Computer Science (COMP) 600

Research Orientation (Revision 1)

Status:

Open

Delivery mode:

Individualized study online. Delivered via Brightspace.

Credits:

Area of study:

Computing and Information Systems

Prerequisites:

Professor approval. You should contact the graduate program advisor for the process to obtain permission to register in this course.

Precluded:

None

Faculty:

Faculty of Science and Technology

Notes:

This is a graduate-level course, and you need to be an MSc CIS program student in order to take this course. Minimum admission requirements must be met.
You may be able to take this course in parallel with COMP 695. A supervisor must be identified before registering in COMP 600.
Information on Athabasca University Graduate Research fund can be found on the Research Centre's website.
Effective September 1, 2026, the course contract period for this course will be 4 months. Registration opens July 10 for a September 1 start.

Outline

In COMP 600, you will work with your supervisor to develop a research plan, identify needed resources, outline the literature review, define research deliverables, elaborate the research schedule, and submit the research ethics application if needed. This course serves as both an orientation to research and an opportunity to complete the initial tasks of the research plan before starting the next course of the essay, project, or thesis route.

Evaluation

You must obtain a PASS gradeprior to registering for the next course in the essay,
project, or thesis route.

The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Activity	Weight
Research Plan	Pass/Fail

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery modes may vary from their individualized study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 1, September 1, 2026

Updated July 3, 2026

Computer Science (COMP) 600

Overview

Outline

Evaluation

Materials

Important links