Qualifications
Candidates must:
- be current SFU CS majors (in any CS program) having completed at least 60 total credit hours to date,
- have completed CMPT 275 or 276 with a grade of at least B,
- have an overall CGPA and upper division GPA of at least 3.0,
- have excellent teamwork skills,
- commit to a 6 credit project with a commensurate workload of about 20-25 hours per week during that term, and
- be available to work the equivalent of two days per week onsite at the Centre for Digital Media (the specific arrangements are subject to their team's mutual consent)
Useful but optional: more software design background; graphics, vision, or animation background; demonstrated success on team projects; web/mobile development experience; story or game design experience; etc.
Application
To apply to participate in the next session, please fill out a Special Research Project Application Form (you will need to login to goSFU to access the form). Do not attach a Research/Directed Studies Proposal, instead please attach a cover letter that sets out your qualifications for the course. We would like you to tell us a little about yourself and describe the experience that you will bring to the team (which could include relevant courses, projects, work experience, or other experience). Note you do not need to submit a Graduation Planning Form as well.
Your Faculty Supervisor will be John Edgar: johnwill@sfu.ca
Successful candidates will be invited to interview at the Centre for Digital Media.
Applicants will be advised of their status no later than 4 weeks after the deadline for applications. Selection will be based partly on fit with the students/projects available at CDM and partly on the applications and possible interviews. We will do our best to match accepted students to projects that best match their career goals (though all projects are relevant to any area in digital media), but we cannot guarantee particular topics, tools, teammates, or other details of the project.
SFU SIAT Graduate
Please submit an expression of interest to siatgrad_office@sfu.ca
FAQ
How does this fit into your degree?
You will receive a total of six credits in CMPT 493. You may use these credits to fulfill six of the twelve units of 400 level CMPT depth and they will be considered to fall within the Table 1 Visual and Interactive Computing concentration (Computer Graphics and Multimedia in older calendars).
Do I have additional assignments?
To fulfill your requirements, you will participate in all assessments of the MDM teams, and you will also write a project report detailing your contributions, how they fit into the final designed artifact, and key lessons you learned. The report should reference your team's prototype and other artifacts you created during the term as evidence of your contributions and learning. The faculty member of your university will review these reports and the team assessments to assign a final course grade.
How will I be assessed at CDM?
A faculty project supervisor will be assigned to each team. The supervisor will refer to the following rubric in order to evaluate the team and the individual student: Projects evaluation Rubric.
In addition, there are certain deliverables to be submitted at the end of the term: Projects II & III Final Documentation & Deliverables Guidelines 2025 Final.
There will be a minimum of 3 check-ins to provide students with feedback. Your grade at CDM will be forwarded to your institution’s faculty supervisor. You may be asked to submit additional assignments to your home institution. Please confirm these assignments with your institution’s faculty supervisor.
How is this different from co-op?
This is not paid. You will receive credit toward graduation.
This is a self-contained project on a small team; so, you'll generally have more input into how the project proceeds but less pre-existing structure to support you.
Your work will focus on specific skills or learning objectives, while co-ops can provide broader work experience.
Previous participants feel this course complements co-op.
Who is my home institution’s faculty supervisor?
Senior Lecturer, John Edgar, is your home institution’s faculty supervisor.