Requirements for Completing the Master's Degree with Report

A master's degree with a Report is considered a terminal degree by the UT Communication Studies Department. A student with this degree from our department is not eligible to apply for the doctoral program. A report is library research, an extended literature review, a cap stone project. It does not usually require original data gathered by the student.

To complete the MA degree with Report for the Department of Communication Studies, students are required to take CMS 081M the first semester and 33 hours (30 hours of course work and 3 hours of report). The 33 hours of course work must include 6 hours in CMS outside of the major area of study, 6 hours outside of CMS, and one 3 hour report course (398R).

Students must be registered for the final report course (398R) the semester they intend to graduate.

Semester One:

(the ideal is to finish the work by each of the semesters listed herein)

• The student must take CMS 081M.

• First Semester Mentor is assigned by the Graduate Advisor, on the basis of the student's area of study to assist in selecting courses for the first semester.

• Conditions of admission, if any, are met.

• CMS 398T completed, if desired (counts toward 9 hour minimum course load requirement and towards work plan as out of area course work within CMS). Recommended for Teaching Assistants.

Semester Two:

• In early Spring, the Supervising Professor, Report Reader, and tentative area of report topic are selected by the student, with consent of the faculty members. Only members of the Communication Studies Department Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) can serve on these committees. A student may petition the Graduate Dean to permit a non-member of the GSC to serve as her/his reader. The petition should be addressed to the Graduate Advisor, and must establish that the non-member has competencies that no member of the GSC has. A vita for the non-member must be attached to the petition.

• By April 1, Departmental Work Program is prepared with the advice and approval of the Supervising Professor and Report Reader and is due to the Graduate Coordinator. The Work Program must include a tentative area of report research and be signed by the Supervising Professor and Report Reader. A meeting with the Graduate Coordinator will be held in late March to discuss the preparation of this document.

• in mid-April, Work Program reviewed by the CMS GSC.

Semester Four:

• Student registers for CMS 398R (Report).

• Student must submit an application for candidacy (apply to graduate). It is the student's responsibility to know the Graduate School's deadlines. Deadlines are listed in the University calendar.

• Student should meet with report advisor to discuss a time line for completion of the report. Topics of discussion could be issues such as report topic and how much time it takes to write and revise a report for this particular advisor.

• The Supervising Professor and Report Reader expect that the final draft of the report be fully edited before being submitted to them. Drafts that are characterized by inaccuracies, spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors, and typographical errors will not be accepted.

• Student must turn in report to the Graduate School with appropriate paper work before the Graduate School deadline.

• Degree granted.