Proposal Guidelines
Both the thesis and design project options must be approved by a supervisory committee consisting of three MSCS faculty members. To obtain approval, you must write a formal proposal that includes the following:
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A description of the purpose or problem the project is intended to address
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The approach you plan to use
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Supporting research that justifies your approach
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The criteria for determining when the project is complete
We recommend using the Thesis/Project Proposal Form as a starting point. However, any format approved by your committee is acceptable.
Supervisory Committee
All thesis and project students are required to have a supervisory committee made up of:
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Your faculty advisor (who serves as chair), and
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Two additional MSCS faculty members with a Ph.D. or equivalent
Your faculty advisor will be assigned when you are accepted into the program, although this assignment may be changed later by mutual agreement (see the advisors page).
You and your faculty advisor will select two other faculty members. If you wish to include a committee member who is not MSCS Ph.D. faculty, you may petition the graduate director. You will need to demonstrate that the individual has subject-matter expertise relevant to your project.
Proposal Presentation and Course Registration
Once your thesis/project advisor approves your written proposal, you will schedule an oral presentation of your project proposal. All MSCS faculty must be invited, and at a minimum, your faculty supervisory committee should attend.
If your committee approves the project after the presentation, they will sign the proposal. Once the signed proposal is submitted to the program director, you will be allowed to register for one of the following courses:
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CS 6010 – for design projects
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CS 6011– for research projects