DegreeFlow

About the Project

Inspiration

Choosing classes and professors is often more stressful than it should be. Students constantly switch between degree requirement pages and professor review platforms, trying to piece together the best decisions with incomplete or hard-to-read information.

We were inspired by this frustration. We wanted to create a single, unified platform where students can both plan their degree path and evaluate professors, without sacrificing clarity or accessibility.

What We Built

DegreeFlow is a web application that combines:

Degree planning tools
Course exploration
Professor ratings and reviews

All in one clean, user-friendly interface.

Our main goal was to improve readability and accessibility, making academic information easier to understand and navigate. Instead of cluttered pages and confusing layouts, DegreeFlow presents information in a structured and intuitive way so students can make faster, smarter decisions.

How We Built It

We built DegreeFlow using a full-stack approach:

Frontend: React for a dynamic and responsive user interface
Backend: Spring Boot to handle APIs and data management
Integration: RESTful APIs to connect the frontend and backend
Design Focus: Accessibility-first principles, including clear layouts, readable typography, and structured data presentation

We also worked on connecting the frontend and backend securely using CORS configuration to enable smooth communication between the two systems.

Challenges We Faced

One of the biggest challenges was integrating the frontend with the backend, especially configuring CORS correctly and ensuring both sides could communicate without errors.

We also faced challenges in:

Structuring data in a way that is both useful and easy to read
Designing an interface that balances functionality and simplicity
Making sure the platform remains accessible to all users

Debugging connection issues and aligning team understanding of the architecture took time, but ultimately helped us build a stronger system.

What We Learned

Through building DegreeFlow, we learned:

How to integrate React with Spring Boot in a full-stack application
The importance of clear system architecture and communication within a team
How small design choices can significantly impact usability and accessibility
Practical problem-solving when dealing with real-world issues like API errors and configuration bugs