Research Apprenticeship
In order to involve graduate students in research activities early in their training and to aid them in choosing their Master’s Thesis topic, two semesters of research apprenticeship are required of all first year students. Students are accepted into the program to work with a specific advisor and will complete the research apprenticeship experience by working within the advisor’s established research program. The research apprenticeship is a non credit-bearing requirement that involves a commitment of approximately 5-8 hours per week where students assisting a faculty member in ongoing research activities and in beginning to develop research questions of their own. Thus, students should begin to explore possible thesis ideas with their advisors early in their graduate training. Although not required, students are strongly encouraged to consider projects that are closely linked to their advisors’ ongoing research.
The research apprenticeship experience is, by design, a flexible arrangement in which students and faculty can work together closely and develop a mentoring relationship. Each apprenticeship experience is unique, because faculty are involved in different projects and these projects may be in different stages of development when a student first joins them. However, all apprenticeship experiences will include:
- regular meetings with the faculty advisor that include discussions of the apprenticeship project as well as the student’s interests and potential thesis topics;
- reading the literature relevant to the apprenticeship project and potential thesis ideas;
- opportunities for the student to develop a conceptual understanding of the various aspects of the research process; and
- performing activities that contribute meaningfully to the research process.
Advisory Committee: Once the student and advisor agree on a thesis idea, the student will form an Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee will serve as both the student’s Thesis Committee and Comprehensive Examination Committee, and help develop a Plan of Study.
- The student’s advisor will serve as the chair of the advisory committee and will help the student select other members. Advisory Committee members should have the background and interest necessary to counsel, direct, and evaluate the specific student research project undertaken. Participation as an Advisory Committee member is voluntary on the part of the faculty member.
Plan of Study: Advisory Committee and student jointly develop a plan of study that describes the coursework that the student intends to complete. This coursework should insure that the student acquires the knowledge and skills needed for successful completion of the intended thesis project. Although the end of the first semester is the target date for completing the Plan of Study, each student must complete a plan of study no later than the middle of the second semester.
Apprenticeship Report: All students are required to complete a written product based on their apprenticeship experience. Given that the nature of the apprenticeship experiences will vary across students and advisors, so too will the content of the written product. Examples of suitable products include, but are not limited to, a report of the completed apprenticeship research project, a comprehensive literature review in an area of interest to the student (e.g., potential thesis topics), or a thesis proposal (or portion thereof). In all cases the advisor will (a) evaluate the product according to a standardized rubric specifying general skills and abilities common to all written products, (b) review the evaluation with the student in order to provide formative feedback, and (c) submit a copy of the product and the evaluation to the director of the program for placement in the student’s permanent file. While a presentation (e.g., at the Department Symposium, at a conference, etc.) based on the apprenticeship is not required by the program, it may be required by individual advisors and is strongly recommended for all students as it provides an opportunity to receive formative feedback on presentation skills and abilities that will be assessed later in the program (i.e., the oral defense of the thesis proposal and the comprehensive examination). The end of the first year is the target date for completing the Apprenticeship Report; each student must complete an Apprenticeship Report no later than the first day of classes of the third semester.
