Project setting guidelines

Project Specifications

Setters set projects for each degree programme in the department. There are separate criteria for each programme structured around the level (e.g., H, M) and category of project, which are listed in the project specifications. Project definitions must be appropriate for the particular course.

Project Report Requirements

In addition to the above mentioned criteria, setters need to be aware of the project report requirements:

• introduction, setting the scene; explaining motivation; summarising the objectives; outlining the method or approach used;
• literature review, providing critical analysis of previous work relevant to the project;
• development chapters: whether or not the project is a lifecycle project, the student needs to present a reasoned and justified account of the development and the product;
• evaluation and critical assessment: this covers critique and evaluation of the approach, the product, the motivation etc;
• conclusion, reflecting the objectives in the introduction;
• full academic-standard referencing
• technical appendices

Setting Requirements

It is the Department's policy that no project is undertaken by more than one student at a time, whether under the same supervisor or under different supervisors. This means that each project entered into the project database must be distinct.

A project undertaken in an earlier year should not normally be offered again, unless (a) substantial changes have been made to the specification, and (b) a reasonable interval has elapsed since the project was first undertaken. (Projects which are not taken up may of course be offered unchanged in subsequent years.)

Proposals requiring specific (non-standard) software and/or hardware or requiring substantial system resources (e.g. disc space or processor time) should be cleared with support before they are advertised.

Project descriptions

Projects are defined by entering data into the project database. The data includes: a title, description and a list of cohorts for which the project is suitable.

• Descriptions must be focused; no waffle.
• At least half the projects submitted by each setter must be appropriate for students of a standard at or below average for the course (ie for less-good students).
• Descriptions must outline any special skills needed or unusual constraints on the project.
• Descriptions should suggest a general approach that could be followed to complete the project within the time-frame.
• References should be given to material that shows the motivation, or starting point for research, for the project.

Student-defined Projects

External Projects

Setters may set projects to be undertaken with an external organisation or business.

• The proposal should give details of the industrial supervisor (name, position in the organisation, whether he/she has performed this role before).
• It is important that the external organisation understands that the project does not represent any form of commitment from the university or department.
• The organisation must be made aware that the final project must have significant academic content.
• The setter is the supervisor of any student taking a project with an external organisation; the external contact is simply a domain expert to provide guidance on the requirements etc.

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James Cussens / Projects Coordinator / jc@cs.york.ac.uk

Last modified: Tue Feb 1 11:28:50 GMT 2011