Master of Science Non-Thesis Project

Requirements

The project work totals 15 credits and is intended to be equivalent to approximately a full term or four months of full-time work effort. It is up to you and your supervisor to determine whether you have performed adequate work for the project.

The written project report may be thought of as a small-scale version of a M.Sc. thesis. It must be typewritten and typically consist of between 20 and 30 double-spaced pages. Program listings should only be attached as appendices. The report should include an adequate introduction to the topic, as well as a full description of the work you have performed. While the depth of scholarship expected is less than that of a thesis, you must still demonstrate that you are familiar with state-of-the-art methods in the area of your project topic. A typical project involves the implementation of an interesting algorithm, program or system. A mundane data processing problem with well-known implementation techniques would probably not be suitable for a project. Alternative project formats, such as a research survey, software engineering effort, analysis of a problem, can all be equally acceptable, with the agreement of your project supervisor.

The suitability of your written report is determined by your project supervisor.

Report and Abstract Guidelines

The abstract is to appear on a single, separate (loose) page. It is to contain the names of the student and supervisor, title of the project, date, and a brief description (suitable for a general computer science audience) of the work.

The project report should be a substantial document, containing a complete description of the work done, in clear, correct English or French. It should include a non-technical over-view, specification and technical background for the project, description of the algorithm or design used, implementation details, documentation, a user's guide and a bibliography. Depending on the nature of the project, some of the preceding items may not apply and other items may need to be added; for example, most project reports will require appendices of program listings in order to provide a complete description of the project.

You must obtain the signature of the supervisor on the report to indicate that it has been accepted. You then file a copy of the signed project report, with an abstract (on a separate page) with the graduate program coordinator. Project abstracts and reports both are kept on file and are available in the department. Anyone who wishes to view a project report can make arrangements to do so through the graduate program coordinator.