Our course was graded Pass/Fail in its initial offering, which allowed us to reduce the student focus from getting a good grade to the material (or at least that was what we hoped). Instead, as is the case in many P/F courses, many of the students took advantage of the situation to move our course to the bottom of their piles. This was reflected in their failure to read many of the papers we'd assembled for them, as well as in a reduced participation level in class (the unprepared student is the least likely to open his/her mouth). Interestingly enough it was the masters students who confessed that they had given our course less than their full attention because it was P/F, whereas the PhD students asserted that the P/F nature of the course did not affect their performance.
When we offer this course in the future we will do so as a graded course. Only 1 of 12 students said that she would not take the course if it were offered for a grade (citing the timing of preliminary examinations which coincided with the beginning of term: she felt that she would not have been able to give the course the commitment she felt necessary to do well). The projects will still compose the primary component and product of the course, while some measure of the students' level of reading will also be incorporated. In addition, a final will test the basic skill set we demand of the students.