Thesis Masters Research Conferences (Committee Meeting)
Thesis M.S. students must have an annual research conference with their Advisory Committee. The research director will preside at the meetings and establish the guidelines for the meetings. The initial meeting should occur within one month of the submission of the Draft EPOS but no later than the end of January of the first year and at least annually thereafter.
No less than one-week (two are recommended) prior to the first conference, students must submit to each committee member a written report that includes both a brief description of the proposed thesis research project and a literature review of relevant areas related to that project. In this report the student must clearly outline the objectives of the proposed research and the plan to achieve them. The literature review need not be exhaustive, but must show that the student is aware of the most important papers in the field – especially current papers – and how they relate to the issues addressed.
For succeeding research conferences, the student must submit a written progress report to the Advisory Committee, again no less than one week prior to the meeting. At the research conference the student also must make an oral presentation. This presentation should include a discussion of relevant publishable data, interpretation of the data, and research plans for the next year. This information should also be summarized on the Prospective Questions for Ph.D. (Student) Form; this form should be completed prior to the research conference for Advisory Committee review.