Project Selection

Overview

If you have not arranged your own project for the course, or you are still looking for team members for your project*, you will need to participate in the Project Selection process. During this process, students will be selected to work on a project from the list of prearranged project descriptions (see below). Project Selection begins at noon on Monday the week before classes start, and occurs in two rounds: 1) a Team Proposal Round and 2) an Assignment Round. Each of these is detailed below.

*If you are still looking for team members for a project you arranged, you will need to participate in the Assignment Round. In case we are unable to find additional students to work on your project, we will need this information to assign you to a prearranged project.

Project Descriptions

The list of project descriptions for the course is not released until the start of the Team Proposal Round (i.e., the Monday the week before classes start) and can be found at the link below. You will be notified via email when the finalized project list is released. Note that you will need to log in with your CAEID to access this list when it becomes available. If you have trouble, please reach out to the course coordinators as soon as possible.

Project Descriptions

Team Proposal Round

The Team Proposal Round runs from Monday noon to Thursday noon the week before classes begin. If you wish to arrange a team for this round, please consult the Arranging Projects and Teams page. In this round, teams (not individuals) are invited to put together a short, 1-page proposal for one of the prearranged project descriptions (see link above). The proposal should describe how the team’s expertise and interests are uniquely suited to solve the client’s problem. This can include courses (current and previous), coops and internships, student org experience, etc. The team with the best proposal will be assigned to that project. Although all teams are composed of 4 students, not all projects require four students to apply. Some require only 2 or 3 students due to other students being previously assigned to that project for a variety of reasons. The number of students needed for each project is indicated in the pink box just below the project title on the descriptions page (see link above).

How does our team submit a proposal? To submit, simply designate a team member to upload a .pdf version of your one-page proposal to the link below. You may submit your proposal anytime between Monday noon and Thursday noon the week before classes start. Please note that Thursday noon is a hard deadline, so do not be late. For equivalent proposals, priority will be given to the team that submits their proposal first.

Team Proposal Submission

What if our proposal is not selected? In your submission, please include a ranked list of 3-5 additional projects (by title) from the projects list. If you submit a high-quality proposal and it is not selected, we will use this list to assign your team a project. If you do not submit a ranked list with your project proposal and your proposal is not selected, your team will enter the Assignment Round (see details below).

Does our team have to participate in this round? No. If you have formed a team, you are not required to submit a team proposal. Instead, you can skip this round and participate (as a team) in the Assignment Round (see details below).

Assignment Round

The Assignment Round runs from Thursday noon to Tuesday noon before classes begin on Wednesday. In this round, unassigned individuals (and teams) will be sent a survey asking them to provide their interest level and ranking for each remaining project. This information will be used to assign you (or your team) to a project that matches your interest. This survey is sent out Thursday afternoon after the Team Proposal Round is complete and is due Tuesday at noon (i.e., one day before classes start). Project assignment is typically completed by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning

If you have already formed a team and did not submit a team proposal (or your proposal wasn’t selected and you didn’t provide alternate project rankings), please designate one of your team members to fill out the survey. When doing so, please include the names of your team members in the additional information question at the end of the survey.

If you are participating in this round as a team, you must arrange your team with the course coordinators before the start of this round. Please consult the Arranging Projects and Teams page for details.

Course Coordinators

Please direct questions to the course coordinators: