A sounding board for strengthening the student experience

In 2021, Matthew Caren ’25, a jazz musician and computer science and engineering major with minors in music and theater arts, responded to an intriguing invitation. He applied to and eagerly joined the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing’s (SCC) Undergraduate Advisory Group (UAG), a commitment he maintained throughout his four years at MIT. His motivation stemmed from the college’s emphasis on the interdisciplinary applications of computing, engineering, and the arts.

Established in April 2020, the UAG serves as a vital sounding board for the SCC leadership. Comprising approximately 25 undergraduate students from diverse fields, including traditional and blended majors in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) and other computing-related programs, the group provides crucial constructive feedback and innovative ideas. “The ethos of the UAG is the ethos of the college itself,” Caren explains, highlighting how bringing together smart, diverse individuals fosters rich discussions and interactions.

The UAG offers a unique, direct channel of communication to the college’s leadership. In their monthly meetings with SCC Dean Dan Huttenlocher and Deputy Dean Asu Ozdaglar (also EECS Department Head), students openly discuss challenges within the student experience and propose solutions. They also provide input to visiting faculty developing new courses. Dean Huttenlocher values their perspective, noting that UAG members are “keenly interested in computer science and AI, especially how these fields connect with other disciplines.” He finds their honesty and feedback “incredibly helpful.” Similarly, Deputy Dean Ozdaglar describes the meetings as “a real pleasure,” emphasizing the group’s “invaluable space for understanding the student experience more deeply.”

Ellen Rushman, UAG program manager, attests to the safe environment cultivated by Dean Huttenlocher and Deputy Dean Ozdaglar, where students feel comfortable raising concerns. Crucially, the group’s suggestions frequently lead to tangible changes. A notable example is the design of the new SCC building. When architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill presented initial renderings to the UAG in 2021, strong student opinions advocating for more open-plan, community-building spaces resulted in the inclusion of popular hybrid study and meeting booths in the first-floor lobby. Matthew Caren expresses his satisfaction, seeing the “personalized space and seeing it constantly being in use and always crowded.”

Julia Schneider, Caren’s co-chair and a rising senior double-majoring in artificial intelligence and decision-making and mathematics, joined the UAG as a first-year student. Her personal experience conducting robotics research in mechanical engineering, despite her EECS major, resonated with the college’s mission of fostering interdepartmental collaborations through computing. During her tenure, UAG members have formed subgroups to pursue specific programmatic goals, such as curating a public lecture series for the 2025-26 academic year to expose students to faculty research across disciplines related to computing.

One significant initiative born from UAG discussions addresses the challenge students face in navigating course selections. Recognizing that the best course recommendations often come from informal “tribal knowledge” shared among upperclassmen, Schneider and a subgroup set out to democratize this information. For the past six months, they have developed NerdXing, a groundbreaking course visualization website.

Guided by Rob Miller, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in EECS and education officer for the college’s cross-cutting initiative, Common Ground for Computing Education, NerdXing utilizes a decade’s worth of EECS course enrollment data. Unlike traditional tools like CourseRoad, NerdXing helps students discover paths taken by peers who share diverse interests beyond pure computer science, such as biology, music, economics, or neuroscience. Miller emphasizes that this approach is “very much in the spirit of the College of Computing — applying data-driven computational methods, in support of students with wide-ranging computational interests.”

During a pilot demonstration, Schneider illustrated how a computer science major could visualize potential course sequences. By selecting a major and a class of interest (e.g., 18.404 Theory of Computation), the tool expands into a vast graph showcasing courses taken by CS peers over the last decade. Unexpected connections, like 18.404 leading to 6.7900 (Machine Learning) and then to 21M.302 (Harmony and Counterpoint II), reveal interdisciplinary opportunities. Users can view aggregate statistics, identify popular courses, follow typical sequences, and uncover niche classes they might otherwise miss. “I think that one of the reasons you come to MIT is to be able to take cool stuff exactly like this,” Schneider asserts.

NerdXing exemplifies the UAG’s broader mission: empowering students to shape and enhance their academic journey beyond mere degree requirements. The UAG doesn’t just identify areas for improvement; its members actively leverage their skills to create solutions. As Schneider aptly puts it, “We are MIT students. We have the skills to build solutions. This group of people not only brings up ways in which things could be better, but we take it into our own hands to fix things.” The UAG stands as a testament to student-driven innovation, continually strengthening the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and the experiences it offers.