This post is for those of you coming to Clemson for Computer Science/DPA/HCC. Many of you have written to your "seniors" expecting to hear their opinions about what courses you can take. Without any intention of sounding conceited, I wish to let you know what we did (typically, with good results) in SoC when we decided to accept the offer. Please make your inquiries after spending your time going through the available resources here: http://grad.cs.clemson.edu/

Dr. Duchowski is your go to guy if you have any questions regarding your program.

1) There is a graduate handbook that you should spare some good time of your busy lifestyle to read and understand: http://grad.cs.clemson.edu/…/2014-2015%20SOC%20Graduate%20H…

Whatever your degree is MS/PhD the Grad handbook is your bible. Understanding it would make the difference between graduating within the expected timeline, and stumbling every step along the way and taking forever to graduate.

2) You need to design your course the way you want to. Unlike many other programs, we have some of the most confusing degree requirements, so planning is the key. You need to fill out a form called GS-2 sometime in your second semester. This activity is done to put your big plan on paper. The GS-2 form can be found here:http://www.grad.clemson.edu/forms/pdf/GS2_fillable.pdf…

If you feel torn between your heart's deepest desires and your degree requirements, you can use a tool we're trying to build for the department here: http://git.io/gs2 (Bragging rights: Bhargav Golla, Gautam Ravi) to evaluate your priorities better.

3) Not all courses are offered every semester, and not all courses need to be offered every year at all. Check out and plan accordingly:http://www.clemson.edu/…/cur…/masters/course%20rotation.html

4) It DOES NOT MATTER WHAT COURSE YOU PICK within SoC. But if you are the kind who wants to know what grades a professor likes to give, well, Clemson allows you to indulge here:http://workgroups.clemson.edu/A_A_5690_O…/…/ReportGrades.cgi (Log in with your Clemson Username/password, and enjoy)

5) Please, for your sake be serious about your grades from the beginning, SoC is quite ruthless about sending students packing if they feel like it. We have had issues of Plagiarism as well, so hey, don't be that guy/girl.

So, all said and done, congratulations, and welcome.

By Gautam Ravi (https://www.facebook.com/gautampr)