Fall Graduate Student Briefing
School of Journalism and Strategic Media
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 10 a.m.
Welcome New Graduate Students
Mary Hennigan *
Alexis Campbell *
Griffen Walden
Wendy Echeverria
Schedule Problems?
First Semester Student Paperwork
Master’s Advisory Committee form : a grad school form.
–Submit the completed form to me
Graduate Faculty
Bostwick, David A
Bouchillon, Brandon C
Brown, Lucy M
Chung, Jee-Young
Foley, Larry
Gould, Kara Jolliff
Jordan, Gerald B
King, Tiffany
McCaffrey, Raymond M
Reed, Niketa S
Schulte, Bret J
Starling-Ledbetter, Robyn M
Stockdell, Rick P
Thein, Ricky
Tuychiev, Hayot
Wells, Rob
Wicks, Jan L
Students Planning to Defend
Students Planning To Defend Their Thesis This Fall: Mary Ellis Neba Evans Britt Graves Grayson Green Katy Seiter Paulina Sobczyk Anyone else?
If you’re graduating this semester:
1) File the thesis title form at least three months prior to the date of the defense.
That would be Sept. 10.
2) Apply for graduation by Oct. 1, 2021. Tell Dr. Wells.
3) Thesis dissertation deadline is Dead Day, Dec. 10, 2021.
Thesis deadline – Walk back two weeks and the practical deadline is Nov. 26, 2021.
Walk back two weeks and your committee will want to see the final thesis document by Nov. 12, 2021.
“Wrap It Before Thanksgiving.”
All requirements for the degree must be completed by Dec. 17, 2021, including any work required for an incomplete.
Thesis Formatting Check:
You need Graduate School approval of the thesis formatting. Must be done prior to your thesis defense.
Read Guide to Theses and Dissertations prior to starting the pre-check process.
Thesis formatting training. Julie Rogers of the Graduate School. Slides from the session are here.
Graduation: Apply by Oct 1, 2021
–Apply to graduate via your student center in UA Connect under “My Academics.” The graduation fee will be added to your student account. After the deadline, there is a late application fee for ALL students.
–Coursework: Consult your Degree Audit to confirm that you have completed all degree requirements. Remind your advisor/committee chair that a Record of Progress must be submitted to the Graduate School and your Degree Audit must be completed by the department.
–Commencement Sat, Dec. 18. Expect attendance restrictions. Details
Important Statement on Graduation: The School of Journalism and Strategic Media graduate students will participate in Fall commencement if they have successfully defended their thesis in the Fall semester. “If you want to walk in the Fall, you first have to defend in the Fall.” Students who are unable to defend in the Fall need to defer to the Spring for commencement .
Master’s Thesis Process
Thesis title, form thesis committee.
Details are here.
Select thesis title and form thesis committee.
Master’s Program Checklist that spells out the steps in the process.
IRB Approval: Obtain this before starting your research
Students whose research will require approval by the Institutional Review Board (for research
with human subjects)… will be required to receive approval from these committees before beginning their research. If such approval has not been received, the student will not be granted a degree.
Details are here. Some projects won’t need an IRB but you will need a waiver.
Check here for basic information about the IRB process.
1) Review this before starting your research.
2) Speak to your thesis chair or Dr. Wells before submitting an IRB application.
3) The sooner you deal with this, the better
Watch out for a briefing this semester with Dr. Lindsey Aioa of Communications, an IRB Board member, who will break all of this down for us.
Examples of Successful Thesis Projects
Multimedia – Website and Thesis: Andrew Epperson
https://advancedsportstats.weebly.com/
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3192/
Podcast: Matthew Moore
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3971/
Documentary Film: Denzel Jenkins
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3233/
Data Journalism Thesis: Mohamed M’Bareck
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3157/
Public Relations: Morganne Rhodes
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2391/
Traditional Thesis: Boitshepo Balowzi
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2762/
Internships
Start applying for internships now.
Jour 508V is very popular.
Details: Syllabus, Application and Evaluation
Your thesis adviser performs the internship evaluation, not the Graduate Coordinator. If you need help, contact Intern Coordinator Gina Shelton: ginas@uark.edu or Dr. Wells
Graduate Assistants
Work duties:
Not to exceed 20 hours a week, with one exception.
*”However, there are some changes that are requiring that we relax this rule slightly. If a student is absent from work, you may ask the student to make up the work in subsequent weeks, as long as the total hours per week do not exceed 30 and as long as the student is not international.”
Stipend is $12,500 for two semesters.
Mid-August, Mid-May: Get a half paycheck.
Taxed on Medicare, SSI.
Tuition waiver doesn’t cover misc fees. Technology fees. Media fees. Student health fees.
Option of payroll deduction for misc fees
Other GAs Outside of Journalism
Student affairs. GA openings. Newswire openings.
GAs have an office (KIMP 204A) and the door code is 1196*
Printer in that room for their GA work.
5 Year BA-MA
We’ve had a very productive dynamic with the Graduate students working and chatting with the 5 Year students. Please reach out to these folks if they are in your classes and help them out.
Raegan Holland, Rachel Bernstein .
Help me get the word out about the 5 Year BA-MA Program. Details are here.
Communication
Teams Channel for Graduate Students
Funding:
Treasurer’s Office tuition and fee estimator
Journalism Department
Apply for departmental scholarships by early February, 2022.
Link for graduate application will be posted for the 2022 round later this semester.
Graduate School Fellowship Fund – October 1 deadline for Spring 2022 funding: supports the collection of research data, software, certification, research travel, or other costs associated with research or creative activity required for the degree: https://graduate-and-international.uark.edu/graduate/costs-and-funding/fellowship-fund/index.php
Benjamin Franklin Lever Tuition Fellowship (diversity) – deadline November 15 for spring funding: tuition-only fellowship intended to increase diversity within graduate degree programs and on campus. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and have no other source of funding that it specifically purposed to pay tuition (e.g., may not be combined with a graduate assistant position): https://graduate-and-international.uark.edu/graduate/costs-and-funding/benjamin-lever-fellowship.php
Nonresident Tuition Scholarship
Chancellor’s Graduate Student NonResident Tuition Scholarship for new, degree seeking domestic graduate students entering the University of Arkansas Graduate School in the Fall 2020 or after. (Note: this scholarship is not available to international students). The university will provide financial support for students utilizing specific scholarship criteria. This student financial support is made possible with university resources. For more information, see: https://graduate-and-international.uark.edu/graduate/costs-and-funding/grad-new-resident.php
Other Fellowships and Scholarships. Details can be found here.
More details about research funding and the dollars and cents of graduate school are here.
GPSC Research Grants
The Graduate and Professional Student Congress (GPSC) will award three research grants for up to $1,500 for research projects in the fall and spring semesters. This funding mechanism is designed with a focus on supporting dissertation and thesis projects. The call for proposals will come out the first week of the spring semester, and graduate students will have one month to write a proposal in line with the National Institute of Health’s guidelines for writing grant proposals. See more in newswire.
Harry and Jo Leggett Chancellor’s Fellowship
We are accepting applications for this fellowship, established to support graduate students who are involved in research of significant interest to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Leggett fellows receive a $12,000 stipend per year for a maximum of 4 years for a doctoral student and 2 years for a master’s student. It may also cover tuition for students without another source of funding for tuition. For more information and application guidelines: https://graduate-and-international.uark.edu/graduate/costs-and-funding/harry-jo-leggett-fellowship.php
Travel Grants
The Graduate School offers support for costs related to travel and research — generally for students presenting papers at conferences. Graduate students may apply for travel grants, the Graduate School Fellowship Fund, the A.L. Chilton Foundation Award, and the Tipton Family Academic Enrichment Fund.
Vicky Hartwell (hartwell@uark.edu, 5-4327) with questions.
Additional Grants through the Graduate and Professional Student Congress (subject to availability of funds): The Graduate and Professional Student Congress (GPSC) is excited to offer funding for students traveling to present their own original work. The GPSC Travel Grant is funding “of last resort,” meant to help students who have already exhausted other funding sources open to them. Currently, no travel grant shall exceed $500 dollars. Please log onto HogSync at https://orgsync.com/176733/forms/337734 for more information, application and deadlines.
A.L. Chilton Foundation Award
Students may apply for up to $500 to assist them in purchasing supplies or other resources to aid them in their research efforts. Applications are reviewed once a month. Awards will be posted to the student’s account in UAConnect.
https://graduate-and-international.uark.edu/graduate/costs-and-funding/chilton-foundation-award.php
GSPC
Additional Grants through the Graduate and Professional Student Congress (subject to availability of funds): The Graduate and Professional Student Congress (GPSC) is excited to offer funding for students traveling to present their own original work. The GPSC Travel Grant is funding “of last resort,” meant to help students who have already exhausted other funding sources open to them. Currently, no travel grant shall exceed $500 dollars. Please log onto HogSync at https://orgsync.com/176733/forms/337734 for more information, application and deadlines.
Funding Listserv
Razorgrad report update, funding. gradsupport@uark.edu
Food Pantry Reminders
In addition to the mini food pantry in the graduate student lounge, the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry operates all summer long! Anyone with a UofA ID is always able to request a 3-day supply of food for themselves and any immediate family members living with them. Just use the online request or stop by the pantry on the East side of Bud Walton Hall across from the base of the Union parking garage.
Emergency Funds
For emergencies, students can apply to the Needy Family Graduate Student Emergency Fund or the International Education Catastrophic Fund. Application materials can be found here: https://graduate-and-international.uark.edu/graduate/costs-and-funding/index.php
Misc:
Talk program CAPS. Pat Walker. Monday 2 pm-4 pm
Mark Your Calendars
Lemke Journalism Project
–School’s outreach to primarily Hispanic high school students
–20th year
–Spring Semester, Timing TBA due to COVID-19 pandemic
–Gina Shelton ginas@uark.edu
Arkansas Soul
–School’s outreach project to African-American students
–Essays, articles, videos, podcasts on Black culture generally
–Prof. Niketa Reed, founder; Antionette Grajeda, editor.
Arkansascovid.com
–Daily multimedia website publishing the latest COVID-19 updates
–Volunteer or submit class projects for consideration.
Distinguished Visiting Ethics Professor
Raquel Rutledge
Reporter/Deputy Investigations Editor
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
2010 Pulitzer Prize, “Cashing in On Kids”
Brown Bag research series
–Announcement to come
Career Advising
Office of Graduate Assistant Student Support: Career advising, free coffee Fridays. Laura Moix, Assistant Director, Gearhart Hall 273, lmoix@uark.edu, 479-575-7038
Blackboard Training Available
Carolyn Smith, Faculty and Student Support
GIBX100 (479)575-5632 (office) ccsmith@uark.edu
