CIS Advisers

CIS Faculty Advisers

Faculty advisers play a critical role in the experience of CIS majors. Students seeking to complete a student-designed major (thesis or capstone) or a year-long thesis in a center-established major must have two faculty advisers, and those advisers must be teaching during the students' senior year. Students seeking to complete a center-established major with a one-semester capstone are required to have one faculty advisor.  It is customary for faculty in student-designed majors to take no more than two CIS majors at a time.

During the fall of sophomore year, faculty work with students to determine if a CIS major is a good fit and, if so, to prepare a suitable and rigorous curriculum for their CIS proposal.  If a faculty member agrees to serve as adviser the student can initiate an application form in Kuali.  The application will come to the CIS Director as well as faculty advisers for approval.  In the case of student designed majors, the application will be reviewed by the CIS Advisory Board as well.  During the junior year, faculty advisers will mentor students on their prospectus defense. During senior year, faculty advisers meet frequently with students to provide feedback on thesis and capstone projects in process. Each semester of junior and senior year, advisers should submit a mid-semester feedback form to the CIS Director.

Throughout the two-year cycle as a CIS adviser, faculty are frequent participants in the CIS senior presentations where they offer questions and feedback on the work of all CIS majors, not just their advisees. The contributions of faculty advisers foster a dynamic intellectual community within CIS.

Forms

  • CIS Prospectus Form for Juniors (Davidson login required)
  • CIS Thesis Defense Form for Seniors (Davidson login required)
  • CIS Mid-semester Advising Form (Davidson login required)
  • CIS Course Change Form (Davidson login required)
    • Please only request course changes in situations that are outside of your control (e.g., the course that was approved is no longer offered at Davidson). This request would likely only occur for one course at maximum per student in those unique situations. Please do not make requests for convenience as your approved contract has been previously carefully vetted by a committee.