information for prospective students
Thank you for your interest in working with me!
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I joined the faculty of the David. R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo in Fall 2024. I'm looking to recruit undergraduate and graduate research assistants to start in 2025. Before you contact me at mbrehmer [at] uwaterloo.ca, please read the following instructions, otherwise you'll be unlikely to get a response. Similarly, do not make a meeting request with me until I've directed you to do so.
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Construct your subject line as follows:
"Interest in joining your research team: { NAME } { LEVEL }"
where NAME includes your family and given names, while LEVEL is your sought after level of supervision: undergrad | MMath | PhD | postdoc.
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1. Begin your email with "Hi Matt!". This will assure me that you've already read this far :)
2. In a sentence or two, tell me which recent project / paper of mine resonates most with you.
3. Which of these three topics are you most interested in?: { bite-sized data storytelling | spatial computing + augmented reality (AR) experiences for synchronous communication and collaboration around information | immersive data analogies}. Explain why or what the topic means to you in a sentence or two.
4. Include other pertinent details, but please keep it to two to three sentences. Examples include links to your project portfolio, YouTube channel, LinkedIn profile, or writing samples.
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If you follow these instructions, there's a good chance that I'll reply.
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Graduate-level applicants:
Here is the application link. Please make sure to indicate that you want to work with me on your application, as this increases the odds that I will see your full application package. Once the graduate admissions committee does a preliminary review of applications, I expect to review those indicating an interest in my areas of human-computer interaction (HCI) research between December and January. At this time, I will schedule interviews with applicants. Until then, please refer to these frequently asked questions about the application process.
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Undergraduate-level applicants:
There are several ways that you can work with me. If you are currently a University of Waterloo Computer Science undegraduate student, there are part-time paid opportunities to work with me through the Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) program. You can also do complete an (unpaid) CS 499T honours thesis project with me.
If you are an undergraduate student at a postsecondary institution, there are full-time paid opportunities to work with me via the Undergraduate Research Fellowship (URF) and the NSERC USRA program. If you are a University of Waterloo undegraduate student in the Math Faculty, there is also the Mathematics Undergraduate Research Awards (MURA) program.