CSC 498: Senior Project, Fall 2005

Course Information

Course Overview:

During the first few weeks of the semester, students will either develop an independent project proposal that specifies a well-defined project of appropriate rigor and that indicates the student has the necessary skills and knowledge to implement the project, or students will write a project proposal chosen from a set of faculty-defined problems that are based upon concepts from completed Computer Science courses. At regular intervals during the remainder of the semester, students will demonstrate progress toward successful completion of their individual projects. As the course satisfies the `S' competency requirement, several formal presentations will be given, along with informal discussions about student projects and about ethical issues related to these projects.

Instructor Role and Independent Work:

One of the computer science department's goals for the senior project course is to give each student the chance to independently carry out all stages of a large project (proposal, implementation, testing, documentation, and presentation). In this light, part of your task is to learn how to work through any obstacles you may encounter.

More specifically, we assume students will implement these projects independently, although you will of course be able to work with your classmates if one of them has some knowledge that you need to learn. The instructor for this course primarily serves as a coach and guide. Depending on your project topic, the instructor may or may not be able to refer you to reference materials at various points during the project, and the instructor may or may not be in a position to offer technical suggestions. In some situations your instructor may direct you to consult with another faculty member, if the project lies outside of his or her specialty areas and if you have questions about the design of the project. However, debugging, except in rare cases, is not performed by any of the faculty members. All instructors are asked to record debugging help (and any other consultation meetings) that seniors request. If we find that debugging help is necessary, then the Senior Project goals are compromised, and your final grade may be adjusted (see grading policies). We will inform you, should concern about this part of your grade develop.

DePauw University, Computer Science Department, Fall 2005
Maintained by Brian Howard (bhoward@depauw.edu). Last updated