Honors Seminar
CPSC 3950
This is the syllabus website for Clemson University Spring 2026 course CPSC 3950: Honors Seminar.
Meeting information:
Credit hours: 1
Location: McAdams Hall 220 (via Zoom if needed)
Day and time: Friday, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Instructor information:
Dr. Bart Knijnenburg
Email: bartk@clemson.edu
Office hours: By appointment, via Zoom or in person
Important: The information below may change!
Changes will be announced in class and through email.
Course description
This course serves as an introduction to your Honors research experience at the Clemson University School of Computing. It is primarily intended to introduce Honors Scholars to research principles and methods, particularly those used in Computing research. A secondary goal of this course is to help you find an Honors research mentor and to help you develop a research plan.
COVID/flu precautions
If you feel sick, please do not come to class. Let me know and I'll make sure that you can join via Zoom, or we can catch up later. Also, if you have a cough or a runny nose, please wear a mask.
What are we going to do?
Course content and structure: This course consists of two parts that are intertwined throughout the semester: The first part involves presentations by the instructor about doing research in the field of Computing. The second part is student-driven, and involves exploring your research interests, finding a suitable research advisor, and developing a research plan for your Honors Research project.
Course materials: This course has no textbook. Readings will be added to the course schedule below throughout the semester.
Office hours: There will be plenty of opportunities during our regular meeting time to ask questions. However, if you wish to meet with me one-on-one, please send me an email to make an appointment.
Slides: Presentation slides are linked in the course schedule below (topics listed in orange are clickable and link to the slides). These will be updated throughout the semester.
Reflections: Four times throughout the semester students will be expected to prepare a reflection of 1-2 pages on a paper identified by their research mentor. The reflections should include:
- A summary of about one paragraph on the scientific contribution of the paper (one paragraph). This summary is not for me but rather for you, the student, to have a chance to articulate what the paper is about. It is often the case that we cannot understand the contribution of a paper until we begin to articulate in writing what it contributes.
- Your reflection on the paper (one paragraph). You can view this as your position statement. Here are some possible examples of what you might write about for this part of the reflection (you are of course not limited to these topics): A reaction to the reading, e.g. a critique; A theoretical position on the broader topic that the paper addresses; Supplementary ideas, taken from other sources on the topic. Be prepared to present and discuss your position statement in class.
- An initial idea of a related/follow-up research project that you could conduct with your research advisor, and how this idea relates to the current paper (one paragraph).
It is important to consider that you must address all three components in your writing.
The goal of the reading reflections is to learn how to read, summarize, and reflect upon research papers. Using an AI or LLM tool to complete the reading reflections is not allowed and will be considered cheating.
Research plan: At the end of this course you will submit a research plan. The research plan is a joint effort between you (the author) and your research mentor (the advisor) and describes the research project you plan to conduct for your Honors Research project.
Prerequisites: This course has no prerequisites.
Grading
This course is Pass/Fail. To receive a passing grade, you must submit satisfactory version of the following:
- A list of four faculty members you would potentially like to do research with, and why you wish to do research with them (week 4)
- Writeups of your interviews with these four faculty members (week 8)
- The name of your agreed-upon research mentor and a list of four papers to read, selected in collaboration with your research mentor (week 10)
- Reflections on the four papers (weeks 11-15)
- A research plan, developed in collaboration with your research mentor (finals week)
Regrading requests: If you fail to submit something by the deadline, or you submit something that is unsatisfactory, I will notify you and give you one (1) chance to resubmit by a new deadline.
Grading timing: I will attempt to give feedback on your submissions within 10 days of the submission deadline.
Course schedule
| Week | Dates | Topic and contents | Work |
| 1 | Friday Jan 9 | Instructor unavailable (no class) | |
| 2 | Friday Jan 16 | Students: talk about your interests | |
| 3 | Friday Jan 23 | Read before class: Amaral - “About Computing Science Research Methodology” | |
| 4 | Friday Jan 30 | Students: Present faculty | Due before class: Submit list of 4 SoC faculty members and why you would like to do research with them |
| 5 | Friday Feb 6 | Read before class: Field – “Why is my evil lecturer forcing me to learn statistics?” | |
| 6 | Friday Feb 13 | Read before class: ACM code of ethics | |
| 7 | Friday Feb 20 | Read before class: Clemson Libraries literature review tutorial | |
| 8 | Friday Feb 27 | Read before class: Dunifon - “How to read a research article” Due before class: Submit writeups of interviews with 4 faculty members | |
| 9 | Friday Mar 6 | Read before class: skim a few study proposal examples | |
| 10 | Friday Mar 13 | Students: Present research area | Due before class: Submit name of research mentor and list of 4 papers to read |
| 11 | Friday Mar 20 | Fall break (no class) | |
| 12 | Friday Mar 27 | Read before class: ACM SIGPLAN Empirical Evaluation Guidelines Due before class: Submit paper reflection 1 Optional reading: Bem (2002) Writing the Empirical Journal Article | |
| 14 | Friday Apr 3 | Make-up lecture (if needed) | Due before class: Submit paper reflection 2 |
| 14 | Friday Apr 10 | Read before class: Urban - “Doing a TED Talk: The Full Story” and Morrison - How to create a better research poster in less time (video) Due before class: Submit paper reflection 3 | |
| 15 | Friday Apr 17 | Guest lecture: Research internships & grad school | Read before class: TBA Due before class: Submit paper reflection 4 |
| 16 | Friday Apr 24 | Students: Present research idea in context of related work | |
| Final | Thursday Apr 30 | This class has no final, but you must submit your research plan by 6pm on Thursday April 30 | |
Attending class, etc.
If you are unable to attend due to unforseen circumstances, please notify the instructor about your absence as soon as possible to make alternative arrangements.
You will get an email notification in the event that class is cancelled. If the instructor is more than 15 minutes late, you can assume a last-minute cancellation. Hopefully this will not happen!
University Policies
You can find information about campus wide policies, including student affairs information and accessibility services, by clicking on Clemson‘s University Policies Page. There, you can find information about academic integrity, access and equity (including student accessibility and Title IX info), student financial services, emergency planning, and more. My expectation is that you will review these policies carefully and be responsible for them this semester.
Academic integrity
As members of the Clemson University community, we have inherited Thomas Green Clemson‘s vision of this institution as a “high seminary of learning.” Fundamental to this vision is a mutual commitment to truthfulness, honor, and responsibility, without which we cannot earn trust and respect of others. Futhermore, we recognize that academic dishonesty detracts from the value of a Clemson degree. Therefore, we shall not tolerate lying, cheating, or stealing in any form. Using materials generated using artificial intelligence (AI) that are turned in without attribution is considered plagiarism.
Practically speaking: Do not cheat. Plagiarism will not be tolerated, and be dealt with through official university channels, see: http://www.clemson.edu/academics/integrity/plagiarism.html.
Please familiarize yourself with how to properly use citations. Use block quotations sparingly; it reduces the originality of your work (and consequently your grade!).
All infractions of academic dishonesty by undergraduates must be reported to Undergraduate Studies for resolution through that office. In cases of plagiarism instructors may use the Plagiarism Resolution Form. See the following resources:
Student Accessibility Services
Clemson University values the diversity of our student body as a strength and a critical component of our dynamic community. Students with disabilities or temporary injuries/conditions may require accommodations due to barriers in the structure of facilities, course design, technology used for curricular purposes, or other campus resources. Students who experience a barrier to full access to this class should let the instructor know and make an appointment to meet with a staff member in Student Accessibility Services as soon as possible. You can make an appointment by calling 864-656-6848, by emailing CUSAS@clemson.edu, or by visiting Suite 239 in the Academic Success Center building. Appointments are strongly encouraged — drop-ins will be seen, if at all possible, but there could be a significant wait due to scheduled appointments. Students who have accommodations are strongly encouraged to request, obtain, and send these to their instructors via SAS as early in the semester as possible so that accommodations can be made in a timely manner. It is the student‘s responsibility to follow this process each semester.
Title IX (Sexual Harassment) statement
The Clemson University Title IX statement: Clemson University is committed to creating and continuously fostering a caring community based on the core values of integrity, honesty and respect. Sexual discrimination, which includes sexual harassment, sexual violence, stalking and domestic and/or relationship violence, is unacceptable and has no place in Clemson’s community. Consistent with its Title IX obligation, the University prohibits discrimination, including sexual and gender-based harassment and violence, in all its programs and activities, including academics, employment, athletics, and other extracurricular activities. This Title IX policy is available online. Katherine Weathers is the Clemson University Title IX Coordinator and VP of Inclusive Excellence. She can be reached at (864) 656-3413 or via email at kweath3@clemson.edu. Remember, email is not a fully secured method of communication and should not be used to discuss Title IX issues.