Students

Note to master's students who wish to work with me

I find that advisement is a gratifying experience when a student and I have a clear understanding of our responsibilities and expectations for each other. For that reason, on this page I outline my interests and my expectations for master's students. Please read these carefully when deciding whether to select me as your advisor.

1) I expect my master's students to attend my office hours at least once per semester to inform me of their progress toward the completion of the master's degree. If the student cannot attend office hours, s/he should email me to keep me informed about his or her progress.

2) In addition, my master's advisees should submit, via email, a one-page progress report to me on the last day of class at the end of
every semester. If I do not receive a report from a master's student by this date, I will assume this student is no longer an active advisee of mine. The report should describe the student's progress to date and plans for completing requisite coursework in the coming semester. In this email, please use the subject line “Progress Report [your last name, semester, year]”

3) Regarding recommendation letters: When requesting a recommendation letter, students should send me a single email with the subject line “Recommendation Request [your last name]” at least two weeks prior to the deadline. The email must include all of the following information: 1) the title and name of the person to whom I address the letter; 2) the institutional name and address to which I send the letter; 3) a brief description of the funding source or job for which I am recommending you; 4) a four or five-sentence paragraph describing your project and its significance (especially its significance in light of the priorities of the funder or employer for whom I am writing the letter); 5)  list of bullet points that you wish for me to address in the letter; 6) the due date of the recommendation; 7) whether I should mail the recommendation directly or leave it in our program office for you to pick up. If feedback on a funding proposal is sought in conjunction with a letter of recommendation, then students must give me the proposal at least three weeks prior to the deadline.  If requests are not submitted with two-three weeks notice, or if students do not include all of the information requested above in a single email, I will not be able to write the recommendation.

4) Regarding the master's project: I expect a student's master's project to be of high quality, to engage concepts and literatures from the courses students took during their tenure at Teachers College, to develop an original thesis, and to be superbly written. The paper should be 30-50 pages long. It should include a title page, a table of contents, a bibliography, appendices (if relevant).

I recommend the following structure for your master's thesis:

1) Introduction and problem statement, aka thesis. Introduce the topic of your paper, the concepts or literatures you will engage, and (if relevant) the research methods you use to address the topic. Also, discuss the significance of your topic. Outline the logic of the paper.

2) Conceptual framework and background: Review and discuss the major concepts and/or theories you will engage in this paper. Also, if applicable, give historical, social, and political background to your issue.

3) Methods (if applicable)

4) Findings: should be the body of the paper, and should have a clear structure

5) Significance, Implications, and Conclusion: Discuss the implications of your study and its significance.

In the first week of the semester in which students intend to graduate, they must submit to the Registrar a summary of your coursework with their advisor's signature. By that time if not before, my advisees should submit a detailed outline and bibliography to me; we should then meet to discuss it in depth. My advisees should plan to have a full draft completed two months before the final deadline, and should email that document to me as an attachment with the subject header “IP first draft [your last name.]” I will give each student feedback within two weeks. I will expect substantial revisions for the final draft. Plan to have a final draft ready at least one month before the final due date, which is listed on the sheet available either from the registrar or from our program office in 374 Dodge.

There are examples of projects and theses on file in the IED/CIE program office in 374 Grace Dodge Hall. Please feel free to come and consult them. Also, feel free to contact the Peer Tutor through our program office in 374 Dodge; he or she can read drafts for you and talk through your ideas as they develop while you write.

Teachers College, Columbia University.