Frequently Asked Questions about the DMP
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Why are there two DMP programs - CRA-W DMP and CDC DMP?
Which one should I apply to? Can I apply to both?
There are two programs because they have different objectives -
the CRA-W DMP (operating since 1994) seeks
to increase the number of women entering
graduate studies in the fields of computer science and computer engineering
while the CDC DMP (launched in 2007) seeks
to increase the number of men and women from underrepresented groups
(male and female) entering
graduate studies in the fields of computer science and computer engineering.
The appliation allows students and faculty mentors
to apply to one or both programs.
During the selection process, all applicants will
be evaluated using the selection criteria described
on the
DMP Application homepage .
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Can a student be paired with a mentor at the same university?
Most of the DMP participants are NOT from the same institution, but we do
have some.
If there is a particular reason the student would like to stay at that
institution and work with a particular faculty member, then both student
and faculty should make that clear in the application.
They should also make it clear if that is a requirement or a preference.
Also, with the CDC DMP, an option exists for the research to take place
remotely, using collaborative technologies such that the student can
remain at his or her home institution with local and remote mentors.
This option includes at least two visits by the student to the remote
mentor's institution during the summer.
If the student is interested in this option, then he or she should
indicate that in the application.
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Do students have to find their own housing?
It is the responsiblity of the student to find lodging for the summer.
In many cases, the mentor will provide information about staying
in a dorm on campus or about low-cost summer housing options in the area.
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What kind of commitment (in hours/week, or even total hours) is required
to participate in the DMP?
The DMP program is meant to be a full-time intensive 10 week
research experience for undergraduates.
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Are there set dates for DMP internships? Do students have to be matched
with mentors from universities that have the same academic calendar?
The program is very flexible and the mentorship dates are
scheduled at the mutual convenience of the student and the
mentor. We have students and mentors applying from schools
that are on the semester system (summer break typically from mid
May to mid August) and from schools that are on the quarter
system (summer break typically from mid June to mid September).
Usually, it is easiest to arrange housing during the mentor's
summer break, but some DMP students have started their mentorship
before the end of their mentor's spring term or have completed
their internship after their mentor's fall term has started.
These details are worked out during the matching process and
should not prevent anyone from applying for the DMP program.
Student Application and Selection
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Are international students eligible for the DMP?
Yes, as long as they are pursuing an undergraduate degree at
a U.S. or Canadian college or University.
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I am an international student studying in the United States, and I do not have permission to work. Can I still participate in the DMP?
Yes. International students can participate in the DMP via curricular practical training. This training needs to be approved by your home institution. We suggest you see your international advisor (or someone at your office for international students) to complete the appropriate paperwork.
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Are there any special programs that Canadians may apply to?
Yes. There is a Canadian DMP for undergraduate women that is
managed by the CRA-W. You can find more information about
it here:
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Can current graduate students apply for the DMP as mentees?
That is really not the purpose of this program. There are a number of other
internship programs which graduate students can apply for. For example,
the National Laboratories and many companies have summer internship
programs. You can find more information about them here:
http://dept.physics.upenn.edu/undergraduate/natlab.html
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Can current seniors, or students who have already graduated with
a bachelors degree, apply for the DMP?
Yes, students can participate after they have graduated.
It is true, however, that in most cases we would prefer for students to
participate earlier - so that the experience can help them decide if they
want to go to graduate school and to help them be more competitive
applicants for admission and fellowships if they do apply.
Also, since the goals of the program are to encourage more women to
go to graduate school in computer science and computer engineering,
graduating students that are already admitted to graduate school are less
likely to be funded than less advanced students who have still not decided
if graduate school is for them.
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Can male students apply for the DMP?
Yes.
In fact, men from groups underrepresented in computing are strongly
encouraged to apply for the CDC DMP.
In general, during the selection process, all applicants will
be evaluated using the selection criteria for the relevant
program (CRA-W DMP or CDC DMP) described
on the
DMP Application homepage .
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Is the DMP open to students in majors outside of CS&CE?
Yes.
During the selection process, all applicants will
be evaluated using the DMP selection criteria described
on the
DMP Application homepage .
Thus, since in most cases, CS&CE students are more likely
to be better prepared for graduate studies in CS&CE,
they would have have an increased chance of being matched
with a mentor.
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What constitutes an unofficial transcript?
A list of courses, grades and GPA (by semester) would be sufficient. Some
universities actually provide their students an electronic unofficial
transcript. If yours does not, just create your own listing.
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Where do I send my official transcript?
You should send your official transcript to:
Prof. Nancy Amato,
Department of Computer Science,
Texas A&M University,
College Station, TX 77843-3112.
Note: sometimes it takes awhile for your transcript to be processed. In order for your application to be evaluated in a timely manner, you should enter your unofficial transcript into your DMP application.
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Where do I send my letters of reccomendation?
After you input the contact information, including email addresses,
for your letter writers into the application, we will send them
email with a special url and directions as to how they can
submit their letter into the DMP website.
Acceptable formats are plain asci, pdf, or postscript.
If they cannot submit their letter to the website (stongly
preferred), then they should contact us at dmp-web@cs.tamu.edu
or send hard copy (discouraged) to
Prof. Nancy Amato,
Department of Computer Science,
Texas A&M University,
College Station, TX 77843-3112.
- If I applied for the DMP Program last year, do I need to
resubmit all my information again to apply this year?
Yes, you will still need to fill out a complete application.
The application often undergoes small changes from year to year, and
while you may not realize it, there there are probably many changes
in your information (e.g., the courses you have
taken, possibly your interests, etc).
Mentor Application and Selection
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Can two (or more) faculty mentors apply together to jointly
mentor one or more students? Is there anything special
required to submit a joint application?
Yes, the DMP accepts joint applications for mentors.
Each mentor applicant should provide the personal
application materials (e.g., address, url, CV, etc.),
but only one of the applicants needs to provide the
information related to the reseach project and the
environment at their institution.
The application site provides a way to link applications.
The applicant that completes the full application should
apply first and they will be given an Application Key,
which they should then provide to the other applicant(s)
who will need to provide it during the application creation process.
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My college is not a PhD granting institution.
Can I apply to be a mentor?
One objective of the DMP is to immerse the students in an
environment similar to the one they would experience in graduate
school. Hence, it is important that the mentor's institution have an
active summer graduate student population including PhD students
and that the mentor's group have graduate students (preferably PhD
students) with whom the DMP student could interact.
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I'm a professor at a PhD granting institution outside the US or Canada.
Can I apply to be a mentor?
No, we're sorry but currently eligible mentors for DMP students should be
faculty at PhD granting institutions in the US or Canada.
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I'm a professor at a PhD granting institution in Canada.
Can I apply to be a mentor?
Yes. But please note that while we do have some unrestricted funds, most
of our funding comes from the U.S. National Science Foundation and is
restricted to US citizens and permanent residents.
Also, please note that there is also a Canadian version of the DMP program,
the
C-DMP,
and faculty at Canadian Universities are encouraged to consider
applying to it.
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Why are you asking DMP mentors to provide funds?
The number of students interested in the DMP program has increased
substantially over the last several years and many qualified
students have not been selected due to lack of funding. To enable
more students to participate, faculty are now encouraged to provide
funds to support (partially or fully) students.
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Does it increase my chances of being selected as a DMP mentor if
I can contribute funds to the support my DMP student?
No. The selection and matching process will be performed in
a ``blind'' fashion which does not consider a mentor's financial
contribution until after they have been matched with a student.
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I have some funds that could be used to support a DMP student,
but there are some restrictions (e.g., they are REU funds and
so the student must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident).
This is not a problem.
The DMP mentor application provides a way for you to
indicate any restrictions there are on your funds, and these
restrictions will be taken into account when matching you with
a DMP student.
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Does the DMP allow male mentors?
Yes.
In fact, male faculty from groups underrepresented in computing are
strongly encouraged to apply for the CDC DMP.
Also, male faculty can serve as mentors in the CRA-W DMP -
male faculty first served as mentors in the CRA-W DMP in summer
2004 and we expect the numbers to increase in the future.
However, based on the documented benefits of having a role
model from a similar demographic group,
also seen in the ongoing evaluation of the CRA-W DMP,
most CRA-W DMP funds will be allocated to female mentors
and
most CDC DMP funds will be used to support students matched
with mentors from underrepresented groups.
Hence, it is anticipated that other mentors will provide full
funding for their students' stipends
(the DMP program will provide travel support).
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Can a PhD student apply to be a mentor?
We really want to have faculty mentors. In many cases, however, a faculty
mentor is assisted by graduate students who act as mentors as well.
So one way for a PhD to participate would be to get a faculty member
to apply as a mentor and then assist with mentoring the student(s).
- If I applied to be a DMP Mentor last year, do I need to
resubmit all my information again to apply this year?
No, you don't! New this year, mentors can choose to import their
application from the previous year or start a new one.
Application Problems
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Where can I find an overview of the program requirements, payment schedule,
information about how to request travel grants, etc?
On the
CRA-W DMP Procedures and Requirements Summary webpage.
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How are CRA-W DMP stipends treated for US income tax purposes?
Because CRA-W DMP stipends paid by the CRA are not for qualified tuition and
related expenses but instead represent compensation for research services
rendered as a condition
of receiving the grant, they are reportable as gross income, but not as
wages. Also, they are not subject to FICA (or, therefore, to self-employment
tax) or federal unemployment tax. There is no requirement for CRA to withhold
any taxes on these stipends and no such withholding shall be done.
CRA is not required to issue 1099's or W-2's to stipend recipients. It is
therefore the responsibility of each recipient to properly report the
stipends as taxable income on her 1040 in the year received.
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Does the CRA-W DMP program have any funding to help CRA-W DMP students attend technical conferences with their
CRA-W DMP mentor? What about to make a return visit to their mentor's institution after the program is over?
Yes.
The CRA-W DMP program has limited funding that CRA-W DMP students can apply for to assist them to attend a
technical conference with their mentor and their research group during or after their CRA-W DMP internship.
If it is after the CRA-W DMP internship, then the travel must be in direct relation to the student's
internship, e.g., a conference where a paper the student co-authored as a result of her
CRA-W DMP experience will be presented.
Students can also apply for funding to make a short duration (a week or so) return visit to work
with their mentor to continue work begun during the CRA-W DMP experience, e.g., for a week or so over
winter or spring break.
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Does the CRA-W DMP program have any advice for mentors to help them be more effective mentors for their CRA-W DMP students?
Yes, some mentoring tips
have been developed specifically for the CRA-W DMP based on findings of the
Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation, and Dissemination (LEAD) Center which
performed an evaluation of the CRA-W DMP from 1994-2005.
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