Guidelines

Practicum (DATS 5990)

Credits and Enrollment

Students may enroll in one or two course units. One CU in a single semester is typical. Two CUs in one semester may be allowed at the advisor’s and Projects Director’s discretion based on project scope.

Advisor Requirements

Any Penn faculty member can serve as your advisor. If your advisor is outside SEAS, the Projects Director will nominally co-advise.

Industry Projects

Industry-proposed practicums are acceptable provided they produce a tangible, academically-based product that the Projects Director can evaluate — for example, a research paper, a rigorous evaluation of a novel method, or a reproducible analysis with clear findings. A consulting deliverable (a dashboard, a report without a research question, or data cleaning for a client) does not qualify on its own. You cannot receive payment for a project you are also enrolling for practicum credit.

This covers self-arranged industry projects within the faculty-advised practicum. If you want a Penn-matched sponsor project instead, see the Industry Capstone (DATS 5990-002) page — a separate section with its own application process, structure, and grading.

Team Projects

You may work as a team of 2–3 students if your faculty advisor approves and each team member has a clearly distinct set of deliverables. This should be specified in the advisor agreement form.

Mid-Semester Check-In

You are expected to meet with your faculty advisor and the Projects Director around the mid-semester mark. Come prepared with one of: a brief slide deck showing your progress, a live demo, or a written report outline. The check-in is a calibration point — the goal is to surface problems early, not to evaluate finished work.

Report Requirements

Your practicum report should be 5–10 pages and include:

• Project description and background
• Data and methods used
• Results and analysis
• Conclusions and limitations
• Links to any code repositories

Submit your report as a PDF by the deadline on the Timeline. Code should be in a maintained repository (e.g., GitHub), not a one-time upload.

Presentation

Practicum students present posters at DATS Presentation Day.

Poster specifications:

• Size: 24 × 36 inches, landscape orientation
• Easels and poster board/clips will be provided
• Printing: print at CETS — contact the Program Manager for the budget code
• See the Resources page for design tips, templates, and printing details

What makes a good poster:

• Lead with your result — don’t bury the finding at the bottom
• One key message per section; viewers scan in 30 seconds
• Favor figures and visuals over tables and text blocks
• Prepare a 60-second verbal summary — most visitors will ask you to explain it rather than read it

How Grades Are Determined

Your grade combines your advisor’s assessment with the Projects Director’s review of your deliverables — your progress against the milestones in your proposal, the quality of your final report, and how well you present and explain the work. There is no single formula; students who maintain steady progress, communicate proactively, and deliver a clear final report typically do well. See the Evaluation Rubric for the specific dimensions you and your advisor can use to assess the work.

Thesis (DATS 9990)

Credits and Enrollment

A thesis requires two course units: 1 CU per semester over two consecutive semesters. You receive a letter grade each semester with deliverables due at the end of each.

Advisor Requirements

Any Penn faculty member can serve as your advisor. You will also need a separate reader who is Penn faculty to review the final thesis.

Semester 1: Foundation

The first semester is for building — not finishing. Focus on:

• Literature review — understand the existing work in your area and clearly identify the gap your thesis addresses
• Problem formulation — sharpen your research questions into testable hypotheses
• Data and methods — acquire your data, validate access, and run preliminary experiments
• Interim report — submit a written interim report (typically 5–8 pages) covering your problem statement, background and related work, proposed approach, and any early results

The interim report is graded. It should demonstrate that you have a clear research direction and have made substantive early progress — not that you’ve finished.

Semester 2: Execution and Writing

The second semester is for completing your research and writing your thesis. Key expectations:

• Complete your core analysis — run experiments, gather results, and interpret findings
• Write the full thesis — following SEAS formatting guidelines
• Present your work — 5-minute talk at DATS Presentation Day
• Submit — completed and signed thesis to grad-affairs@seas.upenn.edu

Work with your advisor to set clear milestones for both semesters at the start. The most common failure mode is underestimating how long writing takes — start drafting sections as you go, not only at the end.

Mid-Semester Check-In

Same as Practicum: meet with your faculty advisor and the Projects Director around the mid-semester mark with a slide deck, demo, or report outline. For thesis students this is particularly important in semester 1, when a scope problem caught early is fixable but caught late becomes a crisis.

Report Requirements

Your thesis must follow SEAS formatting guidelines: Masters Thesis Guidelines

Title page signatures required:

1. Your Faculty Advisor
2. DATS Projects Director (Dr. Guntuku) — sharathg@seas.upenn.edu
3. DATS Program Director (Prof. Susan Davidson) — susan@seas.upenn.edu

Sample title page: DATS Thesis Title Page Template (PDF)

For citations, follow the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Handbook, or the appropriate manual for your field.

Code should be in a maintained repository with a README sufficient for someone to reproduce your results.

Submission

Submit your completed and signed thesis electronically to grad-affairs@seas.upenn.edu by the deadline on the Timeline. An approved copy also goes to the CIS Master’s chair via email.

Presentation

Thesis students deliver a 5-minute presentation at DATS Presentation Day. Practice your talk at least twice — five minutes is harder to fill well than it sounds.

How Grades Are Determined

Each semester is graded independently. Semester 1 is judged mainly on the quality and completeness of your interim report, your progress on the research foundations (literature, problem formulation, data), and your advisor’s assessment of engagement. Semester 2 is judged on the quality of the final thesis, your presentation, and your overall contribution. The Evaluation Rubric below lays out the dimensions in detail — thesis work is held to the higher bar across every dimension and is additionally expected to demonstrate a novel contribution.

If you fall behind, communicate early — advisors can help recalibrate scope; they cannot help if they don’t know there’s a problem.

Evaluation Rubric

This rubric is a shared tool for students and advisors. Use it before each check-in and before final submission: rate the work on each dimension, and address any “Developing” areas while there’s still time. It is not a point formula — advisors weigh the dimensions holistically alongside the difficulty and scope of your project.

Track differences:

• Practicum (DATS 5990) emphasizes a well-scoped, well-executed contribution and clear communication. “Proficient” across the board is solid practicum work.
• Thesis (DATS 9990) is held to the “Proficient–Exemplary” bar across every dimension and must additionally demonstrate a novel contribution suitable toward a publication. In semester 1, the interim report is assessed mainly on the first three dimensions plus early results.

Working with Your Advisor

The advisor relationship is the most important factor in a successful thesis or practicum. A few practices that help:

• Meet regularly — even when there’s nothing new to report. The meeting often creates the progress.
• Send an agenda before each meeting — a few bullet points on what you’ll cover. It focuses the conversation.
• Send a short summary after each meeting — what was decided, what you’ll do next. Keeps both of you aligned and gives you a running log.
• Say explicitly when you’re stuck — advisors can’t help with problems they don’t know about. “I’ve been stuck on X for two weeks” is a useful message. Silence is not.
• Own the project — your advisor guides; you drive. Don’t wait for your advisor to tell you what to do next.

Deliverable Uploads

All students (thesis and practicum) must upload their presentations and poster PDFs to the shared Google Drive folder before Presentation Day. The upload link will be shared each semester.

After You Finish

Your project doesn’t have to end when the grade is posted. A few things worth doing:

• Keep your code repository clean and accessible. A well-documented public repo with a clear README is one of the strongest portfolio pieces you can show an employer. Link it from your résumé and LinkedIn.
• Talk to your advisor about publishing. Strong theses — and some practicums — can be developed into workshop or conference papers. Your advisor can tell you whether the work is a candidate and what it would take.
• Add it to your résumé and LinkedIn with a one-line result (“Built X that achieved Y”), not just a title. Lead with the outcome.
• Let your work help the next cohort. With your permission, your report may be shared as an example for future students — the past reports you learned from came from students before you. Email the Projects Director if you’re willing to contribute yours.
• Cite appropriately. If your project leads to a publication, follow the citation conventions for your field and acknowledge your advisor and the program.