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

Degrees are awarded in October, February and May. Every candidate, regardless of graduation date, is invited to participate in the May Commencement ceremony.

In order to be considered for a degree or certificate, you must file an application with the Journalism School.

IMPORTANT: This form CANNOT be submitted electronically. Please type in the required information, print, sign and bring it to the box outside of Dean Huff’s office [207C] marked “Diploma Applications.”

Alternately, you can mail it to:

Dean Huff
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
2950 Broadway
New York, NY 10027

Application Deadlines
Graduating in - Apply by
October - August 1
February - November 1
May - December 1

Please Note The Following:

When a deadline for application falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

Doctoral students must deposit their dissertation at least a week before the conferral date in order to graduate.

Message from LynNell Hancock, Interim Dean of Academic Affairs

Dear Students and Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce three major additions to our new media
efforts at the Journalism School.

The first is the appointment of one our most popular adjuncts, Duy
Linh Tu, to the full-time faculty. Duy (pronounced “Do” - see bio
below) joins us as new media coordinator and an assistant professor of
professional practice. As you know, he has been teaching here for
several years in the new media classrooms. He will intensify his
efforts to “webbify” our fall classes, and to integrate new and
compelling ideas in multimedia storytelling throughout the curriculum
in the years to come. Duy will continue to work with Dean Sree
Sreenivasan, who, as you know, has increased administrative
responsibilities at the school.

In addition, we have created two new post-graduate New Media
Fellowships starting this year. These July-June fellowships will
employ two students who will work closely with the technology staff to
help students and professors alike navigate the world of new media
journalism.

Our inaugural fellows are Kenan Davis and Dave Mayers (see bios
below). Part-teaching assistants, part-technologists, this year’s
fellows are both smart journalists with terrific reporting, writing,
editing and production skills. They will report to Duy.

Please join me in congratulating them. Kenan and Dave officially begin
their duties on July 1, but I am sure you will have other
opportunities to greet them before then.

(more…)

From: Larry Fried, Asst. Dean for Technology

Dear Students,

Please make note of the following technology items as we approach the end of the academic year:

Equipment and Fines:

All checked out equipment should be returned no later than May 15th.

Equipment fines must by paid by May 16th or you may have a hold placed
on your diploma. If you wish to dispute a fine, please email Craig at
ch2314[at]columbia.edu.
(more…)

End-of-Year Manual

May 2008
TO: All Students
FROM: Melanie Huff, Assistant Dean of Students

In order to help you plan for Graduation and beyond, we have prepared some documents for you - please make sure you read both carefully.

Journalism Day, the Journalism School graduation ceremony and the University graduation are covered in detail on the graduation page.

Post-graduation use of the building/equipment and alumni benefits/services are covered here.

Please keep in mind that this summer extensive construction work is taking place along with work to repair and prepare the building and equipment for the next academic year. Therefore, it is necessary to establish dates after which graduating students will no longer be able to access and use the facilities. Outlined below is the schedule for the coming summer.

Part of the reason for the tight deadlines is that the two new summer Part-time RWI classes begin on Friday, May 23.

Use of Journalism Building Facilities After May 21
Use of Building:
Members of the Class of 2008 will have access to the building and its facilities through June 30, 2008.

Exceptions include: any area under construction, and any classrooms and computer rooms being used for summer classes or special programs. If you are in one of these rooms when a class is scheduled to begin, please leave immediately. Refusal to cooperate may result in the termination of your access to the building.

Broadcast students may use the broadcast equipment, as available, until June 30. Please remember that scheduled summer school classes and members of the part-time class working on their master’s projects, as well as necessary equipment maintenance upgrades, have priority for equipment and editing rooms.

Please be aware that individual computer rooms will be closed at different times for maintenance and upgrading. Though it is likely, it is not guaranteed that there will always be a computer room or terminal available. Due to maintenance schedules, summer class schedules and the part-time students’ master’s projects, it is possible that you will be unable to use a computer at a specific time.

Student Lockers:
In order to get ready for the construction and the incoming part-time students, all May graduates must empty their lockers by noon, Friday, 23.

Continuing part-time students and News 21 fellows may keep their lockers. Graduates who will be working on a demo tape or other approved projects during the month of June may also keep their lockers. To request such a locker extension, please send e-mail to cc2964@columbia.edu with your name and the reason for your request.

Graduates’ lockers that have not been vacated by noon on Friday, May 23, will be have their locks removed and contents moved to a storage bin and eventually discarded. All locker questions should be directed to Melanie Huff.

Student Mailboxes:
The mailboxes of graduating students may be used until noon, Friday, May 23 as well. All items remaining in boxes after that date will be discarded. Continuing students (& News 21) will be able to access their mailboxes on the first floor hallway over the summer.

Computers:
Graduating students will retain access to computer resources through June 30, 2008. Afterwards you will be unable to use the computer labs, print, or access your network storage. Please be sure to backup all of your files to external media (CDs, DVDs, flash media, iPods, etc.) before your account is deactivated.

E-mail:
Please see the alumni services/benefits section below for full details.

University Services After May 21

Health Services
Access to Health Services at the University expires on August 31 for all graduating students. For those with major medical health insurance through Columbia (Chickering), coverage ends on July 31 for M.S. students. Coverage for all other students ends on August 31. You do have the option of purchasing an extention on this policy. Please see http://www.health.columbia.edu/index.html for details.

University Libraries
Recent alumni will retain full library privileges, including borrowing privileges and access to licensed electronic databases, for a period of three months beyond the degree conferral date. Access information can be found at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/services/lio/access/. Library Services for alumni can be found at http://www.alumni.libraries.columbia.edu/

Dodge Physical Fitness Center (aka the Gym)
You may use the gym over the summer with your current CUID. However, you will have to pay the $91 gym use fee. Beginning in September, you will be eligible for alumni gym use. Please see http://alumni.columbia.edu/visit/s5_1.html

Alumni Benefits and Services

A variety of benefits and services are available to Journalism School graduates. This page answers most of your most questions and concerns, from auditing a class at Columbia to updating your address information, from obtaining a transcript of your time here to using Columbia’s recreational facilities - http://snipurl.com/cugsj_alumni

Please note that you will automatically be subscribed to your class list serve using the real world e-mail address supplied in your graduation survey (more details en route from Career Services). Your Columbia e-mail will remain an actual e-mail account through the summer, but then you will have to convert it to an alias to which your e-mail is sent and then forwarded to your real world account. Instructions are available at http://alumni.columbia.edu/access/s2_2.html.

READ CAREFULLY - Graduation Tickets

Graduation tickets are now available.

Each graduate receives four tickets for the Journalism School Graduation Ceremony & four for the University Commencement. If you need more tickets, please arrange to trade with other students. Graduates don’t have to use a ticket for themselves.

To receive your tickets you MUST do TWO things.

1. Complete the graduation survey at http://fs7.formsite.com/cu_jschool_careers/gradsurvey2008/

The survey is used to create a class directory (both your class list serve and the alumni database), employment statistics and a database of employment information indicating the types of position openings in which you are interested. This is very important in determining how we can better help graduates find the best jobs as quickly as possible, and how the school can help make that happen by also collecting feedback on career services.

You willingness to allow career services to circulate your resume is also indicated on the survey.

2. Submit a NEW copy of your resume electronically with the survey. The resume should indicate that you have graduated and include up-to-date contact information. It will be used by the Career Services Office to assist you in your employment search.

You may pick up your tickets from Claudia Castillo in room 2M07A (mezzanine) once you have completed your online graduation survey AND submitted your updated resume. Ms. Castillo will verify receipt of the survey and have you sign for your ticket envelope containing both sets of tickets.

The survey can done 24/7, but Ms. Castillo is available for ticket pick-up/resume submission from 9 am-5 pm only. If you are a part-time student and it is impossible for you to come in, you may contact her (cc2964 or 212-851-0246) about having tickets mailed. Survey receipt verification is still required.

Dear Journalism Students,

The evaluation system (https://courseworks.columbia.edu/) for students to provide feedback about their classes will be live for the Spring 2008 semester on Thursday, May 1, 2008. PT January RWI, MA Seminar in Discipline, and MS Workshop and Seminar professors will be scheduling lab time for you to complete these. If you are not enrolled in any of these courses, please complete all your evaluations on your own. The deadline for completion is Tuesday, May 27 , 2008, at 9 p.m.

Your role in providing feedback via course evaluations is of vital importance to the Journalism School. The information is used by faculty to evaluate their syllabi and to refine their practices and by the administration to make curriculum decisions and assess professor performance.

Course evaluations are one element in tenure, promotion and contract decisions; they can affect professors’ careers at Columbia.

Future students also use the information to make informed balloting choices.

We ask that you take your time and seriously reflect on your learning experience as you provide an honest answer to each question. You do not have to complete all the forms in one sitting. However, once you begin working on the form for a given class you must complete and submit it before exiting the system. Partially completed forms are not stored.

Please be aware that professors won’t have access to your evaluations of them until after they have submitted their evaluations of your performance.

Please note, we have no control over the system once the deadline has passed. Every semester students contact us after the deadline asking to fill in the form or to make edits to their evaluations, and there is nothing we can about those situations. Please be certain to complete all evaluations by the, Tuesday, May 27, 9 p.m. deadline.

Between Thursday, May 1 and Tuesday, May 27, you will receive reminders every two days for each evaluation that you have yet to complete. These automatic reminders are generated by the CourseWorks system.

Thank you for your assistance.

Questions to dos@jrn.columbia.edu

FROM: Dean Cornog
RE: Master’s Thesis

Your completed Master’s Thesis is due in the Dean of Students office by 10 a.m. on Monday, April 28. You will be required to sign your name in the thesis submission log.

Your submitted thesis must conform to the following requirements, so follow these instructions carefully:

• 1. Print your manuscript, or broadcast (verbatim) script, double-spaced on one side of white paper, leaving an inch-and-a-half margin on the left-hand side and at least an inch on the other three margins. Photographic paper does not meet preservation guidelines for library materials, and theses on photo paper will be returned to the author in exchange for a plain-paper copy.
• 2. You should be aware that source lists (and your entire thesis, including the P.S. portion, described below in point number 6) will be available for all library users. If there are confidentiality issues with sources (i.e. phone numbers, personal addresses, etc.), students are responsible for removing the source list BEFORE submitting the library copy. If you are not certain about the best way to cite a source, consult with your advisor.
• 3. Do not put any sort of binding on the thesis, and do not staple the pages. The pages must be numbered.
• 4. Include a separate title page with the following information: Your name, class year, the title of your thesis, the name of the faculty member(s) who supervised it and, at the bottom of the page, add:
  Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts in Journalism
  Copyright
  (Name of Student)
  (Year)
• 5. Hand in five copies–the original and three copies. One copy will be returned to you with your instructor’s reactions; another copy will be reserved for the library, the third and fourth will be kept by your inside and outside advisors, and the fifth copy will be used in judging the M.A. thesis prize. (Please put the outside adviser’s mailing address on the envelope you use to submit that copy.) Students submitting a broadcast thesis should hand in two copies of the script and two copies of the thesis on DVD for the library, plus videotape copies if your advisors request one. The school can assist you in making the DVDs from the final, edited tape. (See #9 for special broadcast thesis instructions.)
• 6. You will need to submit a short, first-person account of how you discovered, researched and reported your story. This “P.S.” should run no longer than 1,000 words. The narrative will help students in the future see what goes into the making of a successful Master’s Thesis. (Include a copy of the narrative with all copies.)
• 7. Put each copy in a new 9 x 12 envelope. Label the front of each envelope with your name, your class year, the title of your thesis and the name(s) of your advisor(s) for the Master’s Thesis. Please be certain to clearly label the library copy.
• 8. New media theses: the library cannot store computer disks, and does not have the facilities for viewing their contents. The paper copy of the thesis should include a printout of the media presentation (and any source code, if applicable) and also the way to access it (thesis URL). A hyperlink will be made from the Master’s Thesis Index web page to the thesis itself.
• 9. Theses on audio tape, CD or DVD: please make two copies, label the tapes, the covers and the cover spines with complete thesis information (author(s), title, advisor).
• 10. If you are submitting your Master’s Thesis earlier than the deadline, you still have to submit the copies to the Dean’s Office. You must also inform your advisor and the office of the Dean of Students of the date you submitted the thesis.
• 11. Keep a copy of your thesis for yourself. Neither the Journalism School nor the Journalism Library is able to provide on-demand copies of your work. You are expected to keep usable copies of your Master’s Thesis for future reference. For print theses and transcripts, a hard copy is the best option.

Dear M.A. Students,

As you know, you have the option to attempt to take one of your two spring electives at the Journalism School (list below; full course descriptions at
http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2007/11/19/memo-spring-2008-curriculum/ )

Please note that classes marked with “space available” are classes that are not yet at maximum enrollment. Entrance to the rest will require that a currently registered M.S. student drop the class.

You are also eligible for the spring skills courses.

To request these classes please use the Add/Drop process described beneath the elective list.

Advanced Computer Assisted Reporting – Tom Torok [space available]
Advanced Photojournalism - Sara Barrett
Broadcast News Management - David McCormick and Lloyd Siegel [space available]
Feature Writing A - Alexandra Peers [space available]
Feature Writing B – Hugh Eakin [space available]
Graphics in the Newsroom - Hannah Fairfield Wallander [space available]
The International Newsroom – Ann Cooper
Magazine Editing – Elizabeth Pochoda [space available]
Narrative Writing A - Kevin Coyne
Narrative Writing B – Jacob Levenson
New Media Elective – Jennifer Brown & Jennifer Johnson
News Editing – Nancy Sharkey
Opinion Writing – Gwenda Blair [space available]
Politics and the Press in America - Evan Cornog [space available]
Radio Documentary – Alex Blumberg
Sports Journalism – Sandy Padwe
Tough Choices: Decision-Making in Journalism – Michael Shapiro
Covering Ideas – Alexander Stille

To request Journalism electives or skills courses, you must complete an Add/Drop form at http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/AddDrop/

The form will be active as of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, January 8.

Please note that this is only a REQUEST and we cannot guarantee your request will be accommodated.

On each Add/Drop request form you may request to add one class AND drop one class.

M.A. students may complete just the “add” portion to request a skills or 3-point elective class.

The Add/Drop request form will be available here as of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, January 8. Additional information on the Add/Drop request process is listed below. Please read it carefully before submitting a request form.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ADD/DROP REQUESTS:

The Add/Drop period Tuesday, January 8, at 7 a.m. to Friday, February 1, at 7 a.m.

Add/Drop forms are processed on a first come, first served basis.

If your form is submitted correctly you will receive a request confirmation e-mail within 24 hours. Please remember to include the @columbia.edu after your UNI.

You will NOT receive an e-mail from our office saying that your request was granted or not granted.

To learn if your request was granted, you must keep checking your class schedule on the web using https://ssol.columbia.edu/. All requests remain on file during the Add/Drop period.

You do not need to submit multiple forms for the same Add/Drop request. If I am able to grant requests I do it as soon as possible but sometimes it takes days for a space to open in a class. Sometimes the space never opens up. In most cases, if you want to add a class I have to wait to see whether someone else wants to drop it.

Please remember that you are submitting an Add/Drop REQUEST. There is no guarantee that I will be able to approve your request. Until you see a change reflected on your class schedule on STUDENT SERVICES ONLINE (https://ssol.columbia.edu/), your request has not been approved.

If you have more than one preference, you may for a given course, in the notes section of the Add/Drop form, indicate so. Simply complete the add portion of the form with your first preference and in the notes section give me the same info about your second, third, etc., choices. You must include the call and course numbers if you indicate other preferences in the notes section.

Also, please be certain that you are not requesting a class that conflicts with any of your other classes.

The only way I will be able to approve most requests is by knowing which courses will be dropped by students. SAMPLE FORM BELOW (information is fictional)

Sample Form

Program/Contact Information (information below is fictional)

Your Name: SUSIE J-SCHOOLER

PID: C000000000

E-mail: sjs2009@columbia.edu

Phone: 917-123-4560

Program: FT Master of Arts

Please enter the details of the course you would like to add: (information for completing this section is at the Directory of Classes - see instructions at the top of the Add/Drop form)

Class Number: J6987; Section Number: 20; Call Number: 81350

Title: Journalism and the Grinch

Dear Journalism Students,

The evaluation system (https://courseworks.columbia.edu/) for students to provide feedback about their classes will be live for the Fall 2007 semester on Monday, December 3, 2007. RWI and MA Seminar in Discipline professors will be scheduling lab time for you to complete these. If you are not enrolled in either of these courses, please complete all your evaluations on your own. The deadline for completion is Tuesday, January 22, 2008.

Your role in providing feedback via course evaluations is of vital importance to the Journalism School. The information is used not only by future students to make informed balloting choices but also by faculty to evaluate their syllabi and to refine their practices and by the administration to make curriculum decisions and assess professor performance.

PLEASE NOTE: We have added instructor evaluation questions submitted by members of SJP that they feel will give us and future students a more complete picture.

Course evaluations are one element in tenure, promotion and contract decisions; they can affect professors’ careers at Columbia.

We ask that you take your time and seriously reflect on your learning experience as you provide an honest answer to each question.

Please note, we have no control over the system once the deadline has passed. Every semester students contact us after the deadline asking to fill in the form or to make edits to their evaluations, and there is nothing we can about those situations. Please be certain to complete all evaluations by the, Tuesday, January 22 deadline.

You do not have to complete all the forms in one sitting. However, once you begin working on the form for a given class you must complete and submit it before exiting the system. Partially completed forms are not stored.

Please be aware that professors won’t have access to your evaluations of them until after they have submitted their grades and evaluations of your performance.

Between Monday, December 3 and Tuesday, January 22, you will receive reminders every day for each evaluation that you have yet to complete. These automatic reminders are generated by the CourseWorks system.

Thank you for your assistance.

Questions to dos@jrn.columbia.edu

Dear Students:

A reminder about the Fall Academic Schedule.

Please be sure to check your schedules at least once a day on SSOL for a couple of weeks - days, rooms, times, etc., may have changed.

Highlights - when certain classes begin:
(more…)

Photo from day two of the new MA Class:

Transcript of M.A. Program Chat
with Dean Evan Cornog
Wednesday, July 25, 2007

[ See full list of transcripts and chats ]

DeanCornog(P) Go ahead–fire away.

lmf2125(Q) Hi! Is there such a thing as an MA for broadcast?
DeanCornog(A) The curriculum is platform-neutral, and you are welcome, indeed encouraged, to do a broadcast thesis. But the actual instruction in the courses is not geared to any particular medium.
(more…)

Fall Ballots go live at 10 a.m., Monday, July 16.

Please carefully follow the instructions below.

First, M.S. students please read the Fall Curriculum thoroughly (http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2007/07/03/fall-2007-curriculum/).

You may read students’ evaluations of many of the classes and professors at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/journalism/evaluations/. You will have to log in using your UNI and password.

Please select from the two options below the appropriate ballot for you.

To complete the ballot you will need your Columbia e-mail address and PID (If you have lost your PID, please refer to http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2005/11/14/faq-how-do-i-find-my-pid/)

The ballots are NOT handled on a first-come, first-served basis. As long as you make the deadline (Monday, July 23, 10 a.m.) you have equal standing with all other students.

NOTE: Ranking the same class as your first choice repeatedly DOES NOT increase your likelihood of getting into that class. Rather it means that we will randomly select your class (or adviser) if we are not able to give you your first choice.

Those who miss the ballot deadline will be placed in classes on a space available basis. If you made a mistake or changed your mind, please resubmit your ballot. Your most recently-submitted ballot as of the deadline (Monday, July 23, 10 a.m.) will be the one processed.

If you experience any problems using the ballot, please send e-mail to dos@jrn.columbia.edu Please note we cannot promise students they will gain a seat in any specific class.

The ballot for FT M.S. students is at http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/FT_MS_Ballots

The ballot for PT M.S. students and M.A. students is at http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/MA-PTBallot/

Please answer all questions carefully.

M.A. Students: All students without registration HOLDS (account balances, immunization compliance, library fines) on their student accounts have been pre-registered for their required Journalism courses (please see SSOL for status). Please follow the outside course instructions to register for your outside classes.

M.S. Students: All students without registration HOLDS (account balances, immunization compliance, library fines) on their student accounts are able to view their spring course schedule in SSOL.

Spring Schedule:

• January 5-January 26: Add/Drop period http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2006/12/18/sked-adddrop-period-from-dean-huff/
• Tuesday, January 16, 10 a.m.: First Draft of the Master’s Project due to your adviser.
• Tuesday, January 16, 6:30 to 8:30, Lecture Hall: An information session for MS students (and others) interested in the MA program. See http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2006/12/20/memo-two-sets-of-all-class-events/ for details
• Tuesday, January 16: M.A., and other University classes begin
• Wednesday, Jan. 17, 9:30-4 p.m.: ALL-CLASS EVENT: Mandatory for FULL-TIME M.S. students; others welcome. Presented by DOS, Academic Affairs and Career Services.*Light refreshments served. See http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2006/12/20/memo-two-sets-of-all-class-events/ for details
• Thursday & Friday, Jan. 18 & 19: M.S. Workshops begin
• Monday & Tuesday, Jan. 22 & 23: M.S. Seminars begin
• Wednesday, Jan. 24: M.S. Electives begin

Dear Students,

We are offering two exciting sessions on long form writing with Prof. Paula Span (http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/faculty/span.asp)

These sessions are designed to cover long form writing and the master’s project/master’s thesis in particular.

Student feedback from last year’s session: “Professor Span’s workshop last night was excellent. She’s a great lecturer, laid out a number of clear, helpful ideas for organizing research and then weaving it into a long-form piece, and also gave great advice in responding to student questions.”

Seating is limited. To RSVP for either session (or both), please go to the links listed below.

Sign-ups will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at midnight on November 3.

If you must cancel after signing up, please send an e-mail to Amanda McIntosh at ajm2137@columbia.edu so that she can take someone off of the waitlist.

Part I: Reporting - Friday November 10, 5 to 6:30 pm, room 601B
http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/SpanRSVP/index.html

Part II: Writing - Tuesday, December 12, 3 to 5 pm room 607B
http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/Span2/index.html

FROM: Michael Hoyt, Executive Editor, Columbia Journalism Review

Dear students,

In 2004 Farnaz Fassihi of The Wall Street Journal sent an e-mail to friends and relatives about what it was like to be a journalist in Iraq. Somebody in the chain posted the letter on the Internet and it quickly went around the world. Among journalists the reaction was varied: some worried that an objective reporter had revealed too much; others thought the e-mail was dead on.

Meanwhile, something about the personal nature of the note communicated the reality of what Iraqis call “the situation” more forcefully than yards of standard prose. Here at CJR we wanted more, and for our forty-fifth anniversary issue we interviewed some fifty journalists who have covered the war. Out of their anecdotes and insights we have constructed an oral history of the war, the first of its kind, and we invite you read the issue when it comes out next week.

We also invite you to attend a panel discussion with five journalists who have covered Iraq on Thursday, November 2, from 7 to 9 in the lecture hall. These people have studied “the situation” closely, some of them for four years or more. They are:

Deborah Amos: Foreign correspondent for NPR and ABC News. Author of Lines in the Sand: Desert Storm and the Remaking of the Arab World.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran: Washington Post assistant managing editor, former Baghdad bureau chef, and author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City.

Ali Fadhil: A physician and translator. He has collaborated with journalists from The Financial Times, Time, The Guardian, People, The Observer, The New Yorker and NPR.

Patrick Graham: Canadian freelance journalist who spent a year with the Iraqi resistance in Fallujah. His work has appeared in The London Observer, Harpers and other publications

Chris Hondros: A prizewinning photojournalist whose work has appeared on the covers of magazines such as Newsweek and The Economist, and on the front pages of most major American newspapers.

We hope you can join us.

Mike

Mark you calendars! We have scheduled two breakfasts and two lunches to share information and receive feedback from students. More events are en route.

Please see http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2006/10/25/memo-spring-prep/ for events specifically designed for spring registration preparation, you

Critical Issues Feedback Breakfast with Prof. Sam Freedman
Tuesday
October 31
8:15-9:15 a.m.
Room 601B
Bring your comments/compliments/critiques and chat over a cup of coffee and a pastry.
The menu, as described by Columbia Catering:
* Assorted Chilled Juices Consisting of: Orange Juice, Apple Juice and Cranberry Juice
* Assorted Breakfast Bakeries Consisting of: Mini Croissants, Danish, Assorted Muffins, and Bagels, Butter, Preserves, and Cream Cheese
* Brewed Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee and Assorted Teas

Breakfast M.A. Info Session with the Deans (M.S. students learn about the M.A. program)
Thursday
November 2
8:15-9:15 a.m.
Room 601B
The menu, as described by Columbia Catering:
* Assorted Chilled Juices Consisting of: Orange Juice, Apple Juice and Cranberry Juice
* Assorted Breakfast Bakeries Consisting of: Mini Croissants, Danish, Assorted Muffins, and Bagels, Butter, Preserves, and Cream Cheese
* Brewed Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee and Assorted Teas

M.A. Tea with the Deans (M.A. students only)
Wednesday
November 8
4-5 p.m.
Room 601B
Coffee, Tea, Water
Assorted Baked Goods

Brown Bag Lunch M.A. Info Session (M.S. students learn about the M.A. program)
Monday
December 4
12-1:30 p.m.
Room 601B
Bring your lunch and questions to this overview session on the M.A. program.
We will provide:
Individual bags of Potato Chips, Pretzel & Popcorn
Assorted Home Baked Cookies
Assorted Sodas and Bottled Water

Dear Students:

The Fall semester officially ends on December 22.

Journalism M.A. classes meet for the last time the week of December 11.

For those students (M.A., Ph.D, some M.S.) students taking classes elsewhere in the University, your classes end the week of December 11 and final exams (when applicable) are held between December 15 and December 22.

For full-time, M.S. students, all classes except for the Master’s Project, end by December 8 (unless your professors set an alternate last class date). You are expected to remain at school working on your Master’s Project until December 22, at your adviser’s discretion.

Part-time classes (except for Law and Critical Issues) run through the week of December 11 (last class meets on 12/16).

“Lucille’s Ball,” the annual holiday event at which students roast faculty and have a big party is scheduled for Thursday, December 14.

Tuesday, January 16: The first draft of the M.S. Master’s Project (for full-time M.S. students and other M.S. students doing academic year

projects) is due. Journalism M.A. classes (and all classes taken elsewhere in the University) begin.

Thursday, January 18: M.S. Workshops begin.

The following week, M.S. Seminars and M.S Electives begin.

Dear students and faculty:

Every year, the University awards Maria Moors Cabot Prizes to the best and brightest Latin American journalists and North American journalists covering Latin America. President Bollinger will be conferring these prizes, the oldest international prizes in journalism, in a formal ceremony at Low Library next Wednesday.

But next Tuesday night (the 10th), this year’s four Cabot medalists will appear at the J. school in a special panel designed for you to ask them questions. Attached are thumbnail sketches of the four winners–Mario Vargas Llosa, Ginger Thompson, Matt Moffet, and José Hamilton Ribeiro.

Especially for those of you considering international reporting, this is a great opportunity to meet two distinguished Latin American journalists and two Americans who have made careers covering Latin America. Politics, government, culture and business are hopping in Latin America and, in my view, the region offers opportunities for young journalists.

The theme of this year’s panel, which I will moderate, is self-censorship– a terrible problem both in Latin America and, increasingly, in the United States. An article on self-censorship is attached.

THIS IS THE ONLY PUBLIC APPEARANCE BY THE CABOT WINNERS.

This event takes place on Tuesday, October 10 on the 3rd Floor of the Journalism School at 7 PM. No RSVP is necessary; make sure to be in the Lecture Hall PROMPTLY at 7 PM.

I hope to see you Tuesday night,

Josh Friedman, Director of Cabot Prize Program

M.A. Master’s Thesis

You will work with your Journalism adviser to develop the topic for your thesis, and will also work with this adviser to select an outside adviser who is an expert in your subject area.

The thesis is an 8-10,000 word magazine article, or its equivalent in another medium, that demonstrates mastery of the subject covered combined with journalistic excellence.

Outlined below is the current schedule for the MA thesis. (We may add additional lectures or discussions for the entire MA class on the thesis in the course of the fall, at the discretion of the faculty.)

• September: September 29, 9-11 a.m., room 607B: discussion of the MA thesis led by Prof. James Stewart

• November: Outside advisers chosen
• Monday, Nov. 20: 1,000-word proposal due, with outline & source list

• December: Meeting of student and both advisers to review the proposal
• Friday, Dec. 22: fall grades due

• January: Monday, Jan. 29: first draft due to both advisers

• February: Meeting of student and both advisers to review the first draft

• March: At discretion of J School adviser, a second draft may be required

• April: Monday, April 23: final draft due to both advisers

• May: J School adviser and outside adviser consult on student evaluation
• Monday, May 7: final evaluation due.
• Friday, May 11: spring grades due
• Journalism Day: Winner of M.A. thesis prize announced

The orientation schedule for M.A. students is below. It is also available as a pdf at http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/students/06_orientation_sehedule_MA.pdf

If you have any questions, please send them to dos@jrn.columbia.edu

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31

8:15-9:00 a.m, Lobby: Check in and pick up ID and Orientation materials

9:00-10:00 a.m, Lecture Hall: Welcome
Nicholas Lemann, Dean
David Klatell, Vice Dean
Evan Cornog, Associate Dean

10:30-12:00, Lecture Hall: University Information
10:30 Bathabile K. S. Mthombeni-Njenga, Associate University Ombuds Officer
10:45 Vielka Holness, Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action
11:00 Ken Torrey, Physical Fitness Center
11:40 Shachar Gillat, Communications Specialist, Health Services at Columbia
12:00 Public Safety Team: Ken Finnegan, Ricky Morales, Jose Rosado

12:30-2 p.m., Rooms List Below: Meetings with Discipline Professors
*Box lunches served; please pick up yours at the back of the Lecture Hall before going to your assigned meeting room below

Arts, Room 602: Prof. Alisa Solomon
Politics, Room 607A: Prof. Alexander Stille
Science, Room 204: Prof. Marguerite Holloway
Business, Room 601C: Prof. James B Stewart and Prof. Sylvia Nasar

2-2:45 p.m., ISSO/524 Riverside Drive: Visa processing for international students

2-2:45 p.m., Kent Hall: Students still needing CUIDS

3-4 p.m., Lecture Hall:Student Matters:
• Sreenath Sreenivasan, Dean of Students
• Melanie Huff, Assistant Dean of Students
• Ernest Sotomayor, Director of Career Services
• Robert Mac Donald, Assistant Dean for Admissions & Financial Aid

4-4:05 p.m.: Group Photo on the front steps of the Journalism Building

4-5 p.m.: Computer Activation/Forms:
Aguila-Fernandes (501A)
Fishburn-Malone (607C)
Marder-Yefimov (601A)

5:00-6:30 p.m., World Room: Student-Faculty-Staff reception

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

8:30-9:30 a.m., Room 602: International Student Welcome with Prof. Josh Friedman

9:30-10:30 a.m., Lecture Hall: Intro to Columbia University Libraries with
Deborah Wassertzug, Journalism Librarian

11:00 a.m. – 1 p.m., Lecture Hall: “The Long and Short of Feature Writing” with Prof. Paula Span

1 p.m., Furnald Lawn: Student Picnic

Online Chat about M.A. Program, with Dean Evan Cornog, July 26, 2006

Hosted by Evan Cornog, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, with Dean of Students Sree Sreenivasan and Assistant Dean of Students Melanie Huff.

In order to be as useful as possible, the transcript has been lightly edited for style, grammar, punctuation and clarity, and to put similar topics together.

Sree Sreenivasan: Good afternoon (good morning, good night, etc). It’s 1:05 pm, Columbia time. We are joined today by Dean Evan Cornog, coordinator of the M.A. program.

OUTSIDE COURSES
Jenny Marder: Do you suggest that we start contacting the professors now, or should we wait until we get on campus?
Evan Cornog: Start now by all means, but don’t be surprised if you get no response. But the real intense shopping begins the Tuesday after Labor Day.
Rong Cui: For students who haven’t taken the MS program, will it be a disadvantage?
Evan Cornog: It should have no bearing on your ability to get outside courses. And we wouldn’t have admitted you if we didn’t think you were up to the journlaistic expectations.

Sugi Ganeshananthan: any chance of getting a list of outside courses MA students took last year?
Melanie Huff: Yes, there is a list on the outside courses page at http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/students/outside_courses.asp

Jaime Cunningham: How difficult is it to get into classes in other schools in Columbia? Like a course in SIPA or the School of Public Health?
Evan Cornog: Jaime: It depends on the course, but we’ve got good relations with both SIPA and Public Health.
Jaime Cunningham: Cool. I’m looking forward to all my core courses, but I know from my undergrad experience that sometimes you have to really work to get into a course of your choice. Good to know we have good relations w/ other schools at Columbia.
Evan Cornog: Jaime–that’s true about needing to work at getting into coursees. But profs often like a mix of students.

SCIENCE
Richard Lewis: Some faculty said MA science students had real difficulty with graduate-level science courses. How is that being handled?
Evan Cornog: It depends on the level of preparation you have, of course, and the specific course. There are a number of possibilities . . .
Richard Lewis: I think many of us have some knowledge, but no intimate grounding.
Evan Cornog: and courses that examine the sociology of a field (often offered within a discipline) can be quite valuable.
This is the main thing you will be spending your free time on the first two weeks here.

Jenny Marder: Hi everyone. Also, I noticed there are tests required for admission to some of the science courses recommended. Are we expected to take those tests?
Evan Cornog: Admission to most courses depends on the instructors apprival, and you can sometimes get around such tests. But don’t count on it.

Richard Lewis: Can MA science students take classes from the Earth & Environmental Science Journalism Dept.?
Evan Cornog: Yes, and Marguerite Holloway can recommend specific ones.

MASTER’S THESIS
Jenny Marder: can you give some examples of what 2006 MA students did for thesis projects?
Evan Cornog: Jenny–we had a profile of a town losing its Wal-Mart, one on a New Orleans hospital during and after Katrina, and one that looks at the Millennium VIllages projects that was recently accepted by Harper’s magazine. They were an impressive group of articles.

Sugi Ganeshananthan: Are these available for us to read?
Melanie Huff: You can read the MA theses in the Journalism School Library.

Guest9021: Cool. Can we travel anywhere? Who pays for this? It’s great!
Evan Cornog: We hope that some money will be available, by application.

Sugi Ganeshananthan: I thought that last year each person was given $500? Is that funding no longer available?
Sugi Ganeshananthan: And people applied for additional funds beyond that?
Evan Cornog: We hope to be able to match that this year, but no gurantee yet. We’ll know better early in the fall.
Students did use their own funds, too. But local stories are easier to cover in depth, obviously. Some got outside funding, too.

Richard Lewis: So, is it fair to assume the thesis can tackle topics outside the NY region?
and is that recommended?
Evan Cornog: Yes, but you’ll need to assess costs, and the school’s ability to support travel, carefully.

Sugi Ganeshananthan: Any plans for group reporting trips like the one Professors Goldman and Sreenivasan took to India recently?
sree sreenivasan: No group class trips planned as of yet. The India trip was sponsored by a foundation for the CoveringReligion.org M.S. seminar.

Sugi Ganeshananthan: at what point should we really have our thesis topic nailed down? how much time do we have to explore different ideas?
Evan Cornog: You won’t have to nail the topic down until November or so, but the sooner you are work on it, the better.

JOBS, FREELANCING, POST-SCHOOL
amanda millner-fairbanks: Any statistics available in terms of numbers of last year’s MA class who are now gainfully employed?
Evan Cornog: Don’t have current stats–we’ll check with Career Services.

Jenny Marder: What are last year’s MA students doing now?
Evan Cornog: Working in various media jobs, trying to place their theses or editing them, weighing job offers, and some still looking. Some stuff going on Frontline.

Julia C. Mead: any book deals?
Evan Cornog: Not that I’ve heard of yet.

Julia C. Mead: will stories assigned in class be of the sort that could be freelanced?
Evan Cornog: A number of MA students last year placed class assignments outsdie–and professors are eager to find ways to allow you do do that.

Matt Malone: is there a different approach with career services for ma students v. ms
Melanie Huff: Yes, the approach is different.
Evan Cornog: In placing MA student swe have the advantage of the expertise in a subject area to sell. As the program becomes better known, we expect this to become easier.

OUTSIDE COURSES

MEAL PLANS
Richard Lewis: Is there some kind of a meal card and how would it work?
Melanie Huff: Please see http://www.columbia.edu/cu/dining/docs/meal-plans-flex/plans.html

INDEPENDENT STUDY
Sugi Ganeshananthan: On the list of outside courses, I see Independent Study in the Journalism School listed a couple of times… that counts as an outside course?
Evan Cornog: you can get an independent study in certain circumstances, with approval from your seminar prof and/or me.

OUTSIDE ADVISERS
Julia C. Mead: how many advisers are we required to have? my thesis is multi-disciplinary (socio-medical sciences). would be good for me to have two outside the J-school plus one in. possible?
Evan Cornog: That seems complicated. You can have as many folks “advising” you as you like informally, but we’re limiting it to two advisers.
Julia C. Mead: got it.
Evan Cornog: In fact, students in the MA learn to take advantage of CU profs in connection with many assignments.
Julia C. Mead: and can we get some help vetting those advisers for possible conflicts?
Evan Cornog: Your seminar instructors will help with that, but you’ll have to take responsibility for that mostly upon yourselves.

AUDITING CLASSES
Jenny Marder: what do you think about us auditing classes outside the regular courseload? Is that an option?
Evan Cornog: Jenny: Our experience last year was that auditing seemed like a good idea to people Week 1 of the semester, less so by week 5. You will get very busy with your regular courses.
Evan Cornog: I don’t want to discuourage your deasire to take full advantage of your year here, just want to inject some caution.

THE CLASS
Matt Malone: can you give us the breakdown of students in each concentration?
Evan Cornog: 10 in politics, nine in arts, 8 each in business and science.

CHANGES FROM YEAR ONE
Richard Lewis: I’m curious as to what changes/tweaks you all have made to the program after you had time to assess the first year.
Evan Cornog: We have made the shortened the History course to one semester, given room for an additional outside course in the spring. We have significantly retooled other courses to make them even better and we are working to make the assignments as valuable as possible without overloading you. We have retooled courses in the following ways: changing readings, lengthening or shortening sections of the course, the usual editing one does with a new course.

INTERACTION BETWEEN M.S. AND M.A.
amanda millner-fairbanks: there wasn’t much interaction last year between the MA and MS classes. Aside from the Frappr page, I think it would be a great addition to the school if there was more interaction.
Evan Cornog: Amanda: We are looking for ways to build more MA/MS interaction.

PREPARING FOR THE SCHOOL
Jenny Marder: Is there anything else we can do to prepare this summer?
Evan Cornog: Think about thesis topics, check out courses, read great stuff. And if you’re not from here, learn about NYC.
Jaime Cunningham: If anyone needs help learning about NYC, shoot me an email. I’ve lived her for about 10 years: jac2193.
sree sreenivasan: If you aren’t from NYC, checkout HopStop.com - Mapquest for the subways. It changed by NYC life.

FINAL THOUGHT
Evan Cornog: I want to stress one thing, which doesn’t naturally come up in this context, which is that the readings and ideas you will encouter in this curriculum are really exciting and useful for high-level journalism.
I know right now you need to focus on practicalities, but didn’t want to leave that aside.

Evan Cornog: Thanks for your questions. We’ll do another of these soon.

Columbia’s Student Financial Services (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sfs/) has changed the date by which you will receive your first bill via e-mail.

You will receive your bill via e-mail on August 14.

Payment will be due on September 14.

All graduating students should check out the following sites:

• Dean Huff’s End of the Year Manual
• Journalism School Graduation Information & Calendar
• Columbia University 2006 Commencement

Today you will receive an e-mail from Melanie Huff regarding evaluating each of the classes in which you are enrolled. If you do not receive these messages (one for each class) by the end of the day, please let us know at dos@jrn.columbia.edu.

Here are the instructions contained in those messages:

Welcome to our revamped and completely anonymous evaluation site (through the CourseWorks system).

You may access evaluatios at http://courseworks.columbia.edu. Enter the site using your UNI and password and navigate to the course. The deadline to complete all evaluations is May 19, 2006.

Your role in providing feedback via course evaluations is of vital importance to the Journalism School. The information is used not only by future students to make informed balloting choices but also by faculty to evaluate their syllabi and to refine their practices and by the administration to make curriculum decisions and assess professor performance.

Course evaluations are one element in tenure, promotion and contract decisions; they can affect professors’ careers at Columbia.

We ask that you take your time and seriously reflect on your learning experience as you provide an honest answer to each question.

You may begin work on the forms immediately.

However, in order to make sure that all students have the time to do evaluations, we are asking seminar, workshop, M.A. discipline and RWI professors to schedule lab time for their classes specifically for evaluation completion.

You do not have to complete all the forms in one sitting. However, once you begin working on the form for a given class you must complete and submit it before exiting the system. Partially completed forms are not stored.

Completion of your evaluations is required. Although evaluations are now anonymous, we will know who has not done them.

Please be aware that professors won’t have access to your evaluations of them until after they have submitted their evaluations of your performance.

David Klatell, Vice Dean

Dear Students,

If you graduated in October 2005, February 2006 or will graduate this May, please check out the link at http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/students/graduation2006/Grad1.htm

This is the information we will be using for the graduation program and to plan the Journalism School event. If your name is missing or any of the information is incorrect, please send an e-mail to mgh2@columbia.edu immediately.

We are now beginning preparations for the printed graduation program and Journalism School graduation ceremony.

All those graduating in May 2006 and those who graduated in October 2005 and February 2005 are required to complete the graduation program form at http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/gradprogram.

Please note that this includes dual-degree students who are completing the Journalism portion of their degrees. You are eligible to march with your classmates even though you won’t receive your actual diploma until you have finished both degrees.

THIS IS A DIFFERENT FORM THAN THE ONE YOU SUBMITTED IN HARD COPY TO THE DEANS’ SUITE OR KENT HALL.

DEADLINE: Monday, April 3, 9 a.m.

Reminder: You can track all the Graduation events here:
http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/students/graduation2006

Questions to dos@jrn.columbia.edu

Spring skills courses begin soon.

• Section 1: New Media - Brian Kennedy (Saturdays, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: 3/25; 4/1; 4/22; 4/29; 5/6 - room 511C)
• Section 2: Photography - Sara Barrett (Tuesdays, 7-9 p.m.: 3/28; 4/4; 4/11; 4/18; 4/25 - room 511C)
• Section 3: Radio - Kerry Donahue (Saturdays, 2-6 p.m.: 3/25; 4/1; 4/8; 4/22; 4/29 - room 511A/B)
• Section 4: New Media - Brian Kennedy (Saturdays, 2-4 p.m.: 3/25; 4/1; 4/22; 4/29; 5/6 - 511C)

Please note that in some cases the five sessions do not run consecutively.

The ISSO is offering 5 informations sessions. They are summarized at
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/isso/activities/spring_break.pdf.

Information Sessions
Monday, March 13 Summer Employment in F-1 status
Monday, March 13 Working on Optional Practical Training (OPT) after graduating
Tuesday, March 14 Immigration Attorney: Employment-based visas
Thursday, March 16 J-1 Student Academic Training
Thursday, March 16 Tax Filing Workshop for International Students

Student business cards are now available through Printing Services located in 106 Journalism Building. You must order cards in person at this location. Printing Services is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

You may choose between two templates. One lists you as a reporter for the Columbia Journalist and the other lists you as a student at the school.

The cost is $38.02 for 250 cards. You must pay by cash or check; credit cards are not accepted.