The Daily Plan-it / Dean of Students Blog, Columbia J-school

TO: M.S. Students completing the Master’s Project this Summer
FROM: Bill Grueskin, Dean of Academic Affairs
RE: Instructions on Submitting Your M.S. Master’s Projects, September 2009

The deadline for submitting your finished Master’s Project is Friday, September 4, at 10 a.m.

All projects must be submitted to Claudia Castillo, who will be stationed in the Stabile Student Center that morning.

Instructions specific to new media and radio are listed below.

Please submit one hard copy in a 9 ½ by 11-inch envelope. This copy will be given to the library. Label the envelope with your name, your class year, the title of your project and the name of your Master’s Project adviser.

You will be required to sign your name on the Master’s Project submission log when you turn in your final project. Only those students who received a formal extension from your faculty adviser and the Dean of Students Office have permission to miss this deadline.

Please e-mail one final copy of your project to your adviser. Ask your adviser if he or she also wants a hard copy.

This final version of your project will be available in the Columbia Library, so it must conform to the following requirements:

1. Formatting

• Margins and Numbers: The print version, or a verbatim broadcast script, must be double-spaced on one side of white paper, leaving a 1½- inch margin on the left-hand side and a 1-inch margin on all other sides. Pages must be numbered. No binding, or staples, please.
• Title Page: Include a separate title page with the following information: Your name, class year,
  the title of your project, the name of your master’s adviser, and, at the bottom of the
  page, add:
  Copyright
  (Name of Student)
  (Year)

2. Source List
Submit a complete source list for your project at the end of your project. If you are not certain about the best way to cite a source, consult with your adviser. Be aware that source lists and your entire project, including the “P.S.” portion, will be available for reading and copying by all Journalism School library visitors. If you have confidentiality concerns with sources (i.e. names, phone numbers, personal addresses, etc.), you are responsible for removing the source list from the copy submitted to the DOS office for the library.

3. Post Script
At the end of your project, you must include a first-person narrative describing how you discovered, researched and reported your story. This will help future students see what goes into the making of a successful master’s project. This “P.S.” should be included with all copies of your project after the source list, and should run no longer than 1,000 words. Remember that this post script will be available along with your project in the library.

Students submitting a Radio Project should include:

• One copy of your script for DOS, email a second to the adviser, plus a hard copy to the adviser if he/she requests it. Include a Post Script and Source List as described above.
• For Radio, one copy of your project on audio CD for DOS, and a second for your adviser. In addition, provide your adviser a copy of the .wav file (i.e. the final mix “bounce,” on a data CD).

Label all your CDs, tapes and accompanying materials with complete project information (author(s), title, adviser). Indicate whether CDs are data or audio.

Students submitting a New Media project should include:

• A printed cover page with your names, topic and URL, and a copyright statement. One hard copy to DOS, another emailed to your adviser.
• A printed source list and P.S. as described above. In most cases, your “about us” should suffice. Bring one copy to DOS; send a second by email to your adviser.
• All the content and source code must be uploaded to the Columbia server. If you are using software such as Wordpress, you need to have it hosted by Columbia. Also, your videos and other multimedia need to be on the Columbia servers, even if you are already hosting your content on external servers sucks as YouTube, blip.tv, etc.

The library cannot store computer disks, and does not have the facilities for viewing their contents. A hyperlink will be made from the Master’s Project Index web page to the project itself.

You will be expected to submit the materials above AND upload your final websites to the servers by 10 a.m. on Friday, September 7.

4. Your Copy
Keep a copy of your project for yourself. Neither the Journalism School nor the Journalism Library is able to provide on-demand copies of your work.

Congratulations!