Project Schedule
The computational work in this course is two mini projects (20% of your grade, combined) and the term project (25%).
Policies — submission logistics, group work, and the BEE 5850 requirements — are on the project policies page.
Mini Projects
Each may be completed individually or in pairs.
| Out | Due | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MP1 — Regression and Simulation | Mon 3/01 | Wed 3/17 | Specify a linear generative model, simulate from it, fit it, check recovery, and put uncertainty on the fit with the bootstrap |
| MP2 — Extremes and Model Comparison | Mon 4/05 | Fri 5/07 | Fit a GEV and a GPD to a real record, fit stationary and nonstationary variants, and compare them on evidence |
Both are due at 9:00pm Eastern, submitted to Gradescope with pages tagged. Instructions, data and the required elements are in each repository — see Mini Projects for how to get them and how they are graded.
MP2 is assigned the day the evaluation block starts and is due after the criteria contrast (4/23) has been taught. That is deliberate — it is the one place in the course where “what is this criterion actually measuring?” gets computational work rather than conceptual testing, and extremes is precisely where the criteria disagree, because the samples are small.
It also has gaps in the data, on purpose. See the policies page.
Term Project
A question and dataset of your own choosing, individually or in pairs.
| Deliverable | Due | Length | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proposal | Fri 3/26 | ≤2 pp | Graded substantively |
| Check-in | Fri 4/23 | A conversation | Pass/fail |
| Report | Finals period | ≤5 pp | The bulk |
| Presentation | Finals period | — | Included in the above |
It is the only place in this course where you decide what question is worth asking of what data — everywhere else, I hand you the problem. It is graded accordingly, not as an administrative step.
The test I will apply: can you say what would count as an answer? A proposal that cannot does not yet describe a project, however interesting the dataset. Start thinking about this well before March, and come talk to me if you are not sure.
Why The Deadlines Sit Where They Do
- The proposal lands after MP1 is submitted, so you know what a full pass through the loop actually costs before you promise one — and before spring break, so feedback reaches you with time to change course.
- The check-in is late enough to have results and early enough to recover. It is a ten-minute conversation in office hours rather than a written deliverable, because its job is to catch a project going wrong, and a conversation does that better than a document.
- MP2 is due at the end of the final teaching week, after every criterion it asks you to use has been taught. Quiz 6 falls on the Monday of that same week (5/03), which is deliberate but tight: the quiz is 25 minutes and closed-book, and MP2 has been in your hands since 4/05. Plan the weekend before around the quiz, not around the mini project.
Presentations run during the university finals period, at a date and time assigned by the Office of the University Registrar. Expect to devote approximately 6 hours to the project during the exam period.