SIPs

The Senior Integrated Project (SIP) is a Kalamazoo College graduation requirement and an opportunity for you to create a unique learning experience that draws on all the academic and experiential aspects of your Kalamazoo College education.  The SIP is usually completed in the major department.  However, a SIP may be completed in another area with the approval of that department and a faculty supervisor. Whether you decide to work on- or off-campus, you should enlist a SIP advisor from the department and discuss your ideas with that person early in the planning phase. You should develop a SIP proposal and obtain the approval of your faculty SIP advisor. During the spring quarter of the senior year, CS students give presentations on their SIPs to faculty and students as part of the annual departmental “SIP Fest.”

The SIP does not count toward the nine courses in a Computer Science major.

Copies of past SIPs are on file in the CS/Math Office and may be checked out as reference for formatting.  They are also on file electronically in the Kalamazoo College digital archives.

Click here for the SIP Registration Form, which is found at the registrar’s website.

SIP Guidelines and Style Guide

SIP Guidelines

Advance to:

Who?

Most students doing SIPs in computer science are CS majors, although occasionally students majoring in other subjects have done Computer Science SIPs. Furthermore, not all CS majors choose to do a CS SIP. You may do a SIP in any department of the College if you have the support of a faculty SIP advisor in that department. 

What do CS SIPs typically look like?

CS SIPs most commonly involve an internship, research experience, or student project conducted over the summer. Research SIPs are generally 2-unit summer/fall SIPs. Internship and project-based SIPs may be 1-unit summer COMP 593 SIPs or 2-unit summer/fall COMP 593 SIPs.

All SIPS require the approval and support of an on-campus supervisor. Students should develop a plan at the beginning of the summer and write weekly reflections on the experience throughout the summer. All students doing CS SIPs give an oral presentation of their work after it is complete.

Students doing one-unit SIPs write a reflection at the end of the summer (due by Week 1 of the Fall term).

Students doing two-unit SIPs complete the experiential or research portion of their work during the summer and write a SIP report or research paper during the fall. Students doing research SIPs generally participate in a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, work at a national lab such as Argonne National Laboratory, or conduct research with one of the faculty on campus, and then write a research paper. Students doing experiential SIPs work at a company or government laboratory or agency and then write a report relating theory to practice. The SIP report will generally relate theory to practice and will often include further research into some aspect or extension of the project that the student finds interesting. The specific focus and scope for a SIP research paper or experiential report should be worked out between the student and their on-campus SIP supervisor.

All students doing two-unit SIPs are expected to participate in the SIP Peer Review seminar (COMP 500) during the fall term.

Exceptions – What if you have an idea that doesn’t fit in CS or any other department?

The SIP structures described above are general guidelines for Computer Science SIPs. Students wishing to split a SIP between two departments should speak to faculty members in each department early in the planning phase. In all cases, you should speak with a member of the department early enough to be able to make plans and consider alternatives. 

The CS department also supports non-departmental SIPs (SIP 593 – 1 unit in the summer) for topics or projects that don’t fit neatly within an existing department. As with CS SIPs, all non-departmental SIPs require the approval and support of an on-campus supervisor. Students should speak with a member of the department early enough to be able to make plans and consider alternatives.

For a non-departmental SIP, students should identify an independent learning goal, project, or activity of personal interest that you want to focus on over the summer. As with one-unit CS related SIPs, students should develop a plan at the beginning of the summer, and submit a reflection at the end of the summer (due by Week 1 of the Fall term).

SIP Report

Guidelines for One-Unit SIPs

Students doing a one-unit Summer SIP are expected to complete the SIP activity over the summer and submit an end-of-SIP Reflection no later than the end of Week 1 of the Fall term. The Reflection should include a summary of what you learned and did and your evaluation of that against your goals. If you have been writing weekly reflections, they will be an excellent resource.

Length & Content: Depending on your writing style and what you want to say, 5-7 pages would be appropriate. Some final SIP Reflections are longer, but you should not turn it into a 20-page report!

Things you might include are: what your plan or original vision for the summer was, what you learned over the summer, whether there was anything that you didn’t expect or that changed your viewpoint in some way, and how the overall experience fit into the broader picture of your K (and non-K) education. In other words, all the hallmarks of a good reflection.

Some additional prompts that could help you decide what to say in your reflection are:

  • What aspects of the work you did this summer feels particularly significant, either to the project itself or to your learning?
  • What aspects of your work were particularly interesting? Could be difficulties, minor successes or “aha!” moments, comments from other people, etc.
  • Is there anything you’ve done previously (prior courses, prior work, planning work) that had an impact on your work this summer?
  • Have you talked about your work this summer with someone of significance to you, someone with lived or professional experience related to your work, or someone who might be impacted by your work or something similar to it?

Format: You may submit your Reflection as a stand-alone unit, complete with black binder, or you may submit a version that the department can include in an anthology of one-unit SIP reflections. In either case, you should include a title page and follow the guidelines for pagination, margins, and spacing. (See the CS SIP Style Guide below for details.) You should cite any sources you used, whether inline, in footnotes, or in endnotes. You may also include Acknowledgements, tables, or images as appropriate.

Due Dates: You should submit your SIP Reflection to your on-campus SIP advisor at the end of the summer or early in the 1st week of fall term. That gives your advisor time to read it and to suggest minor edits if that seems appropriate and for you to make any changes by the 2nd week.

Guidelines for Two-Unit SIPs

The expectations, content, and structure of a two-unit SIP report depend on the type of project that was undertaken. In general, experiential and research SIPs include sections that address the context for your project, the technical work your undertook, a discussion of its relationship or relevance to a broader computing context, your results and conclusions, and some reference to either your future or the future of the project. You should discuss the specific focus of your SIP report and an appropriate length with your SIP advisor.

Summer – preparation: As you work on your research, internship, or project over the summer, decide on a theme to provide structure for your SIP report. Jot down notes to yourself as you encounter problems, develop solutions, and see connections with other things. These notes will be a valuable resource to you when you write your final SIP reflection or report. You should also begin library research on an interesting aspect/extension of your project to include in your SIP report. (If your interest has shifted to a different angle, you should talk this over with your on-campus SIP advisor.) Take advantage of the contacts you have at your job or research site: ask them to suggest good books and articles on the topic, and go to them with the things you don’t understand from the readings.

Midway through the summer, you should send a revised topic and theme to your on-campus SIP advisor as well as a first-pass outline of your paper and an initial report on your library research.

An experiential SIP report generally documents the following: 

  • The context of your project (mission or focus of the company, work group, your place within it)
  • The technical work undertaken
  • How your project relates to broader computing concerns or a particular computing sub-field
  • Your results and conclusions
  • A reflection on how your SIP related to previous work you have done (coursework, internships, etc.) and its relevance to your future in computing

An experimental or applied research SIP report addresses similar themes, but may be structured differently. A research report generally includes the following components: 

  • Context, broken down into three areas: problem, background, and related work
  • A description of the technical work undertaken
  • Documented results and conclusions
  • A description of possible future work
  • Optional: A research SIP may also include a reflection on how your SIP related to previous work you have done (coursework, internships, etc) and its relevance to your future in computing

At the end of the summer, your SIP advisor will evaluate the work you have completed to date to determine whether you have earned the summer unit of SIP credit.

Fall – SIP Report: Before the beginning of the Fall term, you should send your on-campus SIP advisor a detailed outline of your paper, a preliminary thesis, and an updated report on your library research. These will also serve as your first artifacts for the SIP Peer Review seminar.

You should also start thinking about where to start with the writing process. It may seem obvious to start with the introduction, but introductions can be hard to write. If you are doing an experiential SIP, a good place to start is with a section talking about what you did for your project, the company or organization that you worked for, and why the organization is interested in the project. If you are doing a research SIP, you should communicate with your on-campus SIP advisor about which section(s) of your paper you should focus on at this point.

You will continue writing your SIP report throughout the Fall term, sharing your progress each week with fellow students in the SIP Peer Review seminar, receiving feedback, and making revisions.

Length & Content: All two-unit Computer Science SIPs are expected to include substantive technical work. SIP reports are expected to address all of the content-related features described below, as well as the structural and stylistic characteristics described as meta-features. The report should be generally be 20-30 pages, well-structured, clear, and free of mechanical, syntactic, and stylistic errors.

Features related to SIP report content:

  • Appropriate topic
  • Context
  • Technical work
  • Relationship/Relevance to area of CS (part of Context in research SIPs)
  • Results & conclusions
  • Reflection/Reference to the future

Meta-features of SIP report:

  • Appropriate focus or theme
  • Effective overall structure
  • Appropriate level for intended audience
  • Writing style: sentence- and paragraph-level structure
  • Mechanics and syntax
  • Include citations and/or other acknowledgements of information and help, as appropriate
  • Include diagrams, code fragments, and appendices, as appropriate for understanding and clarity
  • Include all standard components of a SIP report (title page, acknowledgements, table of contents, bibliography, etc. See the CS SIP Style Guide below for details.)

Guidelines for Expository SIPs

An expository paper (literature survey) SIP has a different set of expectations. For this type of SIP, students are expected to find, understand, integrate, and communicate information from a reasonable number and diversity of sources on an appropriate topic. The paper should provide some chronological and technical context for the topic, describe its current state, and describe the impact it has had or is expected to have, including for whom it is most relevant.

Content: Expository papers should include the following:

Features related to SIP report content:

  • Appropriate topic
  • Context
  • Technical work
  • Relationship/Relevance to area of CS (part of Context in research SIPs)
  • Results & conclusions
  • Reflection/Reference to the future

Meta-features of SIP report:

  • Appropriate focus or theme
  • Effective overall structure
  • Appropriate level for intended audience
  • Writing style: sentence- and paragraph-level structure
  • Mechanics and syntax
  • Include citations and/or other acknowledgements of information and help, as appropriate
  • Include diagrams, code fragments, and appendices, as appropriate for understanding and clarity
  • Include all standard components of a SIP report (acknowledgements, table of contents, bibliography, etc.)

Registration, Planning, and Timelines

Registration for Summer and Summer/Fall SIPs happens during Spring of your Junior year.

If you are doing a one-unit SIP (1-unit COMP 593 or SIP 593), you should register for one SIP unit for the summer. You may register for either two or three classes in the fall term. (The summer unit will count as a 3rd or 4th course in the fall.)

If you are doing a two-unit SIP (COMP 593), you should register for one SIP unit for the summer and one SIP unit for the fall. In addition you may register for either one or two classes during the fall quarter. Two classes plus the fall SIP constitutes a full load; students are not allowed to overload during a SIP quarter, so you may not register for three classes and a SIP in the fall. You should also register for the SIP Peer Review seminar (COMP 500) during the fall quarter. Participation is required for all two-unit SIPs, so be sure that you have registered for the seminar and that you do not have conflicts with its meeting time. (This doesn’t have any units attached to it, so it doesn’t affect your registration in other classes.)

The timeline described here is a general one. Students should develop an appropriate timeline with their faculty SIP advisor(s). 

Junior Year: You should start researching SIP opportunities by the fall of your junior year. Application deadlines for most REU programs and research programs at government labs and agencies are during the winter term. Information about opportunities can be found on the web. The best resources for finding out about internships and other experiential SIP opportunities are the Career Development Center, family and friends, current seniors, and recent alumni. 

If you are planning to study abroad during your junior year, you should start researching SIP opportunities before you go abroad and should expect to be applying for off-campus opportunities while abroad.

Junior Spring: You should choose and meet with your faculty SIP advisor during the spring quarter of your junior year. You must agree on the SIP proposal, on any preparation that will be necessary before you begin the summer work, on the type and frequency of communication you will have with your local advisor while you are undertaking the work, and on requirements and deadlines for your SIP.

Summer: At the beginning of the summer you should refine your goals and planned activities and make them more specific. What do you hope to do and learn over the summer? If you have not yet drawn up a plan or draft schedule for your SIP activities, you should do so. It’s always a good idea to build in an activity part-way through to revise or extend your plan.

Along with your specific goals, you might include:

  • have opportunities to apply creative thinking
  • speak to someone who matters to you about what you are learning
  • apply good time management

Throughout the summer, take notes as you encounter problems and develop solutions, and write weekly reflections to mark your progress and make connections with other aspects of your K education. These notes and reflections will be a valuable resource to you when you write your final SIP reflection or report. You may find a format similar to those used in some upper-level classes a good starting point.

  • What have I learned this week? What have I done this week?
  • What questions came up that I want to look into further?
  • How does what I have learned and done relate to my overall goals for the summer? (Sometimes the answer to that may be that you are ready to redefine your overall goals?)
  • You might also address: How does what I’ve done this week (or so far this summer) relate to my future goals as a computer scientist or as a human being?

Every second or third week, it is a good idea to review your plan/schedule, evaluate what you’ve done so far against your goals, and update the goals and/or your plan for the summer as necessary.

Senior Fall: One-unit SIPs are due to your faculty SIP advisor at the end of summer or beginning of fall (check with your advisor for specific information). Students doing two-unit SIPs participate in the SIP Peer Review seminar during the fall quarter. Students analyze and critique outlines and drafts, provide feedback, and generally help each other develop a high-quality, personal report of their unique experiences. Although the main focus of the seminar is to engage in peer-review of developing SIP reports, students also sometimes review posters and presentations of their SIPs, resumes, and graduate school applications.

Senior Spring: During the spring quarter of your senior year, you will give a presentation of your work to faculty and students as part of the annual departmental “SIP Fest.” 

Assessment

When your project is completed, it will be evaluated by your SIP advisor. Advisors solicit a second opinion to confirm exceptionally high quality work deserving Honors and to confirm failing work. To be eligible for Honors, a SIP report must be exceptionally strong, both in content and writing style, and must show a strong degree of student ownership and direction in the choice of topic and depth or degree of integration. 

SIP Style Guide

Advance to:

The Preliminaries

  • Title page, followed by a blank sheet of paper
  • Preface, including acknowledgments
  • Abstract (option of the SIP department)
  • Table of contents, with page references
  • List of tables, with titles and page references
  • List of illustrations, with titles and page references
  • List of appendices, with titles and page references
  • Introduction
  • Main body, with larger divisions, and more important divisions, indicated by suitable headings
  • The References
  • Appendices
  • Bibliography

Pagination

Each page in the paper, except the blank sheet following the title page, should be assigned a number as explained below.

  • The preliminaries use small Roman numerals, centered one-half inch above the bottom of the page. This blank sheet is neither counted nor numbered. The title page actually counts as the first page, but no number appears on it. The first number, then, is “ii” and appears on the page after the blank sheet.
  • The remainder of the paper, including the appendices and bibliography, uses Arabic numerals, centered one-half inch below the top of the page. Number each page on which material appears. Begin with “1” and run consecutively to the end of the paper.

Margins

The left margin must be at least one and one-half inches wide in order to allow for binding. All other margins (right, top, and bottom) should be one inch.

Spacing

Use double spacing throughout the paper. Footnotes and long quoted passages should be single-spaced.

Kalamazoo College is committed to the provisions of copyright laws. The inherent value of these laws, as stated by EDUCOM, is endorsed: “Respect for intellectual labor and creativity is vital to academic discourse and enterprise. This principle applies to works of all authors and publishers in all media. It encompasses respect for the right to acknowledge, right to privacy, and right to determine the form, manner, and terms of publication and distribution.”  All members of the College community have the responsibility of adhering to the copyright laws. 

Taken from EDUCOM. 1993. Using software: a guide to the ethical and legal use of software for members of the academic community. Washington, DC.

Acknowledgments

Please observe the rules of courtesy. Give recognition to those who made significant contributions to your project.

Footnotes

Footnoting is necessary to avoid plagiarism. Please observe the style preferences of the department and your faculty SIP supervisor.

Binder

Binders are available for purchase in the Kalamazoo College Bookstore.

Title Page

In addition to the complete title, the title page should contain the following:

  • Author’s name
  • Name and office of the on-site supervisor (if applicable)
  • Name and department of the faculty SIP supervisor
  • The legend: “A paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Kalamazoo College.”
  • Year of imprint

SIP Funding Possibilities

Many REUs and internships provide the financial support students need so they are able to devote the necessary time to their project without having to find additional work. For those situations when students don’t receive the necessary financial support for their project, there are some options available

Planning your SIP
SIP Registration Form
Library Guide for SIP Research
Archive of SIPs

Please reach out to Kristen Eldred in 203 Olds/Upton or via email at Kristen.Eldred@kzoo.edu for a print or pdf version of the SIP Guidelines and Style Guide.