College Component - GCCIS
Computer Science
The goal of the professional component of the Computer Science Honors program is to provide honors students with additional opportunities that are not normally available in the computer science curriculum. The program is designed to allow students to self-select one or two topics of interest in computing and to work closely with department faculty to explore these topics in greater detail.
Students participating in the honors program in the Computer Science Department will be required to attend two seminars and to successfully design, implement, and defend an honors project.
Students participating in the honors program in the Computer Science Department will be required to attend two seminars and to successfully design, implement, and defend an honors project.
Seminar Requirements
New students entering the honors program will be required to attend a fall honors seminar during their first year at RIT. The purpose of this seminar is to explain the honors program to incoming students and to introduce students to the department, faculty, and current research activity in the department. After completing the fall seminar, a student will understand the goals, requirements, and expectations of the honors program.
The fall seminar will meet once a week for two hours. The seminar is graded pass/fail and carries one hour of credit. Students must receive a passing grade in order to remain in the honors program.
After two years of study at RIT, the student must take the Introduction to Computer Science Research (4003-410) course. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to current research projects taking place in the department as well as research methods. This will be done in the setting of solving small, research-oriented problems. It is expected that this will aid honors students in deciding on a topic for their honors project as well as in finding a faculty mentor.
The Introduction to Computer Science Research course will meet once a week for two hours. The course is graded and carries 2 hours of Computer Science electives credit. Students must receive a grade of C or better in this course to remain in the honors program.
The fall seminar will meet once a week for two hours. The seminar is graded pass/fail and carries one hour of credit. Students must receive a passing grade in order to remain in the honors program.
After two years of study at RIT, the student must take the Introduction to Computer Science Research (4003-410) course. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to current research projects taking place in the department as well as research methods. This will be done in the setting of solving small, research-oriented problems. It is expected that this will aid honors students in deciding on a topic for their honors project as well as in finding a faculty mentor.
The Introduction to Computer Science Research course will meet once a week for two hours. The course is graded and carries 2 hours of Computer Science electives credit. Students must receive a grade of C or better in this course to remain in the honors program.
Project Requirement
To provide the opportunity to explore a specific topic in computing in greater depth, every honors student will be required to complete an honors project (4003-598). Work on the project will not start until after the student has fourth year status and has taken the Introduction to Computer Science Research course.
The project will carry two hours of Computer Science elective credit. Projects will be graded and a student must receive a grade of C or better on their project in order to graduate with honors. The four hours earned from the problem solving seminar and the honors project will normally be applied to student Computer Science elective requirements. A student may petition the Undergraduate Program Coordinator to have these credits counted toward the related Computer Science courses requirements.
Each student will form a Project Committee to delineate the scope of and supervise the actualization of the project. The project committee will be composed of a minimum of two members. The Chair of the committee must be a full-time member of the Computer Science department and the remaining member(s) of the committee may be either faculty members in the Computer Science department or other computing professionals who have a working knowledge of the studentÕs project area. The committee must be approved by the coordinator of the honors program in the department and all members of the committee must approve the written project proposal.
In recognition of the importance of group work in Computer Science, a project may be done by a group or individual. The project must be completed within two quarters after the project committee has approved the project proposal and must have a written report component. After successful completion of the project, the student(s) must present their work to the community. Minimally, the project committee must attend the defense.
The project will carry two hours of Computer Science elective credit. Projects will be graded and a student must receive a grade of C or better on their project in order to graduate with honors. The four hours earned from the problem solving seminar and the honors project will normally be applied to student Computer Science elective requirements. A student may petition the Undergraduate Program Coordinator to have these credits counted toward the related Computer Science courses requirements.
Each student will form a Project Committee to delineate the scope of and supervise the actualization of the project. The project committee will be composed of a minimum of two members. The Chair of the committee must be a full-time member of the Computer Science department and the remaining member(s) of the committee may be either faculty members in the Computer Science department or other computing professionals who have a working knowledge of the studentÕs project area. The committee must be approved by the coordinator of the honors program in the department and all members of the committee must approve the written project proposal.
In recognition of the importance of group work in Computer Science, a project may be done by a group or individual. The project must be completed within two quarters after the project committee has approved the project proposal and must have a written report component. After successful completion of the project, the student(s) must present their work to the community. Minimally, the project committee must attend the defense.
Additional Program Requirements
In addition to the one-credit seminar, the Introduction to Computer Science Research course, and the project requirements, all honors students are required to meet with the department coordinator for the Honors program once per quarter. This meeting may take the form of a group lunch with the coordinator or may even be a short office visit. This will help to keep students in contact with the department honors coordinator.
Late Entry
Students who enter the honors program during their third year do not have to take the one-credit seminar, but must still take the Introduction to Computer Science Research course and may start their honors project after completing one year in the program.