📝 CS Undergraduate Newsletter: 04/14/25 – 04/18/25
Update your UA First Destination Survey
Graduating students and recent alumni, update your status by completing UA’s First Destination Survey as you finalize your post-graduation plans. The First Destination Survey is a nationally recognized tool used to capture information about how college graduates fare in their careers within six months of graduation. The Career Center is planning a giveaway in April for survey completion.
https://universityofalabama.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ekWt6zX0OyQBc3Q
Interest in forming and participating in a computer science undergraduate research council
An undergraduate council would:
Collect feedback from students about their experience in CS (what could be improved, how can the department help, etc…)
Run events that would promote community among the CS student body
Be an advocate for the undergraduate student body to the department and college faculty
Register interest using this survey
https://universityofalabama.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3PKwYZf3XSwSNAG
Pledge of the Computing Professional
Register to attend the Order of the Engineer and Pledge of the Computing Professional ceremony — The College will host its biannual Order of the Engineer and Pledge of the Computing Professional ceremony on Friday, May 2, at 9:30 a.m. at the Moody Music Building (810 2nd Ave., Tuscaloosa, AL 35401). Faculty should register to attend the ceremony as either a supporter (to welcome new student inductees) or as an inductee (if they have never been inducted into their respective organizations). Please RSVP here by April 25 and direct all questions to events@eng.ua.edu.
Freshmen Faculty Mentoring Program
Incoming freshmen are assigned a faculty advisor. A faculty mentor is different than an advisor. This meeting is an essential part of your experience, offering numerous benefits that can greatly enhance your academic and professional path.
Advantages of Meeting with Your Faculty Mentor:
Personalized Guidance: Your mentor can provide tailored advice based on your interests and career goals such as specialization and research opportunities.
Networking Opportunities: Building a relationship with your mentor can open doors to internships, research projects, and job opportunities.
Academic Support: Your mentor can help you navigate course selection, major requirements, and academic challenges.
Skill Development: Gain insights into the skills and experiences that are most valued in the field.
You can request a mentor, ask for a mentor reassignment, or receive an email with your mentor assignment using this form:
New Fall Course: CS 491/591 AI for Cyber Security
CS491/591 AI for Cyber Security Course description
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to solve cybersecurity problems has been gaining attraction within industry and academia, in part as a response to widespread malware attacks on critical systems, such as cloud infrastructures, government offices or hospitals, and the vast amounts of data they generate. AI- and ML-assisted cybersecurity offers data-driven automation that could enable security systems to identify and respond to cyber threats in real time. The Course will address the shortfall by teaching lab-intensive modules that enable students to gain fundamental and advanced knowledge in applying AI and ML techniques to real-world datasets to learn about Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), malware analysis, and classification, among other important topics in cybersecurity.