Mathematics & Computer Science

Fearless Friday Seminar Attendance

Explore This Section

 

Attendance Requirements:

Students must demonstrate an engagement with mathematics and computer science by attending department-approved talks. Each talk that a student attends* is worth one point (starting Fall 2023). Students may earn additional points (up to 2 per talk) by producing talk-related material that indicates an understanding of the content of the talk. This material must be turned in via Canvas (under the "Assignments" tab) within three weeks of the talk.

*Talks must be attended in-person to receive credit, except in extreme extenuating circumstances with prior departmental approval.

In order to graduate, students majoring in either math or computer science must accumulate 10 points by the beginning of Block 7 of their senior year. Students who are double majoring in math and computer science must accumulate 16 points by the beginning of Block 7 of their senior year.

Fearless-Friday-Posters-Collage.png

Schedule of upcoming seminars

 

Talk-Related Materials will be graded according to the following rubric:

Points
(Additional to 1 Attendance Point)		 Description
0

Material does not capture important characteristics of the talk, does not demonstrate an understanding of the talk, or seems unrelated.

Example: an unrelated piece of artwork or writing that doesn't apply to the talk.
1

Material captures some details of the talk, but is not polished or rewritten. Writeup does not add to the talk or analyze the talk.

Examples: Rough notes taken during the talk, turned in without any editing. A simplistic application of methods from the talk, without an indication of how they fit into the overall main ideas.
2

Material captures the main points of the talk accurately, and places them into appropriate context. The student uses the summary material to demonstrate that they learned something interesting.

Examples: a short podcast that discusses the talk in context and compares it to other similar work, or that discusses the student's connection to the work. A 1-2 page writeup of the main ideas of the talk, with some reflection on how it relates to ideas encountered in other talks or classes. A non-trivial application of some technique presented in the talk, with a brief explanation of how it illustrates a key idea from the talk.

 

If you attend a talk, pay attention, and put your best foot forward in creating your materials, you can receive two points even if the content of the talk was difficult for you to understand fully. We encourage you to challenge yourself, and engaging with talks that push the limits of your knowledge is a great way to do that.

 

Report an issue - Last updated: 12/08/2025