Master’s Project Guide

The Master’s Project (MP) serves to demonstrate the student’s capabilities and readiness for professional practice by requiring a final project of professional quality. It is original work, involving a substantial degree of independent research and analysis.  The product is expected to have considerably more substance than the typical term paper, though it may expand on a paper or other work done in a course or on a research assistantship, be related to an internship job, or be an original project.  Part of the Master’s project work may be done as part of an independent study course taken in the student’s third semester, generally the fall semester of the second year.

The Master’s project may be a research paper, a critical essay, an extensive case study, or a development and evaluation of a program, project, or plan.  The requirement is ordinarily met by a word-processed paper with text supported by tables, charts, and references, and supplemented by a bibliography; however, the requirement can also be met by an original piece of work in some other form, such as a plan, an audiovisual presentation, or a computer program.

In the majority of cases, the student submits an individually-prepared Master’s project.  In exceptional cases, students may request permission to submit a jointly-prepared Master’s project.  The faculty is authorized to approve requests for joint preparation and to set such special standards as may be required for such projects.

Students must upload their final MP to the University Library’s Digital Repository.  The student maintains copyright to their work, but the library has a royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, publish and publicly display MPs in a searchable, online database available to students, faculty, and other researchers.

Masters projects may be used by the faculty after students graduate as evidence of their professional interests, analytical capacities, and writing abilities for letters of recommendation.