Find out more about our Capstone projects

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a rapidly growing field with applications in many of the technologies we are all accustomed to using every day, from virtual assistants and smart speakers to autocorrect functions.

Our Masters program at UCSC balances theory with practice including a 15 unit Capstone project to enable you to apply the skills you’ve acquired on the program to a real-world issue or challenge. You’ll gain valuable employability skills and practical experience both from working in a team with your peers and from the insights you’ll gain from your academic or organizational mentor(s). Recent student teams have collaborated with experts from industry giants like Bloomberg, IBM, Interactions, LinkedIn, Microsoft and others to address industry-relevant and research-focused topics in the NLP field.

The Capstone project is a great way for you to scope out the NLP field, looking at projects that interest you and identifying organizations that you may wish to work with in future. Working closely with your mentor during the project you’ll extend your networks and gain practical employability skills that will support your future job search. Many organizations value their involvement in the Capstone projects as this can be a useful way to informally evaluate students’ skills and find a good fit for workplace vacancies.

Capstone projects 2023

We’re delighted to announce that our current students have recently started their NLP Capstone Experience! After exploring leading research on a variety of NLP topics, they’ve joined Capstone teams mentored by industry experts from Adobe, Cisco, CDIAL, Google, Meta, and UCSC. Scroll down to see this year’s project topics, and follow us on LinkedIn for updates from our Capstone teams.

Capstone projects 2022

NLP students collaborated with industry mentors from IBM, Interactions, LinkedIn, and Google to develop and implement a variety of Capstone projects to address real-world NLP challenges. The workshop also featured a keynote address about the future of NLP from Professor Ian Lane as well as the annual NLP Industry Panel where leading scientists shared their insights on career opportunities in NLP.

Capstone projects 2021

NLP students showcased their projects at the inaugural NLP Capstone Workshop in August 2021 to an audience made up of faculty members, Industry Advisory Board and invited guests from industry. Each team has half an hour to present their work and take questions from attendees.

The NLP Capstone experience offers a great opportunity to extend your networks and put yourself in front of potential employers. Registration is open to the professional NLP community and invitations are sent to a range of interested parties who are able to attend either in person or remotely.