I returned to grad school to study music technology at NYU a few years back, and one of the things I really appreciated about my program was how project-oriente

I returned to grad school to study music technology at NYU a few years back, and one of the things I really appreciated about my program was how project-oriented it was. Almost every class required me to invent an idea and then execute it within a couple months. It was great practice for following a process of ideation -> research -> focusing -> delivery, all under hard time constraints, and in parallel. It forced me to realize that I had to be able to optimize and be willing settle for imperfection. But the result was a whole bunch of projects of various levels of achievement, a great mix of broad and deep learning, and a lot of confidence built. I think for the OP, this 4-5 month time constraint could be a really good thing.