Core Program

IAKM Program

As part of the program requirements, each student must complete a Master's Project or a Thesis. The decision to pursue the Thesis or the Master's Project must be made in consultation with an academic adviser by the time that 24 credits are completed. In general, for those students seeking employment upon graduation, the Master's Project is recommended. For those students interested in pursuing research or doctoral work, the Thesis is recommended.

Master's Project

For the Master's Project, the student will develop a project in conjunction with the information-related activities of an organization, under the guidance of a site supervisor and an academic advisor. Projects could include creation of a web site for marketing a product or service, a inventory of the information needs of an organization, usability testing of information interface, product or service, applying a knowledge management methodology to elicit the tacit knowledge of employees, creating XML and metatags for a specific context to facilitate efficient and effective information retrieval, or analyzing the communication flows in an organization that promote or hinder the acceptance of an information product, process, system or service. The organization can be suggested by the student or by the advisors in the IAKM Program Office. Companies such as KeyCorp, Lexis-Nexis, and Ernst and Young may provide opportunities for such work.

The objectives of the Master's Project are to enable each IAKM student to:

• complete an independent experience in the context of the information-related activities in an organization
• foster a more in-depth, specialized treatment of a topic or work process than is usual in a formal classroom setting
• work on an information product, technology, system or service so as to gain organizational, practical experience with these aspects of professional work.
• submit a report to his/her on-site and faculty advisors and the program office detailing the nature of the work experience, its methods, process and results.

Evaluation of the project will result in grades of "S" or "U." The evaluation will be made by the faculty advisor with consultation to the site supervisor.

Thesis

The Thesis topic must be approved by the program and filed with the graduate dean no later than the semester preceding that in which the candidate expects to receive the degree.

The Thesis topic should be one that will further the student's educational development by exercising research or other skills that will help the student keep abreast of the field and enable the student to pursue independent work. The Thesis topic is formulated by the student in consultation with the adviser and submitted to the program for approval according to normal program procedures.

The Thesis must be completed and in the hands of the examining committee no later than eight weeks before commencement. After the Thesis has been accepted by the examining committee and after the candidate has passed the oral examination, two copies of the final, letter-perfect Thesis are prepared and submitted to the appropriate graduate office. Two copies of an abstract of not more than 400 words are included with the copies of the Thesis. Students electing the Thesis option should consult the Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses for guidance available in the college offices

Each student writing a Thesis is required to register continuously for Thesis I 61199 for a total of 6 credits. A student who has completed the required 6 hours of Thesis I is expected thereafter to register continuously for Thesis II 61299 each semester, including summer, until all degree requirements are met. No more than 6 hours of Thesis I credit may be counted toward completion of degree requirements. The student should make certain that the topic has been approved and must register for Thesis writing not later than the last semester the student is in residence. Grades of "S" or "U" are used.