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Informatics Fourth Year Honours Course Guide
Aims and objectives

In this final year of undergraduate study, students have the opportunity to specialise, having covered much core material in previous years. Specialisation is available in the form of a range of course options and through the project/dissertation/thesis, which is undertaken on an individual's preferred topic, agreed with a supervisor. Students should consult degree documentation for details of the requirements for specific degrees.

The aims of the final year are as follows:

• To introduce students to topics close to research in a selected number of areas.
• To enable students to continue to study their chosen subject in the future.
• To teach the practical skills required to implement these research ideas in computer systems. These skills include those required to manage a substantial programming project, or research a topic in-depth and write it up.

At the end of each course a student should be able to:

• Answer questions on appropriate topics in selected research areas.
• Demonstrate their mastery of relevant practical skills.

In the final year, the many skills students have learnt over the previous years will be enhanced through further application. Increasingly, self-direction is required, especially in the choice of a project/dissertation/thesis topic, its study and final writing up. This is also an opportunity for the student to carry through a sizeable piece of work on a topic he or she has chosen and defined. Courses increasingly use a seminar style, requiring students to read for presentation and discussion. They learn to draw out themes for themselves where in earlier years topics would have been explained to them. Students must also select material from a number of sources, define subjects and problems, design solutions and construct arguments.