The MA Thesis

The Master’s Thesis is a core requirement for Master of Arts students at Columbia Journalism School; students must satisfactorily complete this in order to graduate. It’s their capstone, but it isn’t a thesis in the traditional academic sense -- rather, think of it as an in-depth exploration of a topic as a journalist would pursue it, an ambitious piece of narrative nonfiction writing.

The M.A. thesis is a year-long endeavor. Students earn three credits in the fall semester and six credits in the spring semester, commensurate with the volume of work involved. Most M.A. theses are all-print projects; multimedia stories are allowed and encouraged, as long as the student already has the requisite skills to produce a podcast or documentary, and is willing to commit to such early in the fall semester. Many students travel for their field reporting over winter break, and can receive funding on a competitive basis from the Journalism School. 

The role of the advisor

As a master’s advisor, you’ll assume the role of an editor, helping your advisees to come up with  appropriate story ideas, figure out their reporting strategies -- who to talk to, what to ask, and how to navigate the roadblocks that invariably come up. Later in the process you’ll help them to structure the story, and you’ll edit it.

The project will span both semesters. In the fall, most of your work will be figuring out a topic and reporting strategy, and holding your advisee to a useful schedule. In the spring, it will involve more intensive work to structure and edit the story itself.

In the early part of the process, we encourage you to conduct group sessions with your students (if you have more than one), to discuss the differences between an idea and a story, to guide reporting and research beyond the obvious, and to help less seasoned reporters use their time wisely. The master’s thesis may be the biggest story they’ve ever tackled, and many of them will have no idea just how much work it entails.  Group meetings are efficient for you, and also give students a place to share reporting dilemmas and writing challenges. 

When, where, and how often to meet

We recommend that you meet with your students at least once every two weeks during the fall semester -- more often is fine -- and that you touch base with them during the “off” week to make sure they’re continuing to work on their thesis. Students have heavy workloads during their 10 months here, and tend to postpone assignments with longer deadlines, thinking they can catch up later and living to regret it. 

Once students have identified story ideas and are busy reporting them, you may find that individual conferences are more effective -- if so, that is fine; however, please note that students want and need face-to-face meetings, rather than conferences by phone or email.

One of the biggest complaints that we get from students is about advisors who are incommunicado. So, please -- keep up the contact with them!    

You can meet with your students at the school, in your workplace, or in another public place such as a coffee shop; however, please don’t meet with them at your home. We also ask that you consider travel time when setting a place to meet with students.

Reserving a room for meetings

If you have only a couple of students, you can meet with your students in our Stabile Student Center on the lobby level. Those with larger groups may wish to reserve a room. To do this, send an email to Debra Jackson at [email protected], and put  “Master’s Thesis room request” in the subject line. If possible, please request a room at least 24 hours in advance. 

Thesis topics

The M.A. thesis is meant to be an ambitious piece of reporting and writing, demonstrating that the student can craft a compelling story that justifies its length -- between 8,000 and 10,000 words. It is a unique opportunity to stretch as a journalist. 

Since many M.A. students already have worked in newsrooms or as freelancers, some arrive on campus with a firm idea of their thesis topic. Encourage them to branch out and challenge themselves. Likewise, while some students may want to expand upon a story they did early in the fall semester, they should be encouraged to think much more broadly and deeply about their chosen topic. The reporting for the thesis should be original, and so should the narrative approach.

Multimedia

The thesis should be a high-quality work of longform journalism. Print theses should run about 8,000 to 10,000 words. Every year, one or two M.A. students chose to do an audio thesis; the target length should match this overall depth and will be specified upon approval. 

Audio theses may be undertaken when two requirements can be met:

1. The student is already thoroughly competent in reporting and writing for the ear; is able to use school (or his or her own) equipment and software with ease, and can demonstrate this to a professor who is an expert in that medium.

2. The student makes the case that his or her project will be significantly more compelling in the relevant medium than in print.

Audio advisors will be selected in consultation with Sally Herships, director of the audio program at the Journalism School. 

Similar expectations exist for students who want to do a video thesis, or incorporate video into their work. 

Calendar

Calendar

This is the calendar for the 2022-2023 academic year.All deadlines are at 1 pm.

September: Students consider topics for their theses and meet with Jane Eisner. First thesis workshop is on Friday, September 17. Students who wish to pursue an audio thesis must request permission from Jane and Sally Herships by September 23. Students who wish to pursue a video thesis must request permission from Jane and Thor Neureiter by September 23.

October: Advisors are assigned at the beginning of the month. Students refine topics and begin research. A second M.A. workshop hosted by Career Services is scheduled for Friday, October 7. A workshop on narrative writing will be held on Friday, October 14.

November: Students focus on a particular story and work on a proposal. A fourth M.A. workshop is scheduled for Friday, November 4. Students submit their 1,000-word thesis proposal to Jane and their advisor by Thursday, November 17.  Applications for funding and for the Morton Mintz grant are also due then. Students will be notified on November 28.

December: Students prepare to do most of their thesis reporting during winter break. Students should formulate a detailed reporting plan with advisors.

January: Report and write a first draft. The first draft is due to your advisor and to Jane on Monday, January 30.

February: Work on the second draft.

March: Continue work on thesis. The second draft is due to your advisor and to Jane on Monday, March 13.

FINAL THESIS DUE on Friday, April 14 at 1 p.m.  

PLEASE NOTE: Extensions on the final deadline will only be granted in extenuating circumstances, and to students who have the backing of their advisor.  You and your advisor must get explicit, written approval from Dean Huff and me before any extension is official. Regardless, no thesis that is received after the official April 14 deadline will be considered for prizes—and any student who fails to file his or her thesis on time risks not being able to graduate with the class.

 

Sources 

A thorough source list is required when students submit the final thesis. It should include names and contact information (phone number, email address, or physical address) for all human sources and typical bibliographic information for major articles and books consulted. So students should be encouraged to keep track as they research.

We also require students to include, in the electronic version of the thesis, hyperlinks to significant documents that are posted online. This hyperlinking should not be exhaustive, but should include abstracts of important research papers, relevant news accounts, etc. Each thesis should include approximately ten to forty such links.

Grading

The Master’s Project is a 9-credit course which spans both semesters. All advisors must use the on-line grading system to submit a pass/fail grade for each advisee at the end of each semester. You must use your Columbia email account to access the grading system; the Dean of Students’ office will send all relevant messages to that account.

We also ask you to write a narrative evaluation of each student’s performance on the project, elaborating on his or her strengths and weaknesses. We will inform you of the deadline; an example of a narrative evaluation can be found here.

Examples of past work

The library located off the student center contains large bound books with M.A. theses from past years. Students are encouraged to look at them, but they cannot check them out. (There may be some disruptions in the collection because of COVID restrictions, so they should check with the librarian first.)

Here are brief descriptions of the award-winning theses in the last two years:

  • In the Class of 2021, Giulia Alice Pozzi was given the award for the Best M.A. Thesis for her sweeping, comprehensive story examining systemic racism in Italy, focusing on the experiences of three activists of African descent trying to push their country to confront its history.
  • Also honored were Sarah Goodman for her deeply reported story about Algeria’s “Hirak,” a 2019 protest movement whose pro-democratic gains were eroded by the government during the pandemic lockdown, and Danielle Grande, for a fluid, charmingly-written story decoding the mystifying culture of social media influencers who are transforming celebrity and fandom. 
  • In the Class of 2020, Julia Shipley won the top award for a well-reported, beautifully-written story about how two unassuming women, in their zeal to stop the Dakota pipeline, became radical eco-terrorists. 
  • Also honored that year were Sarah Hurtes, for a complex investigation into how mothers living near contaminated areas unwittingly pass toxic compounds to their infants through breastfeeding, and Jose Alison Kentish, for a lyrical story about how a small Caribbean island found an innovative way to restore a mangrove forest destroyed by developers. 

Many students go on to publish their theses in one form or another. Here are some examples from recent graduates:

Finally

We hope you will enjoy the experience of being an advisor.  The Master’s Thesis is one of the most meaningful and formative intellectual endeavors for our students during their time at the Journalism School.  We are delighted that you will be part of it. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Jane Eisner ([email protected]) with questions or concerns, and to share in your students’ accomplishments.