MSc in Information Processing: Computers and the Man-Machine Interface
Course Structure and Assessment
The subjects taught cover the following strands:
Programming:
how to write programs and design and
implement efficient data structures and algorithms; programming in the
large.
Systems:
the architecture of computer systems, their low level design; networks
and operating systems.
Information:
business systems; databases.
Interfaces: how to design user
interfaces that are easy to learn and use
The components of the course are listed below:
Personal Tutor & Tutorial Group
Each student is assigned to a tutorial group (usually containing no
more than four or five students), and hence
to a personal tutor. Tutorial groups meet on a weekly basis up until
the start of the project. The purpose of these
meetings is to reinforce the material taught in the formal course
units, and also to provide an opportunity for
informal discussion of related subjects.
Assessment
Assessment of students' performance in the course modules takes place
in a variety of forms: practical exercises,
reports, closed examinations and a dissertation for the project.
Students are deliberately exposed to a variety
of assessment methods so that they are not disadvantaged by background.
Assessment Dates: The
assessments take place at various times during the year.
Closed
examinations take place in:
- the 1st week
of Term 2 (for those courses taught during Term 1) and
- around the 8th week of Term 3
(for those courses taught
during Terms 2 and 3).
Practical exercises, reports and other forms of
open assessment are due either during the
course module or just after its completion.
Project Work
The dissertation project undertaken by students in Terms 3 and 4 is
carried out individually, which might involve
collaboration with another organisation. A collaborative project is
supervised by a member of the Department, but
the collaborating organisation will normally provide an external
supervisor. Organisations that have collaborated
in projects in the past include Glasgow Town Planning Department,
British Rail Passenger Services Department, North
Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Fire Services, NEDO, the Royal
Horticultural Society, Biosis UK, Centre Point
sheltered housing, York Archaeological Trust, and the University of
York Library.
The subject matter of projects varies widely; most projects are
suggested by members of staff, some by external
organisations, and some by students themselves, perhaps relating to an
area of personal interest that they wish
to develop further. All project proposals are rigorously vetted and
must meet a number of requirements before these are made available to
the students. The department uses an automated project allocation
system for assigning
projects to students that takes into account supervisor and student
preferences.
Projects undertaken over the past few years
include: a teaching database management system;
a user-interface for an interactive compiler; a garden design package;
an on-line help system; a heat exchanger
simulator; a satellite communications feasibility study; a circuit
compiler; a mouth-controlled input device; the
introduction of desk top publishing into a large organisation; a
database of archaeological information; an information
system for historical bibliography; an analysis of the relationship
between JSD and occam.
Contact information (Ms Jane White) +44 1904 434766 : grad-secretary@cs.york.ac.uk
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