Final Year Projects
Overview
This page contains information common to all final-year project/dissertation modules.
Deliverables
The deliverables for final-year projects/dissertations are:
- DOER planning document
- Plan and context survey (60-credit modules only)
- Interim demo
- Final submission
- Project report or dissertation
- Related materials
- Final demo
See MMS for deliverable deadlines.
Extension requests
Some people may need to request an extension for the final submission deadline. The usual process applies: submit a self-certificate and complete the extension request form, taking care to select the Dissertation option for the first question (if a different option is selected, the request will not be routed to the Projects Coordinator, and a delay in processing is likely).
Requests should be made in good time: last-minute requests made on the deadline day are unlikely to be granted. Retrospective extension requests submitted after the deadline will not be approved.
Extensions are not granted for for deliverables with zero credit weighting, i.e. all deliverables before the final deadline. Since they carry no credit, they have no lateness penalties. If you are late with a zero-weighted deliverable, do not submit an extension request, but expect follow up via email and academic alerts.
A request for an extension longer than five days will not normally be approved without supporting medical evidence or input from Student Services. If you are experiencing mental health issues and are not already in contact with Student Services, you should do so now. Remember that the CS Welfare Officers (student-welfare-cs@st-andrews.ac.uk) are also available if you need support.
Good academic practice
It is, obviously, particularly important to be careful in observing Good Academic Practice in your project writing, since your degree is likely to depend on passing the project module. Note that:
- Unauthorised use of AI is considered a very serious form of academic misconduct.
- Project/dissertation submissions will be processed via the Turnitin plagiarism checking tool.
- The likely penalty for academic misconduct in the project/dissertation is a mark of zero, leading to the Honours or Masters degree not being awarded.
Assessment
Final-year projects and dissertations are assessed via a double marking process. Assessment is based on the report/dissertation, the demonstration, and the quality and scope of the submitted artifacts. The supervisor and a second marker evaluate the work independently and then agree a final mark and combined feedback. The second marker is usually not an expert in the particular area of Computer Science. Feedback is released to students after final module grades are published.
Further information by year of study
The pages linked below give more information on aspects of individual projects that vary by year: