The thesis option is recommended for students interested in pursuing a doctorate or engaging in research. The thesis must report original research where the student discovers knowledge and disseminates it. Since taking the thesis from the proposal to the completed document stage is complex and time consuming, students should undertake this option only after careful planning, extensive thinking and reading about the topic. Part of the planning and analysis process involved in writing a thesis is a thorough review of the existing literature on the topic. The literature should at a minimum suggest research questions that will be answered by the thesis. Please see the Capstone section of the Graduate Handbook for more detailed information.
This option is recommended for students seeking employment after completing their degree and who need a portfolio or work samples to enhance employment opportunities. Projects are also meant to provide a means for students to demonstrate the application of knowledge and skills learned through study in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication graduate program.
Professional projects allow students to research and produce a media product and must meet the two requirements of including a research report and a deliverable project suitable for publication on air, in print, online or distributed for instructional purposes.
Examples of projects include: producing a documentary, writing an in-depth series of investigative articles, creating content prototypes or the creation of a web site. Please see the Capstone section of the Graduate Handbook for more detailed information.
This option is recommended for students who have extensive professional backgrounds, who are not depending on portfolio samples for future employment and who do not intend to pursue doctoral studies. Please see the Capstone section of the Graduate Handbook for more detailed information.
Each capstone course (Thesis, Examination or Professional Project) requires that the graduate student formally establish a committee. The committee should be established at least one semester before the student expects to graduate.
The chair (or director) is the most important person in the student's committee and should be carefully selected. The committee chair should normally be the academic adviser or a faculty member who has taught the student several courses and who agrees to direct the proposed thesis or program or develop questions for the comprehensive examination.
Once selected, the committee chair will guide or work with the student to select two other members from the graduate faculty. One committee member may also come from outside the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Once the committee is verbally constituted, the student must then submit the Notification of the Adviser/Topic/Committee Approval form, which includes committee members' names and a tentative title for the thesis or professional project or for taking the comprehensive exam.