New Requirements Starting Fall 2009
The requirements listed below are for students who entered the Communication Studies M.A. program prior to Fall 2009. For students entering the program in Fall 2009 or after, please go to the New Requirements Fall 2009 page.
Overview
To complete a Plan B2: Special Project Option Master's Degree a candidate must:
- Complete a total of 27 coursework units of study (with a minimum average grade of B).
- Write and defend a Special Project (3 units).
There must be a prospectus meeting conducted before a committee of no fewer than three members approved by the departmental Graduate Committee to be chaired by the faculty member responsible for supervising the special project. The committee may decide to involve a suitable person from outside the University. Students should submit their prospectus at least 10 working days in advance of the date of the meeting. The prospectus meeting provides final guidance to the student prior to conducting, completing and defending the thesis.
- Graduation
Policy as of Fall 2002: Students must have taken and passed their oral defense to participate in university commencement exercises. The graduate committee discourages the practice of students participating in departmental commencement activities prior to passing their oral defense. Exceptions requested by a student's faculty advisor will be considered by the committee.
Print out the Request for a Plan B2 Special Project Committee.
Policies
To complete a Plan B2 Option Master's Degree a candidate must:
- Complete a total of 27 coursework units of study (with a minimum average grade of B)
- Write and defend a Special Project (3 units). The project defense will be conducted before a committee of no fewer than three members approved by the departmental Graduate Committee together with the plan for the special project; the examination committee will be chaired by the faculty member responsible for supervising the special project. The committee may decide to involve a suitable person from outside the University for the special project.
The following policies shall govern the special project option process: So that the Graduate Committee may appoint your advisor and special project committee, please prepare for the Committee a proposal that describes your special project. Your project may be one of the following:
- A written report on an applied communication project that uses the student's theoretical knowledge of and practical skills in communication to benefit the community, and organization, or the university. The report should reflect the design and realization of the project, as well as the student's experiences in working on it; the report should also include any materials the student has developed as part of the project.
- A research paper that the student will submit for presentation at a conference or for publication as a journal article.
Proposals should be approximately five pages, not including the bibliography, and incorporate the following:
- Title. Indicate the current working title of your special project.
- Introduction. Explain the general subject area and focus of your project. How does your project fit into the intellectual conversation and/or practical application of communication knowledge going on in the discipline, in academe and in society?
- Description of Project. Describe the question, condition, situation, or problem that prompts your project. Explain exactly what objectives you are pursuing in your project (i. e, what are you seeking to accomplish?). Provide any necessary definitions of terms. Include a brief review of relevant literature, discussing important sources for your research and examples of previous work and similar projects that are particularly significant. Indicate why your project is worth pursuing.
- Method. Summarize what you will be doing to accomplish the tasks envisioned by your project. Describe the general form of your project.
- If you are proposing an applied communication project, please address the following questions: Does your project address a specific problem, which the application of communication knowledge can help resolve? In which institutional or community setting are you going to pursue your project? How is your project going to benefit the community? Which methods are you going to use plan and carry out your project? Which practical steps will your project entail, and are you planning to develop additional materials (such as manuals, institutional video tapes, web site designs, etc.) in connection with the project?
- If you are proposing a research paper, please address the following questions: Do you have specific hypotheses to test? If so, what tests and measurements will you be using? What procedures will you be employing, e.g., questionnaires or experimentation? What statistical measurements will you be using? Will you need to obtain administrative clearance for the use of human subjects? Are you examining a set of texts or a social situation? Do your methods of observation include interviews, participant observation, or the analysis of primary source documents? Are you using a particular critical vantage point or system?
- Bibliography. List significant works that will figure in your study. If necessary, classify different kinds of source materials and annotate them.
- Attachments. Attach to your proposal any relevant materials (such as a questionnaire) you may have.
Attach this proposal to the appropriate cover form and to a list of relevant course work. Submit SIX copies of this package to the Graduate Coordinator at least 10 days in advance of the Graduate Committee's next scheduled meeting.
print
email