determine at what level of responsibility the student can TA. In addition to administering the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Test (a mandatory screening test for any non-native speaker of English), Language 15 Support in the Student Academic Success Center helps teaching assistants who are non-native English speakers develop fluency and cultural understanding to teach successfully at Carnegie Mellon. Visit the Student Academic Success Center website for additional informa- tion: https://www.cmu.edu/student-success/ 11 Written and Oral Communication Skills To be a well-rounded computer scientist each student should have not just basic knowledge, but also the abilities • To communicate technical ideas clearly in writing • To communicate technical ideas clearly orally We also expect students to be able to program, but there is no formal check- point to certify programming skills. It is left up to the advisor and student to make sure the student has the necessary skills. 11.1 Writing Skills Requirement 11.1.1 The Writing Skills Document To satisfy the written communication skill requirement the student must write a solo-authored technical blog post on current research and have it approved by a 3-person committee. Once approval is logged it will be posted to the http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~csd-phd-blog/. It is strongly suggested that the writing skills be completed by the end of the 3rd year in the doctoral program. In any case, the writing skills requirement must be completed before the thesis proposal. The writing skills cannot be the thesis proposal, though it might inform a future thesis proposal. The following describes the intended audience, content, and writing format required of a blog post submission: • Target audience: The post should be written at a level so that any interested advanced computer science student finding the blog can get something useful out of it. A good yardstick might be your fellow CSD doctoral students who are not necessarily in your own research area. • Suggested length: Around 2500 words (it can be shorter; the length should really just be whatever is necessary to get the main ideas across in a concise, clear, and understandable way). The post should not be longer than 5000 words. • Content: The blog post must present a self-contained, cogent, and en- gaging narrative on some recent research, including a blend of scientific (high-level) and technical exposition. 16 2 weeks (maybe longer for the initial draft), perhaps even same day if quick/minor edits) ∗ Iterate based on feedback as necessary, until post is approved. 11.1.5 Committee criteria for evaluation of post Here are some (possibly overlapping) criteria for the committee to consider when evaluating the post: • Scientific exposition (w.r.t target audience) – Why is this interesting? – What is the main challenge? Eg: intellectual difficulty, aesthetics, usefulness? – What is this connected to, and how does it fit within the big picture of work in the field? – What are the main high-level ideas? • Technical exposition (w.r.t target audience) – What are the specific contributions? – What are the main details? – What obstacles are overcome and how? – What might it enable going forward? – Mathematical writing/experimental design? • Overall structure + flow – English: paragraphs, sentences – Clarity of proofs, arguments, deductions, etc. • Placing into broader context – Related work – Connection to motivation • Additional criteria the committee feels is appropriate, to be included in feedback to the author to incorporate If the post is not yet accepted, feedback should include actionable criticism. If the topic remains viable, then that criticism should reference some subset of the criteria listed above. Doctoral students who entered the program prior to fall 2021 may opt to use the previous writing skills process to satisfy the requirement. Please refer to the graduate program web page for Writing Skills and the handbook for the year in which you entered the CSD PhD program to utilize that option. 19 11.1.6 Resources to Help with Technical Writing Here are some additional resources that can help to develop and improve one’s written communication skills: • Computer Science PhD students are welcome to enroll in the undergradu- ate communications course, required of undergraduate majors, to enhance their writing skills; however, taking the course does not satisfy the written communication skills requirement. • The Student Academic Success Center provides personalized help with writing for all CMU students. You can work one-on-one with communi- cation experts who can teach you new strategies for communicating re- search, proposals, presentations, essays, and applications. They work with all CMU students, from first-year undergraduates through PhD students publishing papers and dissertations. • “Mathematical Writing” by Donald E. Knuth, Tracy Larrabee, and Paul M. Roberts • A potentially useful book is BUGS in Writing. It is specifically for com- puter science and is organized around the most common mistakes the authors make. • On Writing Well, by William Zinsser is generally about writing non- fiction, and is full of excellent advice (online version). As is The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (online version). • For more math-y papers (but with good general advice about technical writing): “How to write Mathematics” by Paul Halmos, “How to Write a Clear Math Paper: Some 21st Century Tips” by Igor Pak. 11.2 Speaking Skills The Department and School provide many opportunities for students to practice their speaking skills. Here are just a few: • Research area seminar series (AI, CS, Logic, POP, PS, Theory) • Research unit seminar series (MLD, HCII, LTI, Robotics) • Regular lunchtime talks (e.g., SDI lunch, Graduate Student Seminar Se- ries) • Research area group meetings (e.g., Machine Learning, Theory) • Recitations, tutorials, and guest lectures (as a teaching assistant) 20 To satisfy the oral communication skill requirement each student should give a public talk at Carnegie Mellon. The talk is scheduled so that members of a standing committee, the Speakers Club, can attend, evaluate the student’s talk, and provide oral and written feedback to the student. This talk must be accessible to a general computer science audience. It should be advertised as “In Partial Fulfillment of the Speaking Requirement” so the audience knows what kind of feedback the student is seeking and so all interested and available Speakers Club members can mark their calendars accordingly. Students should be able to use existing forums (e.g., those listed above) to give their talk, and thereby avoid having to schedule a special talk. Of course it is acceptable if the student wants to schedule a special time and date, but the student should take care to ensure that an audience beyond the three required members of the Speakers Club (two faculty and one student) is present at the talk. The Speakers Club “robot” helps students schedule their talks, ensures a quorum of Speakers Club members is met, and reminds Speakers Club members of their responsibility and commitment to attend talks. Due to contention for popular times (especially the Student Seminar Series), talks must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance. All Speakers Club members are welcome to attend the advertised talk. Im- mediately after the talk, those members in attendance confer among themselves (with the student absent) about the talk. They also each fill out a Speaking Review Form, available from the Graduate Programs Manager. If at least two faculty members and one graduate student member of the Speakers Club grade the student’s talk to be “Good” or better, then the student passes. If not, the student will be required to give another talk. After a decision has been made, one of the attending faculty members volunteers to discuss the feedback and outcome privately with the student. After the talk, when the student passes, they take all signed forms to the Graduate Programs Manager who keeps copies in the student’s file and marks in the student’s records the completion of this requirement. Much of this part of the process is like what happens after a thesis proposal presentation or thesis defense; the focus here, however, is on oral communication skills. As with writing, speaking well takes practice. Satisfying this requirement might take a few tries on the student’s part. For students who are naturally good speakers or are already experienced speakers, one try may suffice. No stigma is attached to those who have to try more than once. 21 12.4 Thesis Defense The student’s thesis committee decides whether to accept the thesis based on its content and the outcome of the thesis defense, which is a public presentation describing the contributions of the thesis. At least one week in advance of the oral presentation, students must provide the Graduate Programs Manager with: • One hard copy of the thesis abstract • A digital copy of the abstract in text format .rtf, .txt, or .docx, (No .pdf please) • A list of all thesis committee members The Graduate Programs Manager posts the public announcement of the thesis defense. Before the thesis defense, the entire thesis committee is expected to have read the entire thesis, to have given comments to the candidate, and to have given approval for scheduling the public defense. This means that a copy of the complete thesis document should be provided to the whole thesis committee a minimum six weeks in advance of any proposed date for the defense. Significant deviations from this rule must be approved by the Director of the Doctoral Pro- gram. Committee members should meet briefly before the thesis presentation to discuss any issues. The presentation by the candidate is normally about 45 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer period which may be as long as needed. Please remember that at least three thesis committee members (including the Chair) must be physically present for the thesis defense. The thesis committee chair (advisor) determines who may ask questions and in what order and brings the discussion to a close at the appropriate time. The question-and-answer period is followed by a closed-door session attended by only the members of the thesis committee. The options of the committee are: • To approve without corrections • To approve subject to minor changes, to be approved later by the thesis chair only • To require a resubmission after major changes and re-approval of the entire committee • Not to approve the thesis All members of the committee are required to sign a Final Oral Examination card, indicating that the student has passed the thesis oral examination. In addition, the thesis committee chair, the Department Head, and the Dean sign a final certification sheet when the student submits the final version of the thesis. 24 A more extensive checklist is available online with specific information on the thesis defense https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~csd-grad/oral.checklist.html. Every student must read and adhere to these more detailed process rules. 12.5 Degree Attainment After the presentation of an acceptable thesis proposal, and satisfying all other requirements except for the dissertation and its oral defense, students are re- garded as in “all but dissertation” (ABD) status. 12.5.1 Time to Degree: Students who began in the PhD program prior to June 1, 2011, once ABD status is achieved, must complete all remaining requirements for the PhD within a maximum of seven full academic years, unless terminated earlier by conferral of the degree or by academic or administrative action. As outlined in the Doctoral Student Status Policy https://www.cmu.edu/ policies/student-and-student-life/doctoral-student-status.html Students who began in the PhD program after June 1, 2011 will complete all requirements for the PhD degree within a maximum of ten years from original matriculation as a doctoral student, or less if required by a more restrictive department or college policy. Once this time-to-degree limit has lapsed, the person may resume work to- wards a doctoral degree only if newly admitted to a currently offered doctoral degree program under criteria determined by that program. Under extraordinary circumstances, such as leave of absence, military or public service, family or parental leave, or temporary disability, a school or col- lege may, upon the relevant department’s recommendation and with the written approval of the dean, defer the lapse of All But Dissertation status for a period commensurate with the duration of that interruption. Students, who are pursuing the PhD degree as part-time students for all semesters of their program, as approved by their program, may also appeal to their program or department for extension of the time to degree limit. 12.5.2 ABD and ABS Status An ABD candidate may choose to continue as a regular student In Residence, or to be In Absentia (ABS). Please see the University policy, which sets forth a definition of All But Dissertation (ABD) status, time limits on doctoral candidacy status, a definition of being In Residence and In Absentia for candidates and the tuition and fees charged for candidates in each status. The ABD Status Agreement Form can be found at: https://www.cmu.edu/ hub/docs/abd-status-agree.pdf https://www.cmu.edu/policies/student-and-student-life/doctoral-student-status.html 25 12.6 Master’s Degree We are happy to grant any student a Master of Science in Computer Science - Research degree once they have passed all 72 course units, passed at least one of the two communication skills requirements, and taught at least once. No Master’s Degree will be granted if you have received a Master’s Degree in another area of SCS. You must make your request in writing or via email to the Graduate Programs Manager. 12.7 Other Time Estimates The following table indicates estimates for approximately when students should have finished each requirement. Overall, we expect students to complete the program within 5–6 years, depending on background, research area, and disser- tation research. These figures are meant to be suggestive, not prescriptive. We present them so that all faculty and students can develop a shared image of the expectations of the program. COMPONENT INTENSITY COMPLETION TIME Introductory Course (IC) full time 2 + 2 weeks Breadth Courses each 1/4 time by end of year 2 Elective Courses each 1/4 time by end of year 2 Writing Skills variable by end of year 3 Teaching 1/2 time by end of year 4 Speaking Skills variable by end of year 4 Thesis Proposal 1/2 time by end of year 4 Thesis full time by end of year 5 (or 6) Students are expected to be working on research every semester with inten- sity at least 1/2 time throughout their time at CMU. In addition, it is expected that students volunteer within the department and school throughout their time at CMU. 12.8 Graduation Certification The Graduate Programs Manager maintains a checklist of procedures for schedul- ing the thesis oral presentation and completing the other requirements for grad- uation. The Graduate Programs Manager certifies fulfillment of requirements for graduation only when the final version of the thesis has been approved by the thesis committee, the Department Head, and the Dean. Students are not allowed to participate in commencement exercises unless final certification has been made. If the final copy of the thesis is not submitted within one year of the thesis defense, the faculty may require a second defense before making a final certifi- cation. 26 13.5 Consulting and Outside Employment Consulting is a privilege, not a right. We grant this privilege for one of two reasons: • The consulting task is relevant to the student’s thesis work or a Carnegie Mellon research project. • The student has exceptional financial obligations. Consulting is normally limited to a maximum of 8 hours per week. A student who wishes to consult should obtain permission from their advi- sor and the Director of the Doctoral Program, and fill out an approval form, available from the Graduate Programs Manager. We may require that students limit outside employment in order to be in compliance with university and government rules. 13.6 University Funding Sources Not an exhaustive list: • Graduate students who find themselves in need of immediate funds for emergency situations should contact the Office of the Dean of Student Af- fairs, to inquire about the types of emergency funding available to enrolled students. • GuSH Research Funding is a source of small research grant funds pro- vided by the Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) and the Provost’s Office and managed by the Office of Graduate and Postdoc Affairs. Students can find more information about the application process and deadlines at: https://www.cmu.edu/graduate/professional-development/research-funding/ index.html. 14 Leave of Absence and Withdrawal 14.1 Leave of Absence Students who wish to leave the program temporarily may request a leave of absence (LoA) by submitting a request to the Director of the Doctoral Pro- gram. Leaves are initially granted for a period of no more than one year, but an extension of up to one additional year may be granted under exceptional circumstances. When an extension is granted, the conditions for return must be negotiated with the advisor and the Director of the Doctoral Program prior to returning to the program. Students must be in good standing in order to be granted a leave of absence. Students on leave of absence should contact the Graduate Programs Manager two months prior to the end of the leave to indicate their plans. While a leave can 29 in principle start at any time, university regulations allows students to return only at the beginning of a semester (usually in late August or in January). University Policy for Leave of Absence: https://www.cmu.edu/policies/ student-and-student-life/student-leave.html University process for Leave of Absence: https://www.cmu.edu/hub/registrar/ leaves-and-withdrawals/ 14.2 Withdrawal Students considering withdrawing from the program should contact the Direc- tor of the Doctoral Program and submit the withdrawal for to the Graduate Programs Manager. University policy for withdrawal: https://www.cmu.edu/hub/registrar/ leaves-and-withdrawals/ University process for withdrawal: https://www.cmu.edu/policies/student-and-student-life/withdrawal-of-a-degree.html 15 Points of Contact Students and advisors enjoy a close working relationship in our program. If students have problems, whether related to their research or not, they should feel free to speak to their advisors. If doing so is awkward or if students simply want a second opinion, they should feel free to discuss any issues with either: • The Director of the Doctoral Program • or The Graduate Programs Manager Additional contacts for specific issues are listed in the following subsections. 15.1 Area Advocates Issues regarding course requirements and substituting classes should be directed to the appropriate Breadth Area Advocate. Current Area Advocates are listed at: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~csd-grad/ areaadvocates.html 15.2 The Doctoral Review Committee The Doctoral Review Committee is the official advisory committee to the Di- rector of the PhD program and the Department Head. While the structure and contents of the PhD program are still discussed by the faculty and students as a whole, the DRC makes sure that the program’s design is implemented and rules abided by properly. In this sense the DRC is also an oversight committee. The DRC monitors all courses. It regularly asks students to evaluate courses and their instructors. It keeps statistics and data about all past and present CS 30 PhD students, discusses issues and problems that are specific to CS PhD stu- dents, and makes minor policy decisions that do not require the attention of all the faculty and students. The DRC is also something like a senate since the student representatives speak for all the students and the faculty representatives speak for all the faculty. https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/academic/committee/drc/drc.html Authentication is required to access the DRC webpage. 15.3 Student Ombudspersons If a student feels that none of the above avenues are appropriate for hearing about their problem, they can turn to the PhD program’s ombudspersons either individually or as a pair. An ombudsperson’s role and responsibilities are: • To meet with students and listen to their problems • To give advice, perhaps suggesting someone else to talk to or suggesting the next step to take • To act as an informal resource – in particular, students may discuss con- cerns or issues with ombudspersons without committing to any formal university process • To keep conversations confidential Ombudspersons are supposed to be friendly, approachable, mature, good listeners, in their third year or higher (i.e., should “know the ropes” so to speak), and reasonable (of course!). If a student feels uncomfortable approaching either the Director of Doctoral Programs or the Graduate Programs Manager about any concerns, then the ombudspersons (either individually or as a pair) would be the perfect people to turn to. An ombudsperson is different from student DRC members since the DRC is an official committee. If a student has a personal problem (e.g., with their advisor), it may not be appropriate to talk to a student DRC representative about it (unless as just a friend). For issues a student feels rise to, or are determined to require, formal univer- sity processes graduate students can find detailed information in the Summary of Graduate Student Appeal and Grievance Procedures on the Graduate Edu- cation Resource webpage: https://www.cmu.edu/graduate/policies/appeal-grievance-procedures. html 31 16.4 Withdrawal of Degree The university reserves the right to withdraw a degree even though it has been granted should there be discovery that the work upon which it was based or the academic records in support of it had been falsified. In such a case, the degree will be withdrawn promptly upon discovery of the falsification. The complete reference to this university policy is available at: https://www.cmu. edu/policies/student-and-student-life/withdrawal-of-a-degree.html Please see Appendices E through H for additional information about The Word https://www.cmu.edu/student-affairs/theword/ and University resources. 16.5 Carnegie Mellon University Statement of Assurance Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate in admission, employment or administration of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, na- tional origin, sex, handicap or disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, ancestry, belief, veteran status or genetic information. Further- more, Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate and is required not to discriminate in violation of federal, state or local laws or executive orders. Inquiries concerning the application of and compliance with this statement should be directed to the university ombudsman, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, telephone 412-268-1018. Obtain general information about Carnegie Mellon University by calling 412-268-2000. Carnegie Mellon University publishes an annual campus security and fire safety report describing the university’s security, alcohol and drug, sexual assault and fire safety policies, and containing statistics about the number and type of crimes committed on the campus, and the number and cause of fires in campus residence facilities during the preceding three years. You can obtain a copy by contacting the Carnegie Mellon Police Department at 412-268-2323. The annual security and fire safety report also is available online at https://www.cmu.edu/ police/annualreports/. Information regarding the application of Title IX, including to admission and employment decisions, the sexual misconduct grievance procedures and process, including how to file a report or a complaint of sex discrimination, how to file a report of sexual harassment, and how the university responds to such reports is available at https://www.cmu.edu/title-ix/. The Title IX coordinator may be reached at 5000 Forbes Ave., 140 Cyert Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; 412-268-7125; or tix@cmu.edu. The Statement of Assurance can also be found on-line at: https://www. cmu.edu/policies/administrative-and-governance/statement-of-assurance. html. 34 16.6 Safeguarding Educational Equity Policy Against Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault The University prohibits sex-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sex- ual assault, dating/ domestic violence and stalking. The University also pro- hibits retaliation against individuals who bring forward such concerns or al- legations in good faith. The University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy is avail- able at https://www.cmu.edu/policies/administrative-and-governance/ sexual-misconduct/index.html. The University’s Policy Against Retaliation is available at https://www.cmu.edu/policies/administrative-and-governance/ whistleblower.html. If you have been impacted by any of these issues, you are encouraged to make contact with any of the following resources: • Office of Title IX Initiatives, http://www.cmu.edu/title-ix/, 412-268-7125, tix@cmu.edu. • University Police, 412-268-2323 Additional resources and information can be found at: https://www.cmu.edu/ title-ix/resources-and-information/resources.html Maternity Accommodation Protocol https://www.cmu.edu/graduate/programs-services/maternity-accommodation-protocol.html Students whose anticipated delivery date is during the course of the semester may consider taking time away from their coursework and/or research respon- sibilities. All female students who give birth to a child while engaged in course- work or research are eligible to take either a short-term absence or formal leave of absence. Students in course work should consider either working with their course instructor to receive incomplete grades, or elect to drop to part-time sta- tus or to take a semester leave of absence. Students engaged in research must work with their faculty to develop plans for the research for the time they are away. Students are encouraged to consult with relevant university faculty and staff as soon as possible as they begin making plans regarding time away. Students must contact the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs to register for Maternity Accommodations. Students will complete an information form and meet with a member of the Dean’s Office staff to determine resources and procedures appropriate for the individual student. Planning for the student’s discussion with her academic contact(s) (advisor, associate dean, etc.) may be reviewed during this meeting. Doctoral students who receive an academic stipend funded by Carnegie Mel- lon are eligible to continue to receive stipend funding for up to six (6) weeks during a Short-Term Maternity Accommodation or a Formal Leave of Absence. Continued academic stipend funding may be extended by two (2) weeks, for a 35 total of eight (8) weeks, if an absence longer than six weeks is medically neces- sary. To receive this support students must be registered with the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs for a Maternity Accommodation. Consensual Intimate Relationship Policy Regarding Undergraduate Students https://www.cmu.edu/policies/student-and-student-life/consensual-relationships.html This policy addresses the circumstances in which romantic, sexual or amorous relationships/interactions with undergraduate students, even if consensual, are inappropriate and prohibited. The purpose of this policy is to assure healthy professional relationships. This policy is not intended to discourage consensual intimate relationships unless there is a conflicting professional relationship in which one party has authority over the other as in the policy. 16.7 Change of Address https://www.cmu.edu/hub/registrar/student-records/personal-information.html Students are responsible for notifying the department and HUB of all address changes in a timely manner. Students will be held responsible for any failure to receive official college notices due to not having a correct address on file; F-1 students may jeopardize their status if address information is not kept current. Students can change their address using SIO, which is available via the HUB website. 1“Many people have asked me why this evaluation meeting is called Black Friday, especially when at Columbia its usually been held on Thursday. The reason is shrouded in the fog of computer history but I’d like to share it with you.We have to return to CMU in 1971 where I met weekly with a faculty-student committee which was revising the PhD program. One Saturday night my wife, Pamela, and I were watching Chilly Billy’s Thriller Theatre on TV and we saw a Grade B horror movie about the dead returning every hundred years called Black Sunday. The following week the Committee decided to create a twice-a-year meeting to monitor the progress of our PhD students and scheduled the first meeting on a Friday. When I notified the CS Department, I casually referred to this as the Black Friday meeting. The name stuck and when I brought the idea to Columbia, we continued to use it.” – Joseph Traub, CSD Department Head 1971-79 36 Completion of all degree requirements earns the student a PhD in Computer Science: Pure and Applied Logic. More information about the PAL program is available at http://logic.cmu.edu. A.3 Center for Neural Basis of Cognition Training Pro- gram The CNBC Training Program is an interdisciplinary PhD and postdoctoral cer- tificate training program operated jointly with several academic departments at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh. Other affiliated departments at CMU are Biological Sciences, Machine Learning, Psychology, Robotics, and Statistics. Affiliated departments at the University of Pittsburgh are Mathe- matics, Neurobiology, Neuroscience, and Psychology. The CNBC option for Computer Science PhD students allows them to com- bine intensive training in CS with a broad exposure to cognitive science, neural computation, and other disciplines that touch on problems of higher brain func- tion. Course of Study: CS/CNBC students are admitted through their home department (Computer Science) and fulfill the normal CS PhD program re- quirements. In addition, they are required to take a sequence of CNBC core courses in neurophysiology, systems neuroscience, computational neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience. The CNBC core courses take the place of the three elective course unit requirement in CS. CS/CNBC students also participate in a research seminar series and experience a lab rotation. Because of the extra time required to complete the CNBC requirements, stu- dents may apply for one year of financial support from the CNBC. In addition, CS/CNBC students are given an annual travel allowance to help them attend conferences and workshops. Completion of all degree requirements earns the student a PhD in Computer Science plus an additional certificate in the “Neural Basis of Cognition.” More information about the CNBC option is available at http://www.cnbc.cmu. edu/. 39 B Dual Degree Program with Portugal Since Fall 2007 the department also offers a dual degree program in cooperation with several Portuguese universities. The regulations are essentially the same as given in this document, except that some requirements can be fulfilled in an affiliated program in Portugal. For more information, see http://www.csd.cs.cmu.edu/education/phd/portugal.html. 40 C Self-Defined Interdisciplinary PhD Programs We encourage students to follow their interests and to pursue interdisciplinary contacts as appropriate for their program of research and study. The doctoral program is broad and flexible, so usually we can find ways to accommodate these interests. However, there are times when a student’s research goes so far afield that an interdisciplinary PhD would be more appropriate. The depart- ment accommodates these students by allowing a self-defined interdisciplinary PhD program. A student interested in a self-defined PhD sets it up between Computer Science and another academic department. The student must draw up a de- scription of the area in which they wish to work and a proposed academic plan, which typically includes coursework, a description of the qualifier (if any), and how the thesis will be approved. The student then must put together a pro- gram committee consisting of faculty from both departments who will agree to oversee the student’s progress through the program; this committee acts as the student’s department. Finally, the program must be approved by the DRC and by the equivalent committee of the other department. The process of setting up an interdisciplinary PhD is not easy and can easily take a year or two. The process by which an interdisciplinary PhD is created is unfamiliar to most other departments and is not well-defined by the university itself, so it may take significant effort to define an interdisciplinary degree and have it be recognized in all participating departments. It is therefore in most students’ interests to stay within the Computer Science program; once course- work is done, there are few limitations on a Computer Science PhD student’s course of study, thereby giving the student nearly the same flexibility achievable through a self-defined program. 41 D.3 Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion https://www.cmu.edu/student-diversity/ Diversity and inclusion have a singular place among the values of Carnegie Mellon University. The Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion actively culti- vates a strong, diverse and inclusive community capable of living out these values and advancing research, creativity, learning and development that changes the world. The Center offers resources to enhance an inclusive and transformative stu- dent experience in dimensions such as access, success, campus climate and in- tergroup dialogue. Additionally, the Center supports and connects historically underrepresented students and those who are first in their family to attend col- lege in a setting where students’ differences and talents are appreciated and reinforced, both at the graduate and undergraduate level. Initiatives coordi- nated by the Center include, but are not limited to: • First generation/first in family to attend college programs • LGBTQ+ Initiatives • Race and ethnically-focused programs, including Inter-University Gradu- ate Students of Color Series (SOC) and PhD SOC Network • Women’s empowerment programs, including Graduate Women’s Gather- ings (GWGs) • Transgender and non-binary student programs D.4 Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities http://www.cmu.edu/education-office/disability-resources/ The Office of Disability Resources at Carnegie Mellon University has a con- tinued mission to provide physical and programmatic campus access to all events and information within the Carnegie Mellon community. We work to ensure that qualified individuals receive reasonable accommodations as guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Sections 503 and 504 of the Re- habilitation Act of 1973. Students who would like to receive accommodations can begin the process through Disability Resources secure online portal or email access@andrew.cmu.edu to begin the interactive accommodation process. Students with disabilities are encouraged to self-identify with the Office of Disability Resources and request needed accommodations.?Any questions about the process can be directed to access@andrew.cmu.edu or call 412) 268-6121. 44 D.5 Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation http://www.cmu.edu/teaching We offer a wide variety of confidential, consultation services and profes- sional development programs to support graduate students as teaching assis- tants or instructors of record during their time at Carnegie Mellon University and as future faculty members at other institutions. Regardless of one’s cur- rent or future teaching context and duties, our goal is to disseminate evidence- based teaching strategies in ways that are accessible and actionable. Pro- grams and services include campus-wide Graduate Student Instructor Orien- tation events and our Future Faculty Program, both of which are designed to help participants be effective and efficient in their teaching roles. The Eberly Center also assists departments in creating and conducting customized pro- grams to meet the specific needs of their graduate student instructors. Specific information about Eberly Center support for graduate students is found at: http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/graduatestudentsupport/index.html. D.6 Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) http://www.cmu.edu/stugov/gsa/index.html The Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) is the branch of Carnegie Mellon Student Government that represents, and advocates for the diverse interests of all graduate students at CMU. GSA is composed of representatives from the different graduate programs and departments who want to improve the graduate student experience at the different levels of the university. GSA is funded by the Student Activities Fee from all graduate students. GSA passes legislation, allocates student activities funding, advocates for legisla- tive action locally and in Washington D.C. on behalf of graduate student is- sues and needs, and otherwise acts on behalf of all graduate student inter- ests. Our recent accomplishments are a testament to GSA making a differ- ence, and steps to implementing the vision laid out by the strategic plan. https://www.cmu.edu/stugov/gsa/About-the-GSA/Strategic-Plan.html GSA offers an expanding suite of social programming on and off-campus to bring graduate students from different departments together and build a sense of community. GSA is the host of the Graduate Student Lounge on the 3rd floor of the Cohon University Center ? a great place to study or meet up with friends. GSA also maintains a website of graduate student resources on and off-campus. Through GSA’s continued funding for professional development and research conferences, the GSA/Provost Conference Funding Program and GSA/Provost GuSH Research Grants are able to run, as managed by the Graduate Education Office. As we move forward, GSA will continue to rely on your feedback to improve the graduate student experience at CMU. Feel free to contact us at 45 gsa@cmu.edu to get involved, stop by our office in the Cohon University Center Room 304 or become a representative for your department. D.7 Office of International Education (OIE) http://www.cmu.edu/oie/ Carnegie Mellon hosts international graduate and undergraduate students who come from more than 90 countries. The Office of International Education (OIE) is the liaison to the University for all non-immigrant students and schol- ars, as well the repository for study abroad opportunities and advisement. OIE provides many services including: advising on personal, immigration, study abroad, academic, and social and acculturation issues; presenting programs of interest such as international career workshops, tax workshops, and cross- cultural and immigration workshops; international education and statistics on international students in the United States; posting pertinent information to students through email and the OIE website, and conducting orientation and pre-departure programs. D.8 Veterans and Military Community http://www.cmu.edu/veterans/ Military veterans are a vital part of the Carnegie Mellon University commu- nity. Graduate students can find information on applying for veteran education benefits, campus services, veteran’s groups at CMU, and non-educational re- sources through the Veterans and Military Community website. There are also links and connections to veteran resource in the Pittsburgh community. The ROTC and Veteran Affairs Coordinator can be reached at uro-vaedbenefits@andrew.cmu.edu, 412-268-8747. D.9 Carnegie Mellon Ethics Hotline https://www.cmu.edu/hr/resources/ethics-hotline.html The health, safety and well-being of the university community are top prior- ities at Carnegie Mellon University. CMU provides a hotline that all members of the university community should use to confidentially report suspected un- ethical activity relating to areas below: • Academic and Student Life • Bias Reporting • Environmental Health and Safety • Financial Matters 46 • Peer Tutoring: Weekly Tutoring Appointments are offered in a one- on-one and small group format to students from any discipline who need assistance with a course that may not be supported by our other services. Weekly appointments give students the opportunity to interact regularly with the same tutor to facilitate deeper understanding of concepts. Stu- dents can register online through the Student Academic Success website. • Academic Coaching: Academic Coaching provides holistic one-on-one peer support and group workshops to help students find and implement their conditions for success. We assist students in improving time man- agement, productive habits, organization, stress management, and study skills. Students will request support through the Academic Success Cen- ter website and attend in-person meetings or meet using video and audio conferencing technology to provide all students with support. • “Just in Time” Workshops: The Student Academic Success team is available to partner with instructors and departments to identify skills or concepts that would benefit from supplemental offerings (workshops, boot camps) to support students? academic success and learning. We are eager to help convene and coordinate outside of the classroom skill-building opportunities that can be open to any student interested in building skill or reinforcing course concept mastery. • Study Partners: Support for students to create and benefit from their own study groups: The Student Academic Success team assists students in forming and benefiting from peer study groups, whereby all students can reap the benefits of peer-to-peer learning, student agency, and collabora- tion skill development. Staff from the Student Academic Success Center will be made available to instructors and students to assist with the for- mation of peer-led study groups. This level of support is open to any course where the instructor requests or agrees such support is appropriate and students are interested in both leading and participating. Language and Cross-cultural Support More than 60% of graduate students at Carnegie Mellon are international students, and others are nonnative speakers of English who have attended high school or undergraduate programs in the US. Many of these students want to hone their language and cross-cultural skills for academic and professional success. Students can choose from sessions on • how to give a strong presentation, • writing academic emails, • expectations and strategies for clear academic writing, • how to talk about yourself as a professional in the U.S., • developing clearer pronunciation, 49 • using accurate grammar, • building fluency, and more. • Students can make an appointment with a Language Development Spe- cialist to get individualized coaching on language or cross-cultural issues. The Student Academic Success Center is also charged with certifying the lan- guage of International Teaching Assistants (ITAs), ensuring that nonnative En- glish speakers have the language proficiency needed to succeed as teaching as- sistants in the Carnegie Mellon classroom. Students preparing to do an ITA Certification should plan to take classes offered by the language support team at the SASC from the beginning of their first semester. Start by contacting the language support team at the SASC website or attend a Language Support Orientation at the SASC or in your department. E.3 University Libraries https://www.library.cmu.edu The University Libraries offers a wide range of information resources and services supporting graduate students in course-work, research, teaching, and publishing. The library licenses and purchases books, journals, media and other needed materials in various formats. Library liaisons, consultants and infor- mation specialists provide in-depth and professional assistance and advice in all-things information - including locating and obtaining specific resources, pro- viding specialized research support, advanced training in the use and manage- ment of data. Sign up for workshops and hands-on topic-specific sessions such as data visualization with Tableau, cleaning data with OpenRefine, and get- ting started with Zotero. Weekly drop-in hours for Digital Humanities and for Research Data Research Management are scheduled during the academic year. Start at the library home page to find the books, journals and databases you need; to identify and reach out to the library liaison in your field; to sign up for scheduled workshops; and to connect with consultants in scholarly publishing, research data management, and digital humanities. E.4 Research at CMU http://www.cmu.edu/research/ The primary purpose of research at the university is the advancement of knowledge in all fields in which the university is active. Research is regarded as one of the university’s major contributions to society and as an essential element in education, particularly at the graduate level and in faculty development. Research activities are governed by several university policies. Guidance and more is found by visiting the Research at Carnegie Mellon website. 50 E.5 Office of Research Integrity & Compliance http://www.cmu.edu/research-compliance/index.html The Office of Research Integrity & Compliance (ORIC) is designed to sup- port research at Carnegie Mellon University. The staff work with researchers to ensure research is conducted with integrity and in accordance with federal and Pennsylvania regulation. ORIC assists researchers with human subject research, conflicts of interest, responsible conduct of research, export controls, intellectual property rights and regulations, and institutional animal care & use. ORIC also consults on, advises about and handles allegations of research misconduct. F Key Offices for Health, Wellness & Safety F.1 Counseling & Psychological Services https://www.cmu.edu/counseling/ Counseling & Psychological Services (CaPS) affords the opportunity for stu- dents to talk privately about issues that are significant for them in a safe, con- fidential setting. Students sometimes feel uncertain about why they are feeling upset and perhaps confused about how to deal with those feelings. An initial consultation with a CaPS therapist will clarify options and provide a recom- mendation to the appropriate mental health resource at Carnegie Mellon or the larger Pittsburgh community. CaPS also provides workshops and group sessions specifically for graduate students on campus. CaPS services are provided at no cost. Appointments can be made in person or by telephone, 412-268-2922. F.2 Health Services http://www.cmu.edu/HealthServices/ University Health Services (UHS) is staffed by physicians, advanced prac- tice clinicians and registered nurses who provide general medical care, allergy injections, first aid, gynecological care and contraception as well as on-site phar- maceuticals. The CMU Student Insurance Plan covers most visit fees to see the physicians and advanced practice clinicians & nurse visits. Fees for prescription medications, laboratory tests, diagnostic procedures and referral to the emer- gency room or specialists are the student’s responsibility and students should review the UHS website and their insurance plan for detailed information about the university health insurance requirement and fees. UHS also has a registered dietician and health promotion specialists on staff to assist students in addressing nutrition, drug and alcohol and other healthy lifestyle issues. In addition to providing direct health care, UHS administers the Student Health Insurance Program. The Student Health Insurance plan offers a 51