| Deliverable | Weight | Key Skill Assessed | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Project Charter | 10% | Problem framing & feasibility | | Data Wrangling Notebook | 20% | Code quality & data integrity | | EDA & Statistical Report | 20% | Visual storytelling & hypothesis testing | | Predictive Model & Tuning | 25% | Algorithm selection & optimization | | Final Presentation & Codebase | 25% | Communication & reproducibility |
| Feature | ISTA 440 (UArizona) | Coursera Capstone (IBM/Google) | Traditional Thesis | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Team-based | Individual | Individual | | Real Data | Yes (often messy) | Semi-clean | Varies | | Deployment | Required (app/demo) | Optional | Not required | | Time Commitment | ~10-15 hrs/week | ~4-6 hrs/week | ~20 hrs/week | | Industry Sponsor | Often (50% of sections) | Rarely | No | ista 440
If you are registered for , prepare your Python environment, brace for ambiguity, and remember: every professional data scientist once survived their own capstone. This is your proving ground. For the most current syllabus, office hours, and specific project themes for this semester's offering of ISTA 440, please consult the University of Arizona's official course catalog or the iSchool's internal portal. | Deliverable | Weight | Key Skill Assessed