The Senior Class Advisor (SCA), who administers the CPSC 490 projects, is the faculty member who advises and signs the course schedules of all graduating seniors (i.e., the members of the Class of 2009). This year's SCA is Professor Holly Rushmeier (email: holly.rushmeier@yale.edu).
What are the deadlines?
Senior majors enrolled in CPSC 490 must submit the CPSC 490 form (which includes a 3-page description of the project and the list of deliverables) by noon on the fourth Thursday of the term. Other students must have this form approved by the DUS before submitting their course schedule.
All students must complete the end-of-term requirements (see below) by noon on the last day of reading period.
Are there any specific requirements?
The precise form of the project is set in consultation with the advisor. However, all students are required to satisfy the following requirements by noon on the day that reading period ends:
Note: You must satisfy these requirements even if you plan to continue your project the next term. The only difference is that your electronic abstract, written report, and web pages should constitute an interim progress report (i.e., the level of detail must be the same as in the final versions, but the work described need not be complete).
How do I choose a project?
There are two general approaches
What kind of project is appropriate?
The project should be more than just an extended homework assignment or final course project and should require that you learn more about some area of computer science. To give you some idea of the range of possibilities, the titles, abstracts, and web pages for recent projects are available on-line (see http://zoo.cs.yale.edu/classes/cs490/).
Regular courses meet 2.5 hours per week and require 2 to 3 additional hours per week for each hour of class. Using this as a guideline for what it takes to earn a course credit at Yale, the project should be something that you can complete in one semester (i.e., 14 weeks) working approximately 7 to 10 hours per week (i.e., in a total of 100-140 hours).
Note: You cannot be paid for your work on the project.
Who may advise a CPSC 490 project?
The official advisor (and thus the person who evaluates the work and assigns the grade) must be a faculty member with an appointment in the Department of Computer Science. However, the de facto advisor need not be, as long as the student meets with the official advisor at least once a month.
How can I learn more about projects from past semesters?
The course web pages http://zoo.cs.yale.edu/classes/cs490/ contain the titles, abstracts, and web pages for recent projects. Copies of the written reports are kept in a circulating library managed by Linda Dobb (508a Watson).
When should I take CPSC 490?
Most students take the course during their final term of enrollment as the capstone of the program. However, students applying to graduate school should take it in the fall (or, with permission of the DUS, in the spring of their junior year) so that they can get a letter of recommendation from their advisor.
Ideally, planning for the project should begin the preceding term (at least to the extent of finding an advisor).
How often may I take CPSC 490?
While you may not count the course as an elective in any of the computer science majors, you may take it more than once for Yale credit.
May I do a two-term project?
Yes. However, you must satisfy the end-of-term requirements at the end of each term, and your grade for each semester will reflect what you accomplished during that semester. Thus in effect a two-term project is equivalent to two one-term projects, except that the work may be incomplete at the end of the first semester and the electronic abstract, written report, and web pages for the second semester describe the entire project.
Are group projects allowed?
Yes. However, each member of the group must work on a different part of the project, and your electronic abstract, final written report, and web pages must focus on your own contributions.
What are the ‘deliverables?’
Whatever you and your advisor decide you must complete by the end of the project. Possibilities include (but are not limited to) code, theorems, simulation studies, data analysis, written reports, and oral presentations.