Course syllabus - Thesis advanced level, Computer Science

Objectives

The course shall provide insight into how to independently plan, carry out and present a project as well as insight into what it is like to work as an engineer or scientist, either within academia or in industry. The work must have solid theoretical depth.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course the student shall be able to:

- independently carry out a small time-limited project;
- describe the purpose, reason, and objective of the thesis project and be able to present possible improvements and/or future work ;
- describe in writing the various parts of the thesis project in a technical report with appropriate content and layout;
- demonstrate skills in, on the basis of a "State-of-the-Art" or "State-of-the-Practice" in the subject area of the thesis, choosing/relating and verifying/evaluating a method and/or solution;
- apply a critical approach to the possibilities of technology and thereby, at an early stage, be able to indicate the possibilities and difficulties of a project; and
- orally present the purpose, execution, and results of the thesis for both engineers and non- engineers.

Course content

The course consists of planning, executing and presenting a project. The effort shall correspond to 20 weeks of full-time work. The area and scope of the work is selected/decided in consultation with the supervisor and examiner before the start of the project. The thesis can be conducted either within the university, at an outside company, or as an independent project. If the thesis is done at an external company, a supervisor at the company must also be appointed. The thesis shall contain a part dealing with basic theory, i.e. there must be a connection to "State-of-the-Art" or "State-of-the-Practice".

Tuition

The thesis project is conducted under supervision. A project plan shall be formulated in cooperation with the supervisor(s) and monitored throughout the project.

Specific requirements

A Bachelor´s degree from an institution of higher education of three years or more, equivalent to at least 180 ECTS credits, and completed courses corresponding to 15 ECTS credits in computer science at advanced level and 7.5 ECTS credits in mathematics at level G1F or higher. If the students Bachelor´s degree includes a large part mathematics, the requirement in mathematics can be replaced by a relevant course within engineering in addition to other course requirements in engineering.

Examination

Exercise (INL1), 1 credits, marks Pass (G)
Participation (NÄR1), 0.5 credits, marks Pass (G)
Project (PRO1), 26.5 credits, marks Pass (G)
Seminar (SEM1), 2 credits, marks Pass (G)

A student who has a certificate from MDU regarding a disability has the opportunity to submit a request for supportive measures during written examinations or other forms of examination, in accordance with the Rules and Regulations for Examinations at First-cycle and Second-cycle Level at Mälardalen University (2020/1655). It is the examiner who takes decisions on any supportive measures, based on what kind of certificate is issued, and in that case which measures are to be applied.

Suspicions of attempting to deceive in examinations (cheating) are reported to the Vice-Chancellor, in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance, and are examined by the University’s Disciplinary Board. If the Disciplinary Board considers the student to be guilty of a disciplinary offence, the Board will take a decision on disciplinary action, which will be a warning or suspension.

Grade

Pass, Fail

Interim Regulations and Other Regulations

The course overlaps completely with CDT503 and CDT504.

The course is intended to be part of a degree of Master of Science (60 credits) in Computer Science.