The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Fall 2020-           CICS Connect RAP - APPLICATION REQUIRED                    - see details below

CICS Connect RAP is an opportunity for students who are entering declared in a CICS (College of Information and Computer Sciences) major or as undeclared in the CICS Exploratory Track to live together and have their collegiate first-year seminar (one credit) with students they are living with.  Students of all levels of computing experience are encouraged to apply. Based on experience and interest, students will be placed into one of the seminars below.

In the RAP seminar students will participate in stimulating discussions and collaborative learning projects.

Students will work with their academic advisor during Summer New Students Orientation (NSO) to enroll in the RAP seminar and all of their courses.

Steps to participate in one of the CICS Connect RAPs Fall 2020: 

Complete the application and email it to rap@cics.umass.edu no later than Friday, May 8, 2020

  1. All applicants will be notified of acceptance status by Friday, May 15, 2020
  2. If accepted, students must follow the steps on the RAP website (http://www.umass.edu/rap/how-join-rap) to secure their space (This must be done between May 17 and May 22.)
  3. If NOT accepted, please consider joining one of the Gen Ed RAPs (http://www.umass.edu/rap/gened-raps) *see note below
  4. On Wednesday, May 22 at noon any remaining open spaces will be available for CICS declared majors and CICS Exploratory students to join the RAP (no application necessary at this point).

Important Note: Holding a spot in a Gen Ed RAP does NOT guarantee that you will be in the RAP. If when at NSO you learn that your RAP course conflicts with any course required for your major, your major requirement would take precedence and you will have to drop the RAP. You will have the option to join a different RAP if there is one you are eligible for that has open space.

Course and Location Information Fall 2020
Accepted students will be assigned to one of the following residence halls in Orchard Hill Residential Area with the associated courses:

Students in Dickinson Hall in will enroll in the following seminar and a section of Comp Sci 121 (on main campus):

CICS First-Year Seminar: "Success in Computer Science: Ethics, Society and Study Skills" Fall 2020
Take a deep dive into what it takes to become an effective, ethical and socially-aware computer scientist.  We will look at best practices for studying in computer science courses (with an eye towards preparation for COMPSCI 187), as well as ethical considerations important to the computing professions and organizations doing computer science for the common good.
Spring 2021 students will enroll in a 1-credit seminar and Comp Sci 187 (based on grade in CS 121 and advisor recommendation).

Students in Webster Hall will enroll in the following seminar:

CICS First-Year Seminar: "Data Science for Good" Fall 2020

How can data science help us solve problems related to education, environmental conservation, and social justice?  This course will explore the ways that nonprofits and governmental organizations use data science to improve and guide their work.  Students in this course will also have the opportunity to work on data science projects on their own to get hands-on experience with the content.

Computer Science Majors

University of Massachusetts Amherst
©2020 University of Massachusetts Amherst · Site Policies · Accessibility