Professional Project
Professional Project
The purpose of a professional project is to develop and demonstrate professional competence. A professional project is pursued under the close supervision of a faculty member or other professional journalist with relevant expertise.
The Professional Project plan is a terminal degree. If you are considering doctoral work, you should discuss the alternative thesis plan with your adviser.
If you choose to do a professional project, you will spend at least 30 hours per week for a minimum of 14 weeks engaged in professional-level journalism. The work you do will be intended for public dissemination. The quality of your work will be assessed by both your on-site supervisor and your project committee. (Note that there is value in time elapsed in a project. Thus multiplying 30 hours by 14 weeks, for a total of 420 hours, and then shrinking the overall time span of the project so that such a minimum number of hours is met, is not acceptable.)
Established Programs
The school offers two established programs as one option for carrying out a professional project. [More]
Individual Projects
An individual project allows development of professional skills that cannot be accommodated as well through an established program. [More]
Prerequisites
Generally, you will do your professional project in your final semester. [More]
Project Seminar
During the semester before you plan to undertake your professional project, you must enroll in JOURN 8098 Project Seminar. [More]
Project Committee
One requirement of the project seminar is that you select a minimum of three faculty members to serve as your project committee. [More]
Professional Project
A professional project has two parts: the professional skills component and the analysis component. [More]
Project Approval
Professional project students must enroll in JOURN 8098 Project Seminar the semester before the semester in which the project is to be completed. [More]
Professional Project Proposal
A professional project requires a detailed, written proposal that must be approved by both your project committee and the project seminar instructor before the project is begun. [More]
On-site Supervisor Agreement
If a professional project is to be supervised by an on-site supervisor who is not a member of the school’s faculty, a written agreement must be signed. [More]
Payment to Students
Professional project students may receive payment for project work. [More]
Oral Defense
Project Report
The project report is the evidence that shows your committee what you have done. [More]