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New 2023-2024 (capstone FAQ):

  1. CISC/COGS 499, now requires that you arrange for a supervisor before you can enroll (before you will get permission of department). In other words you are not able to self-register in SOLUS. In early Fall, supervisors will post projects. You can connect with prospective supervisors and once you have identified a project and a supervisor, and they have agreed to supervise you, you will complete a contract and proposal. When your proposal and contract are submitted and approved, you will have the “permission of the department” and you will be added to 499.
  2. CISC 495 is a new capstone course, Software Evolution, open to all honours students who meet the prerequisites, and does not need prior permission. You can take 495 instead of 499 if you choose.

Welcome to CISC/COGS 499. These courses are 4th year projects for CISC/COGS plans and integrate material from earlier courses through a course-long project. The Calendar description for this course reads: “Topic selected under the supervision of a faculty member. Emphasis may be on the development of a large program, or on more theoretical issues. Independent research, an oral/poster presentation, and a written report are required.”

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course the successful student will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate the potential for independent research and/or development via a term-long project under the supervision of a faculty member.
  2. Describe the process and results of their independent project via a written report.
  3. Summarize the key ideas of their independent project via an oral or poster presentation.

Course co-coordinator:

  • Prof. Parvin Mousavi, pmousavi “replace = at” cs then queensu then ca

Fall term:

  • Note that you cannot self-enroll in the course in SOLUS.
  • Faculty members send me project descriptions and they are posted on this website.
  • Students read the projects, decide which ones interest them, then students contact the persons who have offered the projects.
  • Students sign a contract with ONE supervisor only. Contracts will be finalized online. Please check this space.
  • You write a project proposal and upload on OnQ.
  • Once you contract and proposal are uploaded, the instructor will approve and you will be added to 499. Without a supervisor and a signed contract and proposal (by the supervisor and you), you cannot enrol in this course.
  • Once approved, you ask the undergraduate assistant to enrol you in CICS/COGS499.

Winter term:

  • You attend meetings with your supervisor at times to be negotiated, but in many cases during one of the scheduled class times.
  • You complete the project.
  • You prepare a poster presentation for Creative Computing (format and date TBA).
  • You submit a written report.

Important Notes:

  • You cannot self-enrol in the course when SOLUS becomes available in July. You will only be added to the course following a signed contract and proposal with a supervisor in the Fall.
  • If admitted to CISC499, and if you have conflicts between CISC 499 and some other class, please contact advising@cs.queensu.ca. You will be allowed permission from the Computing side if you conflict in only a single slot, and agree that should your supervisor wish to meet in one of the other slots, you will be available. It still requires permission from the second instructor, but given the Computing conditions that seems likely.
  • CISC/COGS-499 will normally be in form of group projects. Every group will deliver one shared software (or product), one shared poster presentation and one shared written report. However, every student has an individual, independently written component that they have to include with the report.
  • All announcements, correspondence and upload of deliverables will be via OnQ once it has been setup. Meanwhile this space will be updated with news.
  • All proposals have to be completed in the Fall term before you are given “Permission of the department”to be added to the course.
    • If you do not meet all the requirements to be admitted to the course as of Summer 2023 but would still like to take the course if you can fulfill the requirements by December 2023, you need to contact advising@cs.queensu.ca as soon as possible for guidance. You will still have to complete a contract and proposal in the Fall term.
    • In the special case that your grade in CISC 365 is what is preventing you from enrolling, the Undergraduate Chair (via the advising address above) may be able to approve that you try and secure a project based on grades in all your 3rd year courses.
  • Additional information about  course syllabus including information on accommodations can be found from: https://www.cs.queensu.ca/students/undergraduate/syllabus/