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Master’s students in the AIEA Lab can either complete a MS capstone (which will take ~2 quarters) or an MS thesis (which will take ~3 quarters).

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Expectations

MS students in the group are expected to attend at least 1 subgroup meeting per week.
- MS students must report on their progress every week in one of the MS project meetings.
MS students can expect to graduate in 1-3 quarters after starting a project in the AIEA group.
MS students should fill out the M.S. project form
MS students should enroll in an independent study
MS students who need to discuss their project should schedule a 1-1 planning meeting at the with Prof. Gilpin: https://calendar.app.google/ht2YifwFr2udBkUk8

Capstone Versus Thesis

At UC Santa Cruz, both the capstone and thesis options are valid to fulfill the requirements of a Master’s degree in computer science and engineering. Although the capstone project is designed to be completed in a single quarter, often by a group of students working collaboratively on an applied problem, product, or case study, it typically takes at least 2 quarters. This project can be completed individually or as a part of a group (one project report can cover up to 4 students). You will need a chair (typically Leilani) and a reader.

The master’s thesis, by contrast, requires at least two quarters of independent study and must be completed by a single student working alone. A thesis typically takes 3 quarters (usually a year). It involves original research that makes a scholarly contribution, culminating in a formal written document that becomes part of the permanent UCSC library archive. This distinction makes the thesis more research-intensive and archival, while the capstone provides a shorter, practice-oriented, and often collaborative pathway.

Many students ask what they should do. To be honest, it really does not matter for (1) jobs or (2) PhDs if you do a capstone or a thesis. Some students really want to complete a thesis to have an archival document of what they’ve completed (and 1-1 mentoring). However, since a thesis is an archival document, it needs to be at publication quality. (see more below: Final Report or Thesis).

Feature	Capstone Project	Master’s Thesis
Duration	1 quarter of independent study for credit (but usually takes 2 quarters)	2 quarters of independent study for credit (but usually takes a full year)
Individual/Group	Can be completed in a group (2-4 students)	Must be completed individually
Output	Final report, presentation, or deliverable	Formal written archival document
Archiving	Not archived in university library	Archived in the UCSC library
Goal	Demonstrate mastery of skills in an applied and collaborative context	Demonstrate ability to conduct independent scholarly research
Meetings	Group MS/independent study meetings (weekly)	Offered for a 30 minute 1-1 weekly meeting with Leilani

Independent Study

Each quarter that an MS student is in the group, they should enroll in an independent study. This should be a summary of the work that was done each quarter. This is described in the Independent Study Guidelines

Capstone Requirement

Signup for the form: https://grad.engineering.ucsc.edu/independentstudy/

The form allows the student to request to enroll in independent study and also tell us the grad office of their project's reading committee.

Final Report or Thesis

The final report must be written in LaTeX and shared with Leilani in Overleaf at least a week before the internal deadline. (Preferably two weeks). LaTeX is the language used to write scientific papers, it is a good skill to learn.

You may use tools like ChatGPT to support editing and refinement of your writing (e.g., improving clarity, grammar, or organization). However, ChatGPT and similar AI systems must not be used to generate new content for your report, capstone, or thesis (see more in our lab generative AI guidelines). The ideas, analysis, and writing must be your own.