MSci Project

Overview

As part of their studies, all MSci students undertake a substantial Computer Science project in their final year, resulting in a dissertation. The project is guided by at least one supervisor from the School and is done over the course of one semester.

The development and supervision process is decided by student and supervisor but will involve regular meetings to decide direction and monitor progress. Each student is responsible for managing and completing their project.

There are deliverables due at fixed points through the semester, but marking is holistic. The outcome will be an artifact such as a product, software, or a formal system. Although many projects involve software development, this is not a requirement.

Although many dissertations create exciting new results, the project is not expected to advance the state of the art the way PhD theses are. However, there has to be a novel element to the work, not simply repeating existing work. It is important that it is challenging enough and demonstrates your ability to apply CS skills gained throughout the degree to a large, complex problem.

Most of the information on the MSci project module is common to other modules: make sure you read carefully the generic projects page.

MSci project module

CS5199 - Individual masters project (60 credits)

• Taken over one semester (choice of S1 or S2) in the final year.

For information on CS4099, CS4098 and CS4796 see the SH project page. For information on CS5099 and CS5098 see the MSc project page.

Project allocation process

The allocation process typically takes place in late S2 and over the summer, for projects taken in either S1 or S2. Allocation centres around the project proposals list.

Staff advertise projects on the list and students can look for interesting projects. Students should come up with a shortlist of projects and contact the supervisors directly to discuss the project, the requirements (background knowledge and experience, what is expected in terms of programming or maths, supervision style, etc.). Keep in mind that some supervisors get many requests from students and that there is a limit per supervisor. Typically the mean number of students per supervisor is around three.

Once both the supervisor and the student agree, the student should email the project coordinator (and CC all supervisors) to register this choice. The final allocation is done by the project coordinator. The allocation is not finalised until the project coordinator confirms the allocation.

The list allows sorting based on topics, modules, and tags, but these are meant mostly for guidance, so do approach a supervisor if you are interested in a topic even if your module is not explicitly listed.

Self-proposed projects

A small but significant number of students choose to propose their own project. This is fine, but is a bit more involved because the original idea often needs to be refined together with a potential supervisor to make sure that it is relevant, doable, and challenging. Make sure to leave some extra time if you decide to go down this route – don’t leave it to the last moment! There is no automatic right to do a self-proposed project; a project can only be done if a supervisor agrees to supervise it.

In this case, the student writes a 1-2 page summary of what they propose to do, how they propose to do it, and what the outcome will be. Then they can contact a potential supervisor (typically someone with expertise in the topic) asking them to supervise. If you are not sure who would make the best supervisor for a particular topic, contact the project coordinator to make some suggestions.

Once the project is agreed, email the coordinator (and CC the supervisors) as before.

Supervision meetings

You must attend weekly supervision meetings with your supervisor, starting at the beginning of semester 1. At least four of these supervision meetings, well spaced over the semester, must be held in-person, as part of the School’s engagement monitoring process. Beyond this, supervisors have discretion to meet online if they consider it appropriate, or to require students to meet in-person.

Staff sometimes travel for research purposes and other reasons, so it’s possible that your supervisor will be away for parts of the period. If necessary they will arrange for another staff member or a research student to provide informal supervision during their absence.

Supervisors will record meeting attendance in MMS. These records will be monitored and academic alerts will be issued for unapproved absences.

It’s your responsibility to arrange supervision meetings. Failure to do so will be recorded as unapproved absence. The compulsory elements for the MSci project module (CS5199) include missing no more than two supervision meetings without approval.

Project deliverables

The deadlines are specified on MMS.

• Description, Objectives, Ethics & Resources (DOER)
• Plan & context survey
• Interim demo
• Final report & materials
• Final demo

All deliverables are mandatory and you may be issued an academic alert if you miss them. Regular supervision meetings are also mandatory.

Assessment

See information on generic projects page.

Links

• MSci project induction
• Project allocation list
• Detailed ethics briefing