Independent Work & Theses

Welcome to the Computer Science Independent Work webpage.

The goal of undergraduate research and independent work (IW) in Computer Science is to serve as a synthesizing experience in which undergraduates work on significant research or design projects. Given the broad diversity of intellectual problems in Computer Science, and equally broad possibilities regarding future career trajectories, the style of a project can vary from theoretical to systems or applications-oriented with output ranging from scholarly publications to working software or hardware.  

For BSE students majoring in Computer Science, independent work can either be taken as a 1-semester course or as a 2-semester JIW or thesis option, if preferred. For AB students majoring in Computer Science, independent work consists of 4 semesters of work in their junior and senior years.  IW for course credit is only available to COS juniors and seniors.

Independent Work and Thesis Handbooks (Updated August 2024)

AB Independent Work and Thesis Handbook, 2024-2025  

BSE Independent Work and Thesis Handbook, 2024-2025

Information about other topics such as important dates/ deadlines, IW seminar descriptions, and more, can be found in the navigation bar links to the left-hand side of the webpage.

Please address questions to the Undergraduate Independent Work Administrator, Mikki Hornstein, mhornstein (@princeton.edu).