Non-thesis Project Option

Students may be able to enroll in a non-thesis project option for the degree requiring 24 hours of course work, 6 hours of project work leading to a 30 credit hour requirement for graduation. Students choosing this option will have to go through a final presentation in the project related area. The defense committee is to be chosen by the student in consultation with the chairperson based upon the project work chosen. Each student must prepare and deliver the following document to members of their committee who are going to attend the presentation and to the project advisor, at least two week before the presentation is scheduled.

The document must include the following:

• Problem specification/definition (1-3 pages)
• System/software architecture, if applicable (1-2 pages)
• Requirement Specification [software and hardware, if applicable] (6-20 pages)
• Design specification (6-20 pages)
• Test cases and test results [if any software has been developed] (5-10 pages)
• Source code, if any software has been developed (as many pages as needed)
• Upon completion of the project defense, the student will be excused while the advisory committee determines the outcome of the defense (Pass or Fail). Passing the project defense requires majority committee agreement. The advisory committee may elect to pass a student with conditions such as recommending minor changes to their project. The student will be notified immediately following the project defense of their success or failure and the changes the must be made before the project will be given final written approval by the committee. The chair of the student’s advisory committee will provide written notification of the defense outcome to the student.