Degree projects examined by schools other than CSC

Requirements for technical content, approved specification and individual academic paper

In order for a degree project to constitute the compulsory independent work at the second-cycle level in a Degree of Master of Science (in Engineering) in Computer Science or Media Technology, it must have sufficient technical depth and content within the subject.

For all degree projects that are to be included in the Degree of Master of Science in Engineering from Computer Science or Media Technology, but which are examined outside the CSC School, the following therefore applies:

• The specification must contain a section (typically a paragraph) describing the degree project's computer-related or media-related technical content.
• The specification must be approved by a programme director for Computer Science or Media Technology respectively before the degree project is started. This is done through the student sending the specification to the study advisor for Computer Science or Media Technology respectively.
• All degree projects in Computer Science and Media Technology will be completed and examined individually, even if the work is carried out at another school.

Background and tips

The reason that the specification must indicate the computer-related or media-related technical content and be approved by the programme director for the Master of Science in Engineering programme is to ensure that all involved - the student, the supervisor, the examiner and the company, must from the beginning be aware that the project must result in a report that contains sufficient depth within computer science or media technology respectively. A rule of thumb might be that it should be clear that the work requires knowledge and skills in computer science or media technology respectively at Master of Engineering level.

Students taking a Master's programme at other schools must be extra careful in their choice of degree project so that their project simultaneously works as independent work for both the Degree of Master of Science in 

Engineering and the Master's degree. The normal thing to do is to do your degree project within the framework of your Master's programme but choose an assignment and working method that simultaneously fall within the area of computer science or media technology respectively.

The actual question should be formulated from the perspective of computer science or media technology respectively. The fact that computers or media technology are involved in a trivial way, e.g., that you are using computers or implementing something, is not enough to obtain sufficient depth in computer science or media technology respectively. Both the methods and the literature studied must, naturally, be relevant to the field of computer science or media technology respectively.

At CSC, all degree projects are required to be carried out and examined individually, based on our view that many employers pay extra careful attention to the degree project report, precisely because it is something that the student has produced individually. It can therefore be a disadvantage for a student not to have completed such a degree project upon graduating.