COMP-4960 vs COMP-4990
Last updated on 2024/03/19
Many computer science students are required to take either COMP-4960 or COMP-4990 as a capstone style course. Both courses are taken over 2 semesters, and you can take either to satisfy your degree requirements (but not both). So which one do you choose? A brief comparison is given below.
Most students take COMP-4990, unless they have a specific reason to take COMP-4960 (e.g. they want to work on research oriented project under a particular faculty member, and that faculty member is willing to supervise them).
What is the Same in Both Courses?
Both are 2 semester courses.
They are anti-requisites (you can take one or the other to satisfy your degree, but not both).
They are typically taken during the last 2 semesters of your degree.
They are typically taken in consecutive semesters but exceptions can be made.
You will work on a project supervised by a faculty member in the School of Computer Science.
The workload will depend greatly on your project and supervisor. For example, the number of meetings you have with your supervisor can vary from weekly meetings and progress reports to a handful of meetings throughout the entire course.
You will be required to attend seminars for a small percentage of your grade. What counts as a seminar: weekly colloquiums always count, while thesis proposals and defenses may count at the discretion of the course coordinator. This may differ between COMP-4960 and COMP-4990 even in the same semester.
You will be required to write some kind of report on your project.
You will present your project at the end of your second semester with other COMP-4960 and COMP-4990 students.
What is Unique to COMP-4960?
The student is required to seek out a faculty member willing to supervise them. They also need to come up with their project which must be approved by their supervisor.
Projects are typically not done in groups.
Projects are typically more research / theory oriented.
You will need to attend 10 seminars and write a short summary for each.
What is Unique to COMP-4990?
A list of projects and supervisors will be provided and students will be able to choose from this list.
Projects are typically done in groups.
Projects are typically more practical / application oriented.
You will need to attend 12 seminars and write a short summary for 2.