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Putting a Master’s
Committee Together
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| To complete the Master's degree, each student must develop and complete
a thesis or project. Which option the student chooses is contingent
upon their future goals, and is elaborated in conjunction with a graduate
committee of three professors (four is optional). |
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| Your graduate committee should consist of professors that you feel
comfortable working with and whose options and expertise you respect.
Moreover, their areas of expertise should complement the topic area
of your thesis or project. |
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| At least two of those committee members should be from the Department
of Mass Communications, and the Committee Chair must be a Mass Communications’
graduate faculty member. |
Committee Chair:
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Selecting a proper Chair
for your Thesis/Project Committee is very important. The "Chair"
is the person with whom you will work most closely, and will have
the biggest impact on the final product (besides yourself). Make sure
to select someone who, A.) you have worked well with in the past;
b.) has expertise in the area of research that you plan to develop
for your thesis; and c.) has formally agreed to chair your thesis. |
Committee Members:
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In consultation with you
Committee Chair, you will need to select at least two more committee
members. Again, at least one of these must be from within the Dept.
of Mass Communications and both must have Graduate Faculty status.
These members should be selected to play a very specific role in the
development of your thesis or project, e.g., to sharpen your methodology,
help you with a literature review, or help provide connections for
interviews/field work. |
Outside Member:
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Students may pick one
committee member from outside the discipline. These "outside"
members are usually selected because a student has had a course with
that professor and found that their experience help them to better
identify and sharpen their research focus. Past outside members on
Mass Communications’ MS thesis have included professors from
History, Political Science, Education, Sociology, Speech Communication, English
and Marketing. |
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