Students in the Computational Emphasis Area or Clinical Research Emphasis Area will need to complete either a 6 hour thesis or a 3 hour practicum plus an additional elective. Students choosing to complete a practicum will need to work with a faculty mentor. A single page description of the scope of the practicum should be approved and signed by the faculty mentor and filed in the office prior to registering for the practicum. A practicum will typically require effort equivalent to a 3 credit hour didactic course. The work should be a well-circumscribed component of a research project, an in-depth review of literature on a well-defined topic, or a single semester internship in informatics. Students will be required to give a departmental presentation on their practicum at the end of the semester.