Cics Supervision Course
Stephany Tousley
The CS Departmental Honors track consists of two main components: CICS honors courses and an honors research project or thesis supervised by a CICS faculty member. The specific requirements are detailed below.
The Honors Project/Thesis requirement is a two-semester research sequence. You will work with a research advisor on a specific project that both of you agree on. In the first semester, you will satisfy the 499Y research preparation requirement. This requirement can currently be satisfied in two different ways:
At the end of the research preparation semester, students submit a thesis or project proposal. In the second semester of the two-semester sequence, students conduct the proposed research under the supervision of their faculty advisor. Students should expect to meet weekly with their advisor starting in the first week of the semester. The final deliverable for both a project and a thesis is a substantial written report submitted at the end of the research semester, as well as an oral presentation of the research.
In his work as a Recruiting and Outreach Committee (ROC) student guide, Sebastien Christensen conducted hundreds of weekly information sessions, representing CICS at almost every Fall Visit Day and Destination Day over the past two years, and providing a peer perspective for those facing the challenge of selecting a college program. Sebastien also regularly initiated his own projects, providing data analytics for the ROC program and creating an onboarding manual for new ROC members. Sebastien also served as the co-president of the Cybersecurity Club, helping lead its now annual UMass Capture-the-Flag event, an ethical hacking and cybersecurity competition that hosted over 2000 participants across more than 50 countries.
Gilbert Hoermann was described by nominators as an exceptional leader and a natural educator, and is being honored for his dedication to educating his fellow students. In addition to serving as the technical director of the UMass Cybersecurity Club and his involvement with the UMass National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) team, Gilbert proposed and co-created a course, COMPSCI 390R: Reverse Engineering and Vulnerability Analysis, with fellow 2023 Undergraduate Achievement award winner, Steven Rossi. Under the supervision of Professor Brian Levine, Gilbert co-taught the course twice, with the primary goal of providing students with an understanding of attack patterns, code vulnerability, and ensuring students implement more secure coding practices.
Sahil Joshi, a double major in computer science and mathematics, is cited for his consistent commitment to teaching and mentoring, and dedication to research. A recipient of a Baystate Fellowship, he has served as an undergraduate course assistant for five courses. His research in cybersecurity, primarily focusing on detecting distributed denial of service attacks, has led to the design and development of several such detectors.
An introduction to data analysis in the open-source R language, with an emphasis on practical data work. Topics will include data wrangling, summary statistics, modeling, and visualization. Will also cover fundamental programming concepts including data types, functions, flow of control, and good programming practices. Intended for a broad range of students outside of computer science. Some familiarity with statistics is expected. 1 credit.
No matter where you end up in tech, you will need to explain concepts, products and ideas to people with different technical backgrounds. This course is intended to help prepare you for these communication tasks. Through the lens of tutoring, we will work on explaining technical ideas clearly and compassionately to others. We will do some theoretical study, including a history of CS education as well asbrain and learning science, and some practice, including tutoring beginning students in CS. This course is intended for a broad range of students looking to pursue careers in tech, but will be particularly useful for those who are currently UCAs or intending to apply for UCA positions in the future. 1 credit.
Through a careful analysis and discussion of a range of computing issues, topics, and polices, we will explore various impacts of computers on modern society. This class satisfies the Junior Year Writing requirement by providing directed practice and specific instruction in a range of writing genres. Students will produce approximately 20-25 pages of polished written work over the course of the semester. Prerequisite: ENGLWRIT 112 (or English Writing waiver), COMPSCI 220, COMPSCI 230 and COMPSCI 240 (or 250), OR ENGLWRIT 112 (or English Writing waiver) AND INFO 248. 3 credits.
Microcomputers are used widely in all areas of modern life. For this reason it is important for all students to understand how computers work and how computers can be used as a problem-solving tool. The focus of this course is on computer applications. The course stresses the ways in which computers can help you solve problems efficiently and effectively. The course provides a broad introduction to hardware, software, and mathematical aspects of computers. Four application areas are discussed: Internet tools (including Web page design), word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. Weekly lab assignments are an integral part of the course, and it is expected that students have access to their own computing equipment. This course is a "Foundations" course for the Information Technology minor. Students who are more interested in computer programming should take a course such as COMPSCI 119 or COMPSCI 121. Prerequisites: reasonable high school math skills. Typing ability is also an important asset for the course. Some previous computer experience, while not absolutely required, will prove helpful. Not for CS majors. 3 credits.
This introduction to computer programming emphasizes problem solving using the Python language. Students will explore basic concepts in computer science and computer programming by writing Python 3 programs to analyze text, create files of graphics commands viewable in a Web browser, and many other tasks. No prior programming experience is needed. Not for CS majors. 3 credits.
COMPSCI 121 provides an introduction to problem solving and computer programming using the programming language Java. The course teaches how real-world problems can be solved computationally using the object-oriented metaphor that underlies Java. Concepts and techniques covered include data types, expressions, objects, methods, top-down program design, program testing and debugging, state representation, interactive programs, data abstraction, conditionals, iteration, interfaces, inheritance, polymorphism, arrays, graphics, and GUIs. No previous programming experience is required; however, this course is intended for Computer Science majors or those who plan on applying to the major. Non-majors are strongly encouraged to take one of our programming courses designed for non-majors. Use of a laptop computer on which you can install software is required. Prerequisite: R1 (or a score of 20 or higher on the math placement test Part A), or one of the following courses: MATH 101&102 or MATH 104 or MATH 127 or MATH 128 or MATH 131 or MATH 132. 4 credits.
An introductory course in the use of data in computer systems, a core course for the Information Technology certificate. Formats for representing text, numbers, sound, images, etc., as strings of bits. Equations of lines and curves, modeling of synthetic scenes (i.e., ray tracing), exploring the frequency domain and holography. Basic information theory, use and limitations of file compression and encryption. Structured databases and how to use them. Information retrieval in heterogenous environments such as the Web. XML as a language for defining new formats for representing data. Review of historical, pre-computer methods of information representation. Prerequisites: "Basic computer literacy", i.e., user-level familiarity with a modern operating system and some experience with application programs. Tier I math skills. Recommended for First Year and Sophomore Non-Majors. Prerequisite: R1. 3 credits.
In this course we will both study commonly used data structures, and develop programming skils that go further than what we might see in an introductory programming course. Our programming language of choice will be Java, but the concepts and techniques we will see apply equally to programming in any object oriented or imperative language. As an application domain, we will be writing programs to solve real life problems. In terms of data structures, we will see lists, stacks, queues, trees, and graphs, among others, as well as techniques for sorting and searching. Students should expect to have programming assignments close to weekly, as well as two midterm exams and a final exam. Please note that this course is not a substitute for COMPSCI 187. If unsure of whether this course or COMPSCI 187 is more appropriate, please contact me at jaime...@cs.umass.edu. Prerequisites: COMPSCI 121 and Basic Math Skills R1 (or a score of 20 or higher on the math placement test Part A), or one of the following courses: MATH 101&102 or MATH 104 or MATH 127 or MATH 128 or MATH 131 or MATH 132). 4 credits.
The course introduces and develops methods for designing and implementing abstract data types using the Java programming language. The main focus is on how to build and encapsulate data objects and their associated operations. Specific topics include linked structures, recursive structures and algorithms, binary trees, balanced trees, and hash tables. These topics are fundamental to programming and are essential to other courses in computer science. The course involves weekly programming assignments, in-class quizzes, discussion section exercises, and multiple exams. Prerequisites: COMPSCI 121 (or equivalent Java experience). A grade of B or better in COMPSCI 121 (or a grade of C or better in COMPSCI 186 (or COMPSCI 190D) is required for students enrolling in COMPSCI 187 and Basic Math Skills (R1). Basic Java language concepts are introduced quickly; if unsure of background, contact instructor. 4 credits.
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