Project selection is the process by which students are assigned to the projects and teams that they will work with throughout the program. Students will get the opportunity to review the projects available to them and indicate their preferences. These preferences will be used by the administration along with program requirements to attempt to place students on teams that they are interested in.
Approximately 1-2 weeks prior to the first day of fall semester, descriptions of the projects will be published for students to review. Students should receive an email at their student email account.
These descriptions will provide brief overviews of the projects and may vary in detail depending on the nature of the project. Some may include a significant amount of detail on objectives, while others may be very discrete. This is similar to encountering work in industry, as some jobs will come fully-formed with expected work well-outlined, and others may require more definition once the project has begun or may not be able to reveal information until under contract.
Some projects which students may be interested in might require the students to sign non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property agreements, be willing to participate in travel, satisfy certain security/citizenship standing, or possess minimum physical capabilities beyond those required by the school or university. The program will do its best to have these details listed within the project descriptions and provide any written agreements for review so students have sufficient time to evaluate such requirements and decide if they would want to choose such a project.
These projects often present great opportunities for students to see and experience new technology, industry, and domains that they may not otherwise be able to, but it is important for students to know that, per the syllabus, students cannot be obligated to select a project with these kinds of descriptions. However, if a student indicates willingness to work on such a project in the selection survey, they may be held to that decision.
In the first week of class, all students will convene at the "Introduction Session" where the administration will introduce the program, outline many elements of how senior-design works, and point students to the selection survey.
After the introduction session, students will individually fill out a project selection survey to indicate their top preferences for projects. Failure to fill out the survey by the due date and time may result in arbitrary assignment to a project.
Members of the Capstone Committee will use the data from the project selection survey to assign students from each discipline onto projects. Students are not guaranteed to be placed on one of their preferred projects, though a good-faith effort will be made barring extenuating circumstances.
Once assigned, students will be notified of which team they are assigned to along with who the other members of their team are. Contact information for project advisor(s), Design Advisory Board member(s), and Liaison(s) may also be provided at this time.
Teams will then be formally introduced at the Meet Your Team event.