An introduction to the technical, social, economic, and political aspects of graduate education in computer science at Rochester. Class meetings consist primarily of group discussions and presentations that focus on a broad range of topics, and are intended to improve the critical analysis, technical writing, presentation, and problem-solving skills of students. Both class discussions and written assignments are drawn from material presented in other first-year graduate courses offered within the department. The course also offers a forum for individual department faculty members to discuss their research interests and recent results. Satisfactory performance is required of all first-year graduate students.