Table of Contents

What are the goals and purpose of CISDA?

  • Provide a medium for student issues to be brought to the department
  • Ensure that students are socially engaged across labs/programs within CIS
  • Provide ‘go-to’ students for graduate coordinators
  • Provide familiar faces for new PhD students
  • Provide a medium for students to organize social events (e.g. intramural sports, hiking)
  • Build closer relationships between graduate students, postdocs, and faculty within CIS
  • Organize joint events with existing student governments within other departments (MEGA, ESEGA, GABE, ChEGA)

What is the structure of CISDA?

  • CISDA will represent PhD students in the Department of Computer and Information Science
  • The CISDA board will consist of two to three co-chairs and other student volunteers
  • The co-chairs will ensure that each program has a representative at all times during the academic year, and will ensure continuity of CISDA from year to year
  • The CISDA board will elect one student to attend GSEG meetings as the PhD departmental representative
  • The CISDA board will elect PhD student representatives to attend CIS faculty meetings (usually two who alternate)
  • The CISDA board will meet regularly (monthly) for strategy meetings and status updates
  • Program representatives will stay in regular contact with program coordinators
  • Program representatives will use both GSEG and department funds and work with department coordinators to plan social and academic events for their fellow students
  • Co-chairs will be selected/elected at the end of the spring semester
  • Program representatives will be selected/elected at the start of each fall semester

Where does CISDA fit into the hierarchy of student governments at Penn?

  • GAPSA (Graduate and Professional Student Association) represents all graduate students at Penn (~12,000 students)
  • GSEG (Graduate Student Engineering Group) represents graduate students within SEAS (~1,400 students)
  • CISDA (Computer and Information Science Doctoral Association) represents PhD students within the CIS department (~150 students)

How is CISDA funded?

  • The money trail: CISDA receives funds from GSEG, which receives funds from GAPSA, which receives funds through graduate student fees (which are paid by PhD advisors, grants, fellowships, etc.)
  • The CIS department can provide additional funding for events upon request

How can I get involved with CISDA or provide feedback?