Mia Minnes

Mia Minnes is a Teaching Professor and the Vice Chair for Undergraduate Education in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering. She teaches discrete math for CS, introduction to computability, and TA training classes, while leading initiatives that connect academic learning with professional development.

Her research focuses on Automata Theory and Computability education, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and projects supporting student professionalization pathways including industry internships, peer mentor development, and ethics in computing. She has pioneered initiatives like the Summer Internship Symposium and CSE-PACE (Peer-led Academic Cohort Experiences) to enhance student experiences in large computing programs.

Minnes' publication portfolio reveals strong trends in computing education research, particularly in internship experiences, TA professional development, assessment methods, and interventions for large classes. Her work consistently bridges theoretical computer science with practical educational applications, demonstrating a commitment to evidence-based teaching practices and student success metrics.

• UC San Diego Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award (2020)
• Jacobs School of Engineering Teacher of the Year (2013-2014)
• Multiple NSF grants as PI including DUE-2337253 (2024-2027)
• UC San Diego Student Centeredness Award (2023-2024)
• Teaching+Learning Commons Faculty Fellow (2018-2019)

She has advised numerous undergraduate and graduate students through research projects examining internship disparities, TA professional development, educational technology tools, and student experiences in computing programs. Her leadership extends to projects like FlapJS (an interactive visualization tool for formal computation), ComputingPaths (resources for computing career paths), and OCCTIVE (supporting computational problem solving in non-CS courses).