| Office Location: | JBWN 223 | Phone: | 512-448-8675 | |
| Class Location: | TBA | Class Times: | TBA |
COSC 4347 - Senior Research Project
Course Overview: Computing curricula in many colleges and universities require all students to complete a special course during the senior year. This special course, called a capstone course, is designed to provide a culminating and integrative learning experience in the student's major. COSC 4347 is the capstone course for Computer Science and Computer Information Science majors at St. Edward's University. COSC 4347, which is a 3-credit course, is the first course in a two course sequence. COSC 4149, which is a 1-credit course, is taken the semester immediately following COSC 4347. The focus of COSC 4347 is the actual completion of a research or software project. The focus of COSC 4149 is the dissemination of the research or software project results via a professional presentation.- To prepare you for graduate studies and/or entry into the workplace.
- To develop confidence in your abilities to solve computing problems.
- To allow for the integration and reflection on previous knowledge.
- To improve your ability to convey technical information through written and oral communications.
- To develop experience using professional practices for research and/or software development.
- To experience the process of developing a significant project from beginning to end with minimal direction from an instructor.
Senior Project provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate to yourself and to others that you are prepared to meet future challenges. Therefore, you should consider carefully any additional goals for this course. Think about them, write them down, and choose a research or software project that interests you and helps you attain the goals listed above as well as your personal goals.
The Project
Each student must complete an individual project that investigates, analyzes, and solves a real-world problem. This real-world problem can be a research project or it can be a software project. The project should demonstrate both your academic knowledge and professional skills. In deciding on a project, you should consider the time you have available, computing resources, what knowledge and skills you will need to acquire, what knowledge and skills you have currently, and what supporting expertise is available from the CS faculty or external sources. Choose a project carefully. You will devote the entire academic year to this project and it should be something that you find interesting and motivating.Course Prerequisites: COSC 3339 (Software Engineering), MATH 3320 or MATH 3334 OR BUSI 2305,2106(Statistics) and Senior Standing.
Course Required Text Book: None.
| Weekly Meetings with Instructor Weekly Project Reports - Written and updated on project website Attendance at Senior Seminar and class presentations |
20% |
| Formal Project Proposal | 10% |
| Project Timeline for completion | 10% |
| Project Website | 20% |
| End of Semester Presentation | 15% |
| Project Results (completion and outcome) | 25% |
Attendance Policy: Attendance at class meetings will be taken. All students are required to be present at the Senior Seminar presentations. Students are also required to attend the class presentations of projects during the last week of classes and during the scheduled final exam period. Students will not be withdrawn due to absences, rather a grade of F will be given for any student missing 3 or more class meeting times, including end of semester presentations. It is the responsibility of every student to withdraw if it becomes obvious the course will not be completed, before the semester withdrawal date.
Late Assignments: No late assignments will be accepted.
Academic Integrity: All assignments and projects are expected to be completed by individual effort only. Students may get help from others on assignments but everyone is expected to turn in his or her own work. Copying another's work and turning it in as one's own is a violation of academic honesty and the student may receive an F for the course if this occurs. Students should refer to the St. Edward's University Academic Integerity Policy for further information.
Information Technolgy Policy: All students are expected to comply with the St. Edward's University Information Technology Policy . Violations of this policy can result in loss of technolgy privileges as well as disciplinary or legal action.
Incompletes: A grade of incomplete is assigned at the end of the semester only if a student (1) Has attended class regularly , (2) Has completed most of the required course work, and (3) Is unable to complete the course because of an emergency beyond the student's control. Incompletes are NOT assigned to give a student the opportunity to do extra credit work to receive a higher grade. A written request for an incomplete must be submitted to the instructor before the last day of class. All incompletes must be approved by the Dean of Natural Sciences.
Learning Different: If you have a medical, psychiatric or learning disability and require accommodations in this class, please let me know early in the semester or as soon as you are eligible. You will first need to provide documentation of your disability to the Student Disability Services Office located in the office of Academic Planning and Support.
If you experience difficulty in this course for any reason, please consult with me. I will do my best to help you address the concerns you have, and I may be able to direct you to other resources in the department or school. Additionally, SEU provides the following variety of services to support you in meeting course requirements and achieving academic success.
- Academic Planning and Support (Moody Hall #155, x8660) offers study skills workshops, individual consultation, and tutor referrals, and other services for students who need assistance with academic problems.
- Psychological Services (Moody Hall #102, x8538) offers counseling and consultations regarding personal concerns, self-help information, and connections to mental health resources in the community.
- Student Disability Services (Moody Hall #155, x8660) offers technical and practical support for students with medical, psychological, or learning disabilities. The staff provides counseling, referrals and services to ensure that students receive appropriate accommodations.
