CSE Building University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering
 Visiting our Department
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 Official visit days
 Solo visit days
 Getting here
 Lodging
 Getting around
 Reimbursements
 Local contacts
   



Welcome! This page is designed to walk (and bus and shuttle) you through your visit to the UW Computer Science Department.
The official visit this year is Tuesday and Wednesday, March 13th-14th, 2012.

If you plan to visit, start off by contacting Lindsay Michimoto at least two weeks in advance.

You can either visit on the official visit day or arrange another day to visit. If you can make the official visit day, we strongly recommend doing so. The faculty, students, and staff you want to talk to will strive to be available on those days, there will be special accomodations made to make your visit smoother on those days. Otherwise, we will try to set up the best visit we can for you at another time.

Official Visiting Days

The two-day official visit this year:

Visit days is one of our biggest events of the year! Expect a busy but exciting two days in which you will see the current research going on in the department, talk to faculty and students, hang out with current grads and other prospectives, and see sights around Seattle!

Take a look at the schedule linked above. The first day will be an introduction to the department and a chance to see the research going on in various different groups. In the evening, there will be a reception, dinner, and social activities with current grad students. The second day will be more flexible, with more time for one on one meetings, and activities to show you around Seattle in the morning and afternoon.

Some things to note:

  • We will assign you a grad student liaison who can answer questions, find people you might want to meet, etc.
  • We will arrange individual meetings, which can take place concurrently with many of the events on the main schedule
  • If you have specific people you know you want to talk to, let your grad student liaison know!
  • Activities on the second day will include
    • afternoon adventures (eg. Pike Place Market, wandering around the U-District, wandering around downtown, rock climbing)
    • research group activities (eg. dessert or board games at a professor's house)
  • Visit Days officially go from 8:00am Tuesday to 6:00pm Wednesday, but field trips and especially research group events will very likely last longer. Ask your host and/or your faculty contact for specific details!
We encourage you to stick around through the end of the second day, or longer, to get a better idea of what our department and Seattle as a whole have to offer!

Solo Visit Days

If you'd rather come on another day, for any reason, you're welcome to do so. There won't be any of the group activities just mentioned, which will give you more time to meet with people in the department, but be aware that the people you want to meet will likely have less time set aside for meetings. Moral? Communicate with us and them.

When you schedule time to come here, keep in mind that our quarter break is March 18-26, so many of us may not be in town that week (and the weekends on either end).

Getting Here

You are responsible for setting up travel arrangements to Seattle. We will reimburse you for at least a portion of your travel expenses. See the section on reimbursements for more details.

  • Airport: Sea-Tac International Airport (SEA)
  • Suggested arrival/departure dates: Arrive Monday night, leave Thursday to get the full experience
  • Sea-Tac is about 20 miles south of the University. Your grad student host may be able to pick you up at the airport, or you can take Shuttle Express from Sea-Tac to your accommodations.
  • Shuttle Express:
    • Online Reservations (get voucher code from Lindsay)
    • (425) 981-7000
    • Toll Free: (800) 487-7433
    • If you choose this route, Lindsay will give you a Shuttle Express voucher code for use on their site.
  • Driving directions
  • You could also try our new lightrail that goes from the airport to downtown! We will (happily!) reimburse your public transit if you would like to take the greener option. Let your student host know for directions and information.

What to Bring

Casual clothing is fine; you won't need to dress up for any of the visit day events. Remember that Seattle can be rainy and a bit chilly at this time of year.

Lodging

Visitors on the official visit day will be lodged at the Silver Cloud Inn or with grad student hosts. If you are visiting some other time, Lindsay can still probably find a grad student who will put you up for the night and regale you with tales of the Rolly Chair Races and the Madness of Lazowska.

Getting Around Campus

The campus itself is small enough to walk around. Here are some handy maps:

Show Me the Money

Travel expenses can be rough at these times. Here's our current info on what you can expect from us in terms of reimbursement. However, please contact Lindsay Michimoto for more up-to-date info or if you have special needs.

We will reimburse up to $500 for cost of travel. Bring travel receipts when you visit! Reimbursements will be mailed to you after the visit. We will separately provide travel vouchers on Shuttle Express to get to and from the airport. We will also pay all lodging expenses for up to 3 nights or put you up for free with a grad student host <joke>who will be released from his or her pen for one hour and fed two extra pounds of gruel as compensation</joke>.

Local Contacts

If you need information, help, or just a friendly Seattle voice/emoticon, feel free to contact the Prospective Student Committee chairs (Katelin and Brian).


CSE logo Computer Science & Engineering
Box 352350, University of Washington
Seattle, WA  98195-2350
(206) 543-1695
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