Prof. Thuy T.
Le
EE297 & EE299
Electrical Engineering
Guideline for Writing M.S. Project Proposal
A project (or thesis) proposal should have six components: 1. title page, 2. abstract, 3. objectives of proposed work, 4. summary and conclusion, 5. proposed schedule, and 6. references. In addition, a signature page should be attached to the front of the proposal, which will be reviewed and approved by the Graduate Committee. Signature Page List the title of the proposal, your name, your advisor's, co-advisors, and graduate coordinators names. At the bottom of the page, list your address, student ID number, phone number, and email address. Please see a sample signature page at the bottom of this document. Title Page List the title of the proposal, your name, and the advisor's name. Abstract The abstract should not exceed 150 words. Write one or two sentences on each of these points: the motivation, tasks, and significance of the project. Objectives of Proposed Work Present what the proposed work plans to accomplish. Introduction Discuss the motivation and the need for the proposed work. Present background information on the proposed work and describe current work in the subject area. Proposed Work Present specifics on the proposed work and the approaches you plan to investigate or implement. Give sufficient technical details to demonstrate the fact that the proposed project is well thought out. Summary and Conclusion Summarize the need for the proposed work and tasks for the proposed work. Discuss the significance and impact of the proposed work. Also helpful is the discussion on the possible extension of the proposed work. Proposed Schedule Break your proposed work into several tasks. Give a time line for completion of each task. The final task for the project is the master project presentation and report, which is due on the Friday before the last week of the class.
Prof. Thuy T. Le
EE297 & EE299
Electrical Engineering
References List sources cited in the body of the proposal. In the report, number your references consecutively and enclose the reference number in brackets, e.g. "Pekmestzi [14] suggested the use of complex binary digit." The reference sources cited in this section should be in IEEE reference format, e.g. K. Z. Pekmestzi and G. D. Papadopoulos, "Cellular Two's Complement Serial-parallel Pipeline Multiplier," Radio and Electronic Engineering, Vol. 49, pp. 575-580, 1979.
Proposal format (in addition to the department guideline described above)
Use 8.5x11 papers. Set 1" margins for top, bottom, left, and right Signature page, Title page, and Abstract are on separated page Proposal page number starts from "Abstract" section and are continuously numbered through the references Page numbers are at the bottom center of the page and use size 10 Use "Time New Roman" or equivalent font, size 12, for the proposal body (starting from the Abstract page) with exceptions for equations, the command script files, outputs from the software tools/computers, etc. Use Courier New or equivalent font, size 10, for the command script files, outputs from the software tools/computers, etc. Except for the Signature page and Title page, all text in the report must be fully-justified and single-line spacing and 0 pt spacing Before and After (as defined in the Format Paragraph of MS Word) The abstract is to be in fully-justified italicized text. All printed material, including text, illustrations, and charts, must be kept within a print area of the page format, which is 6.5" (8.5" paper size with 1" left and 1" right margins) Place one additional blank line between paragraphs. Figures and tables must be numbered separately and capitalize only the first letter of the first word of each. For example: Figure 1. Hardware block, Table 1. Input test pattern. Figure captions are to be centered below the figures. Table titles are to be centered above the tables. The first-order headings, for example, 1. Introduction, must be boldface, initially capitalized, flush left, with one blank line before, and one blank line after. Use a period (.) after the heading number, not a colon. The second-order headings, for example, "2.1 Features" must be underlined, initially capitalized, flush left, with one blank line before, and one after. Follow the same rule for third-order, fourth-order headings, etc (but more than second-order headings are discouraged). Use footnotes sparingly (or not at all!) and place them at the bottom of the page on which they are referenced. Use Times 10-point type, single-spaced.
Prof. Thuy T. Le
EE297 & EE299
Electrical Engineering
Project Title
MSEE Project Proposal
By Your Name
Signature
Date
Project Advisor:
__________________ Professor Thuy T. Le
_____________
Project Co-Advisor:
__________________
_____________
Graduate Coordinator:
__________________
_____________
Department of Electrical Engineering San Jose State University San Jose, CA 95192-0084 Your Name Your SJSU ID Your address, telephone number, and email address
