CS Departmental Honors — Track Requirements

Specific requirements for CS departmental honors.

The CS departmental honors track consists of two main components: CICS honors courses and an honors research project or thesis supervised by a CICS faculty member. The specific requirements are detailed below.

  • CS BS and BA: 1 COMPSCI Honors Course at any level, 1 COMPSCI Honors Course at the 300-level or higher
  • Info BS: 1 Info or COMPSCI Honors Course at any level, 1 Info or COMPSCI Honors Course at the 300-level or higher
  • All students: Honors research project or thesis (described below)

The honors project/thesis requirement is a two-semester research sequence. You will work with a research advisor on a specific project that both of you agree on. In the first semester, you will satisfy the 499Y research preparation requirement. This requirement can currently be satisfied in two different ways:

  • Individually contracted 499Y: Students work with a faculty advisor to learn research methodology, select a research topic, perform a literature review, and submit a thesis/project proposal. Requires the submission and approval of a 499Y contract and semester plan.
     
  • Research Methods: COMPSCI 691DD: The 499Y research preparation requirement can also be satisfied by taking CMPSCI 691DD: Research Methods. Students work with a faculty advisor to select a research topic. If the project or thesis topic has a substantial experimental component, the student may take 691DD to satisfy the 499Y requirement. This option requires approval by the HPD. It often works better if there is data available for the student to analyze when the course starts. In addition to the 691DD requirements, students will meet with their Honors Research advisor weekly, and must submit a thesis/project proposal. Note that 691DD is offered regularly in the spring only.

At the end of the research preparation semester, students submit a thesis or project proposal. In the second semester of the two-semester sequence, students conduct the proposed research under the supervision of their faculty advisor. Students should expect to meet weekly with their advisor starting the first week of the semester. The final deliverable for both a project and a thesis is a substantial written report submitted at the end of the research semester, as well as an oral presentation of the research.