Software Engineering BSc/MSci
MSci Individual Project COMPSCI5073P
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Computing Science
- Credits: 60
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Runs Throughout Semesters 1 and 2
- Available to Visiting Students: No
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
The aim of this course to enable students to prepare and undertake a substantial, independent, individual research-oriented project at level M. It will include a literature survey, indentifying and refining a research problem in Computing Science, then carrying out an investigation of the problem and writing up the results.
Timetable
Weekly supervisory meetings at times to be arranged.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
Dissertation 75%, Report 19%, Oral Assessment & Presentation 6%.
The course is assessed by an interim progress report, an oral presentation to the relevant research group, and a final scientific paper.
Main Assessment In: April/May
Course Aims
The aim of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to identify and refine a research problem in Computing Science of a suitable degree of difficulty while carrying out a literature survey of the problem and then undertake a substantial, independent, individual research-oriented project at level M including the writing up of the results.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Specify and justify a well-defined research problem in the area of their MSci specialism;
2. Articulate and justify a feasible approach for tackling this problem;
3. Produce a comprehensive literature survey covering their research problem, offering a critical review of the key relevant work in this area.
4. Formulate a research plan for the research problem;
5. Carry out a coherent and well-executed investigation of a research problem in Computing Science, using appropriate methods and producing valid results;
6. Write up their research in the form of an academic paper, including the expression of a well-defined thesis and argument, a clear statement of the research methods and results, a critical evaluation of the research results, a consideration of their significance and of their relationship to other relevant work.
7. Prepare and deliver a presentation of their work in the form of a standard academic research-paper talk, including the preparation of appropriate visual and technical materials, and engage effectively with research-related questions from an academic audience.