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Students wishing to pursue a Capstone Project must first complete all prerequisite and/or deficiency courses with a grade of B- or better. Students must also have completed the five required courses for the degree (CS 601, CS 611, CS 621, CS 651, and Cs 671) with a “B” or better average. In addition, the student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. 

Students are recommended to work as individuals. 

It is possible to have a group of 2 students working on a project.  In this case, it should be clearly defined in the proposal what work each student will complete.

Students who wish to pursue a Capstone Project must first find an advisor from the Computer Science Department. The advisor may be a lecturer if the lecturer has a PhD in Computer Science. 

The advisor and student will then create a proposal which will need approval by the Department of Computer Science Graduate Committee.  After approval, the advisor and student will submit a Special Registration Petition. 

Please note: Students should NOT come to advisors with a proposal already written. Students and advisors MUST work together on proposals.

Advisors are responsible for checking student’s work for accuracy and authenticity.

Enrollment into the CS 693 Capstone Project will be done manually by the Computer Science office administrative staff after the proposal is approved and the signed Special Registration Petition has been received.  The minimum number of units for CS 693 Capstone Project is three (3).

After enrollment, students will begin work with their advisor. It is expected that a project can be completed in one semester, however, there may be exceptions where work needs to be completed over more than one semester. 

When work is completed, a final report will be submitted to the Graduate committee, and an oral presentation will be given in which other graduate students are invited to attend.

Students may pursue Capstone Projects in Fall and Spring semesters only.

A minimum of 3 units must be taken for the capstone project

Grading: A-F only

Although there is no specific template for the proposal, it is recommended for the proposal to have the following sections: introduction, relevant past research, definition of problem and models to be used, tentative timeline, and bibliography. There is no page limit as long as the recommended topics are in the proposal which are finalized with your advisor.

Templates:

Capstone Overview: 

Capstone Proposal Template: 

Capstone Paper Template: 

Word Version  - Google Drive

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hFj9F3D-ZkXfZxiKdYZZxLtlZEJEwxDx/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106722361047203674539&rtpof=true&sd=true

If a proposal is found to be plagiarized from other sources, the student will lose the privilege of doing a Capstone Project. An Academic Dishonesty report will be filed.  The student will lose advisor recommendations, TA/grader/scholarship, and internships privileges.

The student will need to sign up for the Capstone Exams as a replacement (CS 692).

If an advisor finds that the final Capstone Report has been plagiarized, the student will
fail the Capstone Project and will not earn their degree. They may not switch to a
different Capstone experience.

Please note that the CSU system has a 5 year currency rule. If coursework and the Capstone Experience is not completed within 5 years, currency is lost, and the student will need to start over to complete their degree.