Are you a graduate student in computing-related studies, interested in interacting with successful women in your field who can give you advice on topics such as how to find and develop your research topic, how to prepare for your career after graduate school, and how to balance work and life?

Eligibility: Women students in their first, second or third year of graduate school in computer science and engineering or a closely related field, who are attending an institution in the U.S. or its territories, or an institution in Canada. Students that have not previously attended a Grad Cohort Workshop will be given priority.

The 2018 CRA-W Grad Cohort Workshop will be held at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, CA on April 13-14.

Workshop Schedule:
Thursday, April 12 (optional activities)
1:00 – 8:00 PM – Early Registration
6:00 – 8:00 PM – Welcome reception for attendees, speakers, and sponsors
Friday, April 13
7:00 AM – Workshop officially begins with breakfast and registration
Saturday, April 14
4:00 PM – Workshop concludes

Registration: If you register that you will be attending and an emergency arises and you cannot attend, you must notify us at least 72 hours before the workshop, or there will be a $200 cancellation fee. We received many more applications than we can support, please let us know as soon as possible if you cannot attend so that others can be accepted in your place.

Travel and Reimbursement: Your reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed by CRA-W through funds generously provided by our Grad Cohort sponsors. Please economize as reasonably as possible. You will receive a step-by-step guide on how to complete your travel reimbursement form after the workshop. In the meantime, make your travel arrangements as soon as possible. Consider using websites such as Kayak.com.

• Keep all receipts; they are required for reimbursement.
  
• You will not be reimbursed for your trip expenses until you have completed the evaluation survey sent after the event.
• The reimbursement form must be submitted by April 19, 2017.
• If you are ‘local’, you may consider using train or bus services such as Greyhound or Amtrak.
• Rental cars are not a reimbursable travel arrangement.
• Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive your check via US mail.
• Optional: To receive your reimbursement funds faster, you may set up direct deposit. Complete the Direct Deposit form and email it to gradcohortreimburse@cra.org by February 24, 2017.  
• Contact us with any questions regarding travel arrangements.

Hotel (Hilton San Francisco Union Square): Participants will be paired up to share a room. We do not consider roommate requests of any kind. We will make the hotel reservations and pay for your room expenses directly; however, upon arrival you will need to provide a credit card or debit card to the hotel for any incidental charges you incur such as room service, etc. Standard internet access will be provided free of charge in all guest rooms.

Airports and ground transportation: The main airports servicing this region are San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK).

Reimbursable Ground Transportation options:

• San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) runs from SFO to the hotel, please find details here.
  • Airport Metro Stop: San Francisco International Airport
  • Hotel Metro Stop: Powell St. Station
• BART runs a shuttle between OAK and Coliseum Station, after which a BART train can be taken to the hotel.
  • Shuttle Info here.
  • Route from shuttle stop to hotel here and here (both follow the same route, they’re just different-colored train lines).
• Taxi/Uber/Lyft between SFO and the hotel is about $30 each way.
• Taxi/Uber/Lyft between OAK and the hotel is about $40 each way.

Poster Session: There will be a Poster Session on Friday afternoon for participants to talk about their research. All invited participants are welcome to present a poster, and we encourage second and third year students to take advantage of this opportunity to receive feedback on their research plans from fellow participants as well as from researchers from the sponsoring labs and nearby universities.

• Those interested in being part of the poster session must provide a title and short abstract before February 28, 2018 by going to the link provided in your registration email.
• Posters must not be larger than 36” x 48″ (horizontal/vertical orientation is acceptable).
  • We encourage you to print your poster as a fabric poster, for ease of travel.
  • Poster printing is reimbursable, with receipt.

Eligibility: Women students in their first, second or third year of graduate school in computer science and engineering or a closely related field, who are attending an institution in the U.S. or its territories, or an institution in Canada. Students that have not previously attended a Grad Cohort Workshop will be given priority.

When are applications due?

The Grad Cohort 2018 applications are now closed.

To stay up to date with CRA-W and Grad Cohort News join our mailing list, follow us on Twitter @CRAWomen or join our Facebook Group.

What information is needed in the application?

Information about your current graduate student status and institution is required. We also request information about your demographics.

When will I learn the status of my application?

Invitations to Grad Cohort are distributed in waves throughout January and early February of the year of the workshop. We thank you for your patience as we work though the process of extending invitations. Please do not ask the status of your application before mid February of the year of the workshop and please check your spam folder before sending email.