Who is a good fit for this course? The course is geared towards students who have gotten into a flow of taking courses at UW and are ready for the additional responsibility that comes with doing research. This is often students in at least their second year of taking courses at UW, who still have at least 1 year left after they take CSE 390R (research projects take a long time to complete, often 2 quarters or more; it's unrealistic to assume 1 quarter is enough time to get the hang of research). And, importantly, this class is designed for students
without research experience!
If you have successfully completed at least one quarter of CSE 496/498/499 with a faculty mentor, you probably don't need to take this course. If you are a senior who plans to graduate this year (AY '24-'25), you likely are also not in a great position to take this course, since it is designed to prepare students to do longer-term research as part of their degree. If you are still in your first year of taking courses at UW, you may not have the bandwidth to also take on a substantial research project after you complete CSE 390R (for example, to continue the research series by taking CSE 492R). That being said, you are still welcome to apply for an add code. We will definitely still consider your request, it will just be weighed against other applicants who may be a better fit. If we have space, you absolutely can still take the course!
Is there an application deadline? We are accepting applications until the beginning of autumn quarter, but we consider August 1st our priority deadline for add code requests. You can still apply after this date, but we will give priority to the students who apply by August 1st.
How can I confirm that I applied? The form is setup to send you a copy of your responses to the email that you specified. So you should automatically receive confirmation that you have applied.
Can I edit my responses after I submit? Yes, the form allows you to edit your responses. Just find the original email confirmation from Google forms and click the link to edit your responses as desired.
I just applied for an add code! When will I hear back? We will review applications received by the first of each month, starting with June 1st. For applicants who are a good fit for the course (see the description above for what this means), we will send you an add code by the 15th of that month. For all other applications, we will review them in August. We will send out the final batch of add codes by August 15th. For everyone who does not receive an add code by August 15th, we will create a waitlist for the course, and send students add codes as space opens up in the course. To manage email, we will only send emails to students who will receive an add code.
Here are some example application scenarios:
- If you submitted your application on May 30th, and you are a good fit for the course, you would hear from us by June 15th with an add code.
- If you submitted your application on June 2nd, and you are a good fit for the course, you would hear from us by July 15th with an add code.
- If you submitted your application on June 25th, and you are a good fit for the course, you would hear from us by July 15th with an add code.
- If you submitted your application on May 21st, but you are not in the target audience for the course, there might still be space and you might hear from us by August 15th, depending on your position in the applicant pool. However, there's a chance you might not hear from us by August 15th, in which case you were placed on the waitlist.
- If you submitted your application on August 2nd, you missed the priority deadline. There might still be space, in which case you might hear from us by August 15th, depending on your position in the applicant pool. However, there's a chance you might not hear from us by August 15th, in which case you were placed on the waitlist.
- If you submitted your application on August 16th or later, you missed the final batch of add codes and you were placed on the waitlist.
- If you are on the waitlist, you might hear from us just before Au '24 starts, or even just after it starts, as space opens up in the course due to registration drops.
