CIS Senior Thesis

Catalog description

The goal of a Senior Thesis project is to complete a major research project under the supervision of a faculty member. The duration of the project is two semesters. To enroll in CIS 4100 , students must develop an abstract of the proposed work, and a member of the CIS graduate group must certify that the work is suitable and agree to supervise the project; a second member must agree to serve as a reader. At the end of the first semester, students must submit an intermediate report; if the supervisor and reader accept it, they can enroll in CIS 4110 . At the end of the second semester, students must describe their results in a written thesis and must present them publicly, either in a talk at Penn or in a presentation at a conference or workshop. Grades are based on the quality of the research itself (which should ideally be published or at least of publishable quality), as well as on the quality of the thesis and the oral presentation. The latter are evaluated jointly by the supervisor and the reader. The Senior Thesis program is selective, and students are generally expected to have a GPA is in the top 10-20% to qualify.