Comp 396 Mcgill Site

At its core, COMP 396 is a one-term, 3-credit elective research project. It is designed to be a "stepping stone" course, often taken in U1 or U2, to introduce students to research methodology, literature reviews, and technical implementation under the direct supervision of a McGill professor. Key Course Details 3 (General elective credit)

Undergraduates often aim too high. A good COMP 396 project should be completable in 130 hours. Instead of "solve the P vs. NP problem," try "implement and evaluate three heuristics for the traveling salesman problem on small graphs."

This is the part of the experience that catches students off guard. You cannot simply register for this course on Minerva during the registration period. You must be "hired" by a professor. comp 396 mcgill

If you provide these details, I can help you or brainstorm potential project topics .

COMP 396 is not a traditional lecture-based course. There are no weekly problem sets, no midterms, and no final exam in the conventional sense. Instead, it offers upper-year Computer Science (CS) students the opportunity to engage in a supervised research project under the guidance of a faculty member. At its core, COMP 396 is a one-term,

: You can browse existing project listings or pitch your own idea. Common topics include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning

| Pitfall | Solution | |--------|----------| | No clear question/goal | Write a problem statement before approaching professor | | Overly ambitious scope | Propose a minimum viable product + "stretch goals" | | Poor communication | Send a weekly 1-sentence update to your supervisor | | Leaving report to last minute | Write 1 page/week during the term | A good COMP 396 project should be completable in 130 hours

Because there are no exams, your grade is based entirely on your output. While every supervisor is different, a typical COMP 396 evaluation consists of:

If a professor is interested, they will invite you for a meeting. Treat this like a job interview. Be prepared to discuss topics from your core CS courses and show enthusiasm for their specific domain.