This course provides computer science majors with an opportunity to work on a semester-long project or research paper that is more substantial than the projects or papers assigned in other CS classes. To achieve this creative goal, students may work in teams or individually. CS faculty members can also serve as mentors of the project or research paper and the effort will be coordinated by the course instructor.Milestones throughout the semester must be met for successful completion of the course. These include submission of initial design specification documents, bi-weekly progress reports and presentations, development of assessment criteria to measure student success, final project/paper report with accompanying software artifacts, and a formal presentation of the project/research paper at the end of the semester.
For BS CS students, this course can be used as both a CS-related and CS-Senior elective. For ACS majors, this course can be used to satisfy the CS 400-level course requirement.
(1) Students will complete an original scholarly or creative project by: - articulating and refining a scholarly question by following ethical principles - choosing an appropriate discovery process for scholarly inquiry - gathering evidence appropriate to the question - applying scholarly conventions appropriate to inquiry and reporting - assessing the vailidy of key assumptions and evidence - and situating the inquiry within a broader context(2) Students will communicate knowledge from an original scholarly or creative project
C or better in CS 321 (Software Engineering) and CS 483 (Analysis of Algorithms); two other CS 400-level courses; and senior standing. Students may also take this course with permission of the instructor.
Completion of CS 390 prior to taking this class is highly recommended.
Prof. Pearl Y. Wang
Computer Science Department
Office: Nguyen Engineering - ENGR 4300
Phone: 703-993-1530
E-mail: pwang at cs.gmu.edu
Office Hours: Fridays 9 am - 10:15 am; other times available by appointment
The course grade is based on three components:(1) Class participation: 20%
Bi-weekly progress reports, demos and/or presentations(2) Deliverables: 60%
20% - Project design/research plan documents, including bi-weekly revisions (see Timetable)40% - A final project report including documented software and/or project-generated artifacts if a project is to be implemented. For a research paper, a final document that shows evidence of an original contribution that includes comparison to previous work in the literature must be submitted.
Please note that students will only receive a final grade of C or better in this class only if a project or the research paper is completed.
(3) Final presentation: 20%
Students in the class must give a final presentation of their projects to the public.
All coursework must be performed in accordance to Mason and CS Department Academic Integrity and Honor Code Policies at http://cs.gmu.edu/wiki/pmwiki.php/HonorCode/HomePage. These policies will be strictly enforced.
If you have a documented learning disability or other condition that may affect academic performance you should: (1) make sure this documentation is on file with the Office of Disability Services (SUB I, Rm. 4205; 993-2474; http://ods.gmu.edu/) to determine the accommodations you need; and (2) talk with the instructor to discuss your accommodation needs. All academic accommodations must be arranged through Disability Services.
Dates Topics Deliverables
(Submit to MyMason)Sep 2 Course Introduction & Project/Research Development Methods Homework 0
(In Class)Sep 9 Discussion of Success Metrics and Assessment Criteria Sep 16 Student Project/Research Plan:
Short Proposal Description & PresentationHomework 1 Sep 23 Student Project/Research Plan:
Design/Report Document & PresentationHomework 2 Sep 30 Evaluation/Feedback Discussions Oct 7 Student Progress Report Homework 3 Oct 14 Oct 21 Student Progress Report: Preliminary Demos Homework 4 Oct 28 Nov 4 Student Progress Report Homework 5 Nov 11 Nov 18 Student Presentations:
Practice Run: Demos or ResultsHomework 6 Nov 25 Thanksgiving Break Dec 2 Student Presentations:
Practice Run: Demos or ResultsDec 9 Last class meeting Final Reports
and SoftwareDec 16 Exam Week:
Public Presentations & Demos
Student privacy is governed by FERPA. Students must use their MasonLive email account to receive important University information, including communications related to this class. The instructor will not respond to messages sent from or send messages to a non-Mason email address.
Library Infoguide for CS 490
University Libraries (Ask a Librarian)
University Policies (See Mason Catalog- General Information)
GMU Academic Calendar
Student Support on Campus [Counseling, writing, career services, etc.]
Last day to add: September 6, 2016
Last day to drop: September 6, 2016 (no tuition penalty)
Final day to drop: September 30, 2016
Last day of selective withdrawal: October 28, 2016
Thanksgiving recess: November 23 - 27, 2016
Last day of classes: December 10, 2016
Final Examination (tentative): December 16, 2016
Created: 25 August 2016
P.Y. Wang