Experiential Learning for Math & Computer Science

Active and engaged learning experiences take place inside and outside the classroom throughout your four-year experience. Contact your advisor for more information on these and other opportunities.

Conduct Research

• Summer Research Grants at Puget Sound
  Talk to a Math/CS faculty member about a research project. Deadlines are usually in early March.

• NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
  Deadlines vary by institution, but usually during Winter.

• DOE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI)
  Deadlines vary by term (Jan, May, Oct)

Departmental Activities

• Be a Tutor, Lab Assistant, and/or Grader for our department. Look for applications toward the beginning of each semester.

• Join a Math/CS student club via the ASUPS Clubs Portal.

  • Mathematical Association of America (MAA). See Prof. Martin Jackson for more information.
  • Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
  • Women in the Association for Computing Machinery (W-ACM)

• Attend Math/CS Departmental Seminars and Thomson Hall Science and Mathematics Seminars

• Honor Societies
  • Pi Mu Epsilon (PME)
  • Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE)

Extramural Experience

• Internship Opportunities via CES
• Budapest Semesters in Mathematics
  Study mathematics in Hungary. See Prof. Rob Beezer for more information.
• AIT Budapest - Study Abroad for Computer Science
  Study computer science in Hungary. See Prof. Brad Richards for more information.
• Putnam Mathematical Competition
  Prepare for the Putnam Competition (a national mathematics competition for college students) by enrolling in the pass/fail Mathematics Problem Seminar (Math 295). Any student can participate in the Putnam Competition without enrolling in Math 295. See Prof. Rob Beezer for more information.
• Mathematical Contest in Modeling
  Students in the Mathematical Modeling course (Math 471) and the Optimization course (Math 335/CSCI 335) compete in this contest every spring, and some years there is room for more students to participate. The Problem Seminar (Math 296) is a no-credit, Pass/Fail course used to prepare students for this competition. See Prof. Mike Spivey for more information.
• ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC)
  The Pacific Northwest Regional ACM Programming Contest are held on campus in November. Prepare for ICPC by enrolling in CS 295 Problem Seminar. Any student can participate in ICPC without enrolling in CS 295. See Prof. Adam Smith for more information.
• Participate in hackathons and coding camps:
  • Code Day Seattle
  • DubHacks
  • Code Fellows Seattle
  • Seattle Code Camp
  • Google Summer of Code

Experiential Coursework

• Math 295 Problem Seminar
  In this class students and faculty discuss problems that cut across the boundaries of the standard courses and investigate general strategies of problem solving. Students are encouraged to participate in a national mathematics competition. Any student can participate in the Putnam Competition without enrolling in Math 295.

• Math 296 Problem Seminar in Mathematical Modeling
  In this class students are given examples of problems from an annual international mathematical modeling contest. The students, in groups and with faculty mentoring, develop approaches to the problems. The students and faculty also discuss winning solutions to the problems. The students are expected to participate in the contest and give a presentation of their solution.

• CS 295 Problem Solving Seminar
  Consideration of a diverse range of problems in computer science from problems in the design of correct and efficient algorithms and the implementation of data structures through problems in the theory of computation.

• CS 440 Capstone in Computer Science
  The senior capstone course provides CS majors the opportunity to integrate the knowledge that they have gained from across the curriculum. Students are encouraged to work in teams, and can pursue either an applied or theory project. Students choosing applied projects participate in the identification of a problem, develop a project proposal outlining an approach to the problem's solution, implement the proposed solution, and test or evaluate the result. Students choosing a theory project conduct original research (e.g., develop a new algorithm) and evaluate its strengths and limitations. Regardless of the choice of project, students document their work in the form of written reports and oral presentations.