Bryn Mawr College
CMSC 399 Senior Conference
Spring 2024

Instructor: Deepak Kumar
Office: 202 Park Science Building
E-mail: dkumar @ brynmawr dot edu
Web: https://cs.brynmawr.edu/~dkumar/

Class Meeting: Fridays 2:10 o 4:00p in Room 278 Park Science Building
Instructor Office Hours: TBA (Or, By Appointment)

Course Description: This course is a capstone to your undergraduate Computer Science education in which you will have the opportunity to identify, plan, design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to a real-world problem. In completing this course, you will gain experience in:

• identifying a computing-related problem and potential solutions, and exploring and evaluating different solutions' benefits and drawbacks
• designing and implementing a high-quality computing artifact.
• assessing the effectiveness of a computing solution, i.e. the extent to which it addresses the problem it is trying to solve
• communicating the high-level goals and low-level details of a computing solution via written documents and oral presentations

Whether your next step after graduation is industry, academia, research, government, or non-profit, these are the sorts of skills you will need in your career as a successful computer scientist and engineer. The main deliverable of this course is a final report that describes the motivation for your project, details about the solution/implementation, an assessment of its effectiveness, and your own personal reflection on the process.

Course Schedule & Impostant Dates

• January 26: First class meeting
• February 2: 3-page Outline Due
• February 16: Extended Abstract Due
• March 9-17: Spring Break
• March 22: First Draft of Report Due
• April 5: Second Draft of Report Due
• April 19: Final Draft Due, final declaration of Project/Thesis and consideration for Honors (sample report)
  Note: This is NOT the Final Report , it is a report in the final format. It will be reviewed for formatting suggestions only.
• April 26: Final Edited Report Due
• May 3: Presentations

Course Policies

Communication

Attendance and active participation are expected in every class. Participation includes asking questions, contributing answers, proposing ideas, and providing constructive comments.

Please stay in touch with me, particularly if you feel stuck on a topic or assignment and can't figure out how to proceed. Often a quick e-mail, or face-to-face conference can reveal solutions to problems and generate renewed creative and scholarly energy. It is essential that you begin assignments early.

Grading

Grades will be awarded based on the number of points earned and according to the percentage breakdowns shown.

Incomplete grades will be given only for verifiable medical illness or other such dire circumstances. Incomplete grades must be approved through the Dean's office.

ALL work submitted for grading should be entirely YOUR OWN.

Thanks: To Chris Murphy & Geoffrey Towell for the guidelines posted above.