IB DP Computer Science · Collaborative sciences project

The collaborative sciences project, for computer scientists

The 10-hour interdisciplinary project every DP sciences student does, written from the computer science side: the 7 aims the guide sets out for the subject, the 8 essential features a project must have, what a computer science student actually contributes to a team of biologists and chemists, and why it is not a group internal assessment.

  • 10 hours
  • No IB marks
  • Still required
  • SL and HL alike

Free to use. Students join their class with a code from their teacher; teachers can create classes and track progress.

What is inside

  • What the CSP actually isA mixed team from across the DP sciences, one real-world issue, a product that is presented but never marked, and a 100-word reflection as the evidence it happened.
  • Your role in the teamGetting data off the instruments, building the model, making the whole team's data legible, and owning the questions about the data.
  • The aims, for computer scienceAll 7 aims paired with the gloss the guide writes for computer science - the only place in the document the subject appears.
  • Essential and desirable featuresThe 8 features every CSP must have, separated from the ones a good project adds.
  • Not the internal assessmentA side-by-side on who does the work, what is marked, what you hand over and where the topic comes from.
Preview

The CSP is not a group internal assessment

Students routinely read the CSP as a group version of the IA. Almost nothing that is true of one is true of the other.

Collaborative sciences projectInternal assessment
Who does the workA team, drawn from across the DP sciences.You, alone, for a named client.
MarksNone from the IB. No criteria, no moderation, no effect on your grade.30 marks over 5 criteria, and part of your final grade.
What is judgedNothing is marked. You still produce and present something - it is just not judged.The product, and the documentation written about building it.
Hours10, the same at SL and HL.35, the same at SL and HL.
What you hand overA 100-word reflection, kept by your school as evidence.Three files - product, 2,000 words of documentation and a video - submitted to the IB.
Where the topic comes fromA local issue with global significance, chosen with the team.A real problem belonging to a real client who is not you.