Capstone Reseach Experience (CRE) Homepage

Capstone Design Program
Dept. of Computer Science
Quick Index: Letter of Welcome        Steps to Sponsoring a Capstone Research Experience (CRE) Project

Welcome to the Computer Science Capstone Design Program!

 

Dear Potential Capstone Research Experience Sponsor,

Thank you for your interest in sponsoring a research project in Computer Science for the Senior Capstone Design Program.   The Capstone Research Experience (CRE) program, which is essentially a "Research Track" option for the highly-successive Capstone Design course, was added to our curriculum in 2003 to better serve students that are specifically interested in futures in research and conceptual development (e.g. graduate school, R&D labs), rather than in industrial software development.  

The overall vision of CRE is to create an "honors track" for the Capstone Design Program, in which particularly talented  and motivated students --- with special permission and participation of a faculty sponsor --- pursue a significant research project, leading to tangible research outcomes.  Specific highlights of the CRE include:

  • Teaming.  A central goal of the Design4Practive program, of which Capstone is a part, is to train students to work together.  In the CRE, teaming remains a priority, with the focus shifted to working together in smaller research teams.
  • Highly-structured research.   The teams work on specific research tasks/questions posed by the sponsoring faculty member.  These tasks are generally expected to contribute directly to ongoing research the faculty member is involved in.
  • Structured Deliverables.   Unlike the more common "independent study" course, which is (for better or worse) extremely open-ended, the CRE is highly-structured, with specific proscribed characteristics and deliverables that all projects will deliver.  This is to ensure the high quality of the experience and to enforce consistency in effort and quality of outcomes.
  • Strong sponsor-team interaction.  Sponsor involvement is critical.  These are not graduate students that can be expected to work on their own for extended periods.  In exchange for work on their research, sponsors commit to frequent (at least weekly) meetings with the students, and must provide strong mentorship in research techniques.

In sum, our goal in establishing the CRE, and the reason can be successful, is its potential to provide tangible benefits to all participants: students receive invaluable research experience; sponsors benefit from focused, dedicated labor on research projects at minimal cost.

.If you have a research project that fits within these criteria, I encourage you to consider making in available as a Capstone Research project.  The process by which this is done, and detailed information on required project characteristics and deliverables is given below.

Best regards,

Dr. Eck Doerry
Dept. of Computer Science Engineering
Northern Arizona University.

How to sponsor a Capstone Research Experience (CRE) project

Sponsoring a Capstone Research Experience (CRE) project is relatively straighforward; the primary requirement for a successful outcome is a positive, supportive relationship between the faculty mentor and the student research team. The following steps chronologically outline the process of establishing, executing, and completing a successful CRE project:

  1. Think of a potential research problem; ensure that the project can be made to fit the CRE Project Guidelines.
  2. Write a CRE Proposal  (Links to CRE proposal template ).  If you have already identified a CRE team to work on the project, specify the students; include a copy of each student's resume.  If you do not yet have a project team, leave this area blank.
  3. Email completed project proposal to faculty CS486 sponsor for review.  If no project team has been identified, specify that the project is to be posted to the CRE site for staffing.
  4. When project is staffed and cued for execution, talk to CET Front Office to create a section of CS486 for it. Sign the CS students on your project team up for the new section.
  5. Within two weeks of the start of the project, send link to the nascent project website to the overall CS486 sponsor for posting on the Capstone website(s).
  6. At the end of the project term, submit a CRE Project Evaluation for each CRE Team Member. Submit appropriate grades for CRE team members.