Project Proposal
All MSCE students are required to complete either a research or design project. Design projects must result in a working component or system. Research projects must answer a significant research question. All projects (whether research or design) must be approved by the faculty. To get your project approved, you will need to write a project proposal listing your academic plan of study and a description of your project, specifically:
- The purpose or problem that the project is meant to address,
- The approach you plan to employ,
- The research that justifies your approach,
- The criteria that determines when the project is complete.
It is recommended that you use the Project Proposal Form as a starting point for your proposal.
All projects require a supervisory committee consisting of a major professor (who will serve as chair) and two other advisors. Your major professor will be assigned to you when you are accepted into the program, but this assignment may be changed by mutual consent. The second and third committee members will be assigned later when you propose your project (see below).
Once your major professor is comfortable with your proposal, you will need to (a) submit your proposal to the program director for assignment of additional committee members, and (b) schedule an oral presentation of your project proposal and invite all the Computer Engineering Faculty. At a minimum, your supervisory committee should attend. If, after the presentation, the faculty approves your project, your committee will sign the proposal. Once you have submitted the signed proposal to Susan Foss in ET-236, you will be allowed to register for either ECE 6010 (for design projects) or ECE 6020 (for research projects).