SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT PROGRAM
PROJECT GUIDELINES
1. Scope
a. Project should solve a specific need for a company.
b. Mechanical and Electrical Engineering projects should involve design, modeling and
analytical prototyping.
c. Computer Science Projects may be purely software oriented; software projects requiring 2 or
more disciplines to successfully execute are encouraged.
d. Projects should not be classified or highly proprietary. If required, students/faculty will sign
a nondisclosure agreement. Students should be able to publicly present their work with the
mutual agreement of company.
2. Timeline
a. Project should be assigned with a development cycle of three quarters (9 months) with the
following project planning timeline:

Project commitment: April-July

Project definition: May-August

Project execution: September-June with design reviews every quarter.
3. Personnel
a. A Team of 3-4 student s will be responsible for the success of the project.
b. Each team will be coached by experienced engineering faculty member (1-2 hours
minimum per week).
c. The Executive Sponsor is responsible for ensuring that corporate commitment and funding is
delivered on time and that an appropriate Project Liaison is assigned.
d. The Project Technical Liaison provides 1-2 hours per week for weekly updates and
meetings/teleconferencing. The liaison should be knowledgeable about the technology and
committed to the success of the student team.
4. Funding Arrangement
a. Full funding for a single project is $25,000 per year.
b. Funding can be arranged as either a philanthropic grant or a contract; these mechanisms have
differing overhead costs.
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PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE – SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT PROGRAM
PROJECT SUBMISSION SHEET
Date:
Project Title:
Company:
EXECUTIVE SPONSOR INFORMATION: Project agreements and invoices will be sent to the attention of the executive
sponsor or their designee
Executive Sponsor
 send agreements and invoices to the attention of:
Name:
Name:
Title:
Title:
Address:
Address:
Phone:
Phone:
Fax:
Fax:
E-Mail:
E-Mail:
LIAISON ENGINEER INFORMATION: The liaison engineer(s) are the primary technical point of contact for the project
team
Primary Liaison
Back-up Liaison
Name:
Name:
Title:
Title:
Address:
Address:
Phone:
Phone:
Fax:
Fax:
E-Mail:
E-Mail:
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PROJECT BACKGROUND INFORMATION: This document provides information required to understand the project scope
and define the key technological expectations. The target audience for the first draft is an experienced engineering faculty member
that serves as a mentor to a multidisciplinary team of undergraduate students tasked with completing the project. Once a common set
of project expectations is established between the sponsor and the faculty member, this document may be revised as required to
prepare it for the student team.
The students may be unfamiliar with your company and your products. It is possible that this project will be their first exposure to the
company, its technology and its markets. Therefore, it is important to provide some background information on your company and a
context for the project. How does this project relate to your business? Why is it important?
MOST IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES OF PROJECT: Provide a list of key objectives for the project—with or without
priorities. Include expectations for economic analyses and business considerations.
DESIGN EXPECTATIONS: Provide a list of the key design deliverables, including such things as required CAD/CAM/CAE
formats and tools, documentation standards, and software environments.
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SPACE REQUIREMENT: Provide an estimate of the space that will be required to set up test environments.
NEW TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS:
Indicate emerging technology that may be required or needed for the project.
IS THE COMPANY WILLING TO PROVIDE THE TECHNOLOGY: ____ Yes ____No
If yes, please indicate if the technology will be a ___loan or ___permanent transfer. Please indicate approximate delivery date, method and terms and
conditions if it is to be provided on loan. If a software donation or loan is provided, new or upgraded computers may also be required.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER ISSUES RELEVANT TO THE PROJECT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF IN REGARDS
TO IMPLEMENTATION?
EXPORT CONTROLS REQUIREMENT: Cal State L.A.
assesses all new awards and changes to scopes of work utilizing a rigorous
internal export control review. All project sponsors are required to answer the following questions:
1. Does the Sponsor/Prime believe the project (due to the technology involved/prime sponsor
expectations) to be “controlled” pursuant to US Export Control Regulations? __yes __no
2. Will the Sponsor and/or Prime be giving Cal State L.A. any export controlled (EAR and/or
ITAR) information, items or software for use in the conduct of this project? __yes __no
3. Does the funded research effort disclose to Cal State L.A. or provide Cal State L.A. access
to any performance characteristics of military systems or manufacturing technologies that are
unique and critical to defense? __yes __no
4. What is the NASA Readiness Level and/or DOD Funding Category for this project if
applicable? __not applicable
CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS:
____ US Person _____ US Citizen _____ Not Applicable
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