Thesis/Non-Thesis Plan &  Final Exam (Master of Arts in Speech Communication)

Thesis Plan

Students who select the thesis plan must declare their intentions by the time they have completed 18 semester hours of graduate work. They will complete a minimum total of 29 hours of course work. They will confirm their ability to conduct research in speech communication by submitting a thesis for six semester hours of credit in SPC 599.

Non-Thesis Plan

Students who select the non-thesis plan will complete a minimum total of 35 hours of course work. They will confirm their ability to conduct research in speech communication through the research projects and papers that they complete during their course work.

FINAL EXAMINATION 

The comprehensive examination is administered during each student's final term of course work except summer. For students following the thesis plan, the examination is oral and focuses primarily on a defense of the thesis but may also cover the planned program.

For a student electing the non-thesis plan, the examination, which comprises both written and oral elements, includes both the required core courses and the individually planned program. The written examination is composed of two sections. One section focuses on speech communication theory and research methodology from which the student must answer successfully one item on theory and one on research. The other section of the written examination focuses on the individual program of study. The student must respond successfully to two items from this section in which a choice is offered among items prepared by the individual's advisory committee. The oral component then provides a supplemental assessment of the student's performance on the written portion of the examination.

Click on the links below to download the guidelines for the final exam and assessment rubrics (you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to access the files).

	Comprehensive Final Exam Guidelines (pdf file)
	Graduate Exit Assessment Rubrics (pdf file)

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