A significant challenge for Computer Science departments is how best to get new graduate students involved with their chosen research projects. Ideally, the incoming graduate students will as a whole have both a solid understanding of computing principles behind large-scale software development and a broad "skill set", e.g., for conducting systems-oriented research. This rarely occurs, due to the diversity of backgrounds of incoming students--even the most qualified applicant can have deficiencies. To address this problem, we have developed a first-year graduate course that balances and integrates practical considerations with basic principles of complex software system development. To make the discussions of designing, implementing, and evaluating complex software systems more concrete, we situate the core of the class in the context of Web Services. We are currently teaching this class for the second time, and, while there will always be open issues given the nature and scope of this class, we have received positive feedback from the students and the other members of the department. Students recognize the practicality of Web Services. Students also appreciate the research possibilities that arise while evaluating the state of the art with regard to Web Services.
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