Computer Science MSc: Choosing a final year project that sets you on your career path

A master’s in computer science provides a gateway into a range of careers, in disciplines ranging from software engineering to data science. During degree programs, students undertake a combination of taught modules and tutorials that are capped off with a more in-depth project or dissertation that aligns with their interests and aspirations.

Capstone projects and research theses are neat ways to showcase your abilities and the skills and knowledge you’ve accumulated during your degree, and can help set you up for your next career steps. But how do capstone projects differ from a thesis, and which one of these deliverables should you choose to undertake?

Locking in learning

Many students who embark on an MSc in Computer Science already know where their career is heading, whether it’s towards a role in e-commerce, data science, cybersecurity or IT project management, or further study for a PhD.  

A capstone project, like its namesake stone on a vault or archway, helps to lock together learnings from the taught modules of your master’s and embed the knowledge and skills you’ve gained in a project that might help solve a complex problem in the real world.  

In a similar way, undertaking a research-based thesis, can help you to deepen your knowledge in a particular area, whether it’s artificial intelligence, software development, systems engineering, or robotics, setting you up for roles in research and development in academia or industry.

Capstone vs research projects

Before deciding whether you want to top off your master’s with a capstone project or a research thesis, it’s worth asking yourself a few questions. What excites you and gets you out of bed in the morning? Do you like problem solving, or are you more of an analytical thinker? What career paths or roles are you considering in the future?

Thinking about these questions will help you identify whether you are more interested in solving real world problems or delving deep into a theoretical problem, and whether you’d like to work in the public or private sector.

This will help you decide whether a practical capstone project, or a more theoretical thesis is the best way for you to consolidate your master’s degree learning. Both will enhance your skills and deepen your knowledge and set you up for a range of careers, but there are some differences:

Capstone projects

Capstone projects come in many shapes and sizes. The focus of your project might be to develop software or algorithms, create a business plan or to solve a real-world problem, working with an existing company or organisation. Often, the project will involve collaborating with other students and/or industry experts and will include hands-on experience. Typically, students present their projects, with their recommendations for how it might be taken forward. This is also a great way to hone presentation skills.

Research projects

A thesis gives you the opportunity to develop and explore a novel research question, contributing new knowledge to your field of interest. It might even result in an academic research paper, with the chance to build your citations, or an opportunity to present your work at a conference.

You’ll start by carrying out a literature review to see what the state of knowledge in your chosen field is and avoid plagiarism, before forming a hypothesis and deciding on a methodology to test it. You’ll likely have a mentor who can help you develop your thinking and assess the feasibility of your proposal, before undertaking the research and writing up the results in a dissertation.

Writing a thesis requires a deep understanding of the topic and can involve theoretical analysis, experiments and simulations.  You’ll be working mainly under your own steam, although if you link up with a bigger research team, you can often undertake a distinct piece of research as part of a a bigger academic programme..

Applying your knowledge in the real world

Computer science is a very practical subject, so putting your knowledge to good use during your master’s can be very satisfying and will add to your soft skill set, including team working and communications. Capstone projects and thesis topics are as varied as the subject itself. You are bound to find a topic that will spark your interest and help consolidate your knowledge and skills in a particular field. Here are a few capstone project ideas:

Web development

•       Create an online store with a product catalogue and secure payment process.
•       Build a user-friendly content management system
•       Design an event management system to promote events and sell tickets

Mobile aApp dDevelopment

Come up with an idea for an app and use coding languages such as Python to develop an app that is user friendly and fun.

Data analysis and machine learning

Let your imagination take you to a new space where analysis of large datasets could help solve a real-world problem or enhance a healthcare system. The sky’s thesky is the limit. You could even design the database system that will capture and store the data, and use natural language proecessing (NLP) tools to build a chatbot.

Networking and security

Connectivity and data security are both hot topics in the computer science field and as the Internet of Things (IoT) expands and devices communicate in ever more complex ways, to keep a step ahead of the hackers, developers are working tirelessly to find better solutions to data security issues.

AI and robotics

This exciting field continues to expand at pace, so why not create a chatbot, or build an autonomous drone, or virtual reality game? Or develop an accessible device that recognises hand gestures using computer vision.

Take the next step on your computer science career journey

At Sheffield Hallam, the 100% online MSc in Computer Science includes taught modules that cover topics from blockchain to systems engineering, preparing you for careers working with the latest digital tech. In the final stages of your degree you’ll be able to consolidate your learning when you undertake an applied research project. This is a significant piece of independently researched work that provides a great opportunity for you to focus on a subject area of your choosing and produce a dissertation and will provide a strong foundation for you to take a new step in your career.