Required Forms and Procedures

Planning your classes, research integrity, advising and mentoring

Making your Plan of Study

Our program is flexible and will support you in getting training to develop skills needed for our domains of expertise. Please see our recommended tracks and class choices. Be aware that not all classes are offered every semester. Some classes are primarily in the fall or spring. Please refer to the following presentation to guide you in selecting classes. You might want to take classes that aren’t specifically on your track to be able to work with a specific professor. Please review the recommended classes before meeting with your advisor. New opportunities often are offered from guest scholars or faculty research teams. We update our students on these opportunities. Work with your advisor and the MA director to fine tune your plan of study.

MI MA Recommended Classes by Focus Area

Taking MI 400 level classes

Some classes, especially MI400 level, are useful for graduate students.  To enroll you will need an override request through the CAS college. First talk to your advisor or the director if the class will be appropriate. Prerequisite classes are usually waivered, but there are exceptions.To apply for a waiver to take a MI400 level class, have your browser logged into your MSU identity and go to CAS Override > New Request . Be aware that if the class is full you will be placed on a waiting list, and that the faculty teaching the class must also approve the waiver. 

 Independent Study

Sometimes you may want to work deeply on a special topic, or want to work closely with a specific professor. Students should talk to the MA director to find out options. Then the student can reach out to the professor to see if this is an option. Enrollment is through our APC (academic program coordinator Jessica Leadbetter. Fill our the form and contact her.  Download the form here.

All graduate students required to take RCER training credits. Students who do not fulfill their RCER training will not be able to get a degree conferred and will have to enroll an additional semester for one credit. These classes often fill to capacity so enroll early in the semester for the entire year.

At the beginning of your program all students take the online CITI modules. These are online and don’t take too much time to complete.
Master’s Plan A (thesis) students need 6 additional hours of discussion based training and in their second year an additional 3 hours of training.
Master’s Plan B (project/ poster) students need 6 additional hours of discussion based training.

See the Graduate School Schedule to sign up for the appropriate sessions.
These are tracked through each student’s SIS plan.

Plan A Thesis

Students doing the Plan A thesis track are often going on to pursue a Ph.D. or work where a detailed example of their skills in research and communication are desirable.

The thesis is a published document that demonstrates high standards of writing as it becomes a public document, available to other researchers and citable. You will work with the steps outlined by the Graduate school to properly format your thesis and submit it for publication through ProQuest.

Click here for details – be aware that thesis should be submitted several weeks before the final approval deadlines. 

The steps of a thesis-
1. Talk to your primary advisor about your research idea and narrow it down. Work on a proposal idea. Once you have a proposal developed contact two other professors to make up your committee. A thesis committee requires three authorized members. Submit your proposal to them for review and set up a proposal defense date. There are rules for the composition of your committee. Click here to see a listing of our faculty and their eligible positions on committees.

2. Present (defend) your proposal to  your committee. They will provide feedback and guidance on your thesis. Once you finish your defense, have the committee sign the thesis proposal defense form (click here to download). 

3. If your research uses individuals, either for surveys or interviews you need to get IRB approval. Talk to your advisor to start this process. Here is a link to a document to guide you in making your IRB document.

4. Once your research is approved, complete your research and finish writing your thesis. Work closely with your advisor and set up a time to defend your thesis.

5. Present (defend) your thesis to your committee. Once your have completed any requested revisions satisfactorily, then your committee will sign your thesis defense (click here to download).

6. Submit your signed thesis defense form to the master’s program director. Submit your approved thesis to the graduate school following the formatting guidelines. 

Plan B Project

Students doing a Plan B with with either a project or a poster are often preparing for work in business or industry. The project produces an artifact that is often useful as a portfolio piece for getting a job in industry/ business. Students that already have a job lined up often chose the poster as this provides demonstration of research skills.

The steps for a Plan B project-

1. Talk to your primary advisor about your project idea and discuss the proposal and timeline. Once you have a proposal you can reach out to get one more committee member. The project committee needs two members. Submit your proposal for review to both committee members and set up a proposal defense date. MSU has specific requirements for committee composition- click here to see the document to guide your selection.

2. Present (defend) your project idea to the committee. They will provide feedback and guidance on your thesis. Once you finish your defense, have the committee sign the project proposal defense form (click here to download). 

3. If your research uses individuals, either for surveys, interviews, or usability testing, you need to get IRB approval. Talk to your advisor to start this process. Here is a link to a document to guide you in making your IRB document.

4. Once your research is approved, complete your research and finish writing the presentation of your project. Work closely with your advisor and set up a time to defend your project.

5. Present (defend) your project to your committee. The presentation can be via Zoom, Teams, or in person: however, it must be live to allow for questions and feedback. Once your have completed any requested revisions satisfactorily, then your committee will sign your project defense form (click here to download). 

6. Submit your signed project defense form and a copy of your project to the master’s program director.

We often have support to assist students to present their research in academic venues, such as conferences. The resources vary by year and are distributed by the Graduate School. We also have limited funding to help with direct research expenses. See the categories below, please contact the director of master’s studies, Dr. Shillair, if you have any questions.

Funding for research projects

We have funding for research projects that contribute towards your capstone master’s project or poster, your thesis, or for research tied to your studies.
Funding requests for research project expenses 
When completed send to Jessica Leadbetter and Dr. Shillair.

Funding for emergencies
We have limited funds to help with emergencies- these are defined by the Graduate school-. These funds are not for normal budget shortfalls, but for unexpected major costs (e.g., medical, or family emergency requiring travel) and only available if the funds are available. Contact Jessica Fischer (our APC) or Dr. Ruth Shillair (our director) to start the process. If you submit directly to the graduate school it will be denied and re-routed.
Emergency Expense Funding form

Funding for conference travel and registration

These forms are for both MA and PhD students in our department

Be sure to work with our department’s travel agency and Kim Williams for making travel arrangements. If there are cancellations to conferences travel costs can be refunded to the student IF booked through our travel resources.
If you book them yourself we cannot offer any refunds and your funding is unlikely.
Irregardless of your arrangements, you must register your conference travel with Kim Williams as this impacts travel insurance and emergency  support.

Read this 1st for travel funding guidelines
Travel Funding from MI department request
Travel Funding Grad School application
Payback agreement
Council of Graduate Student Funding Opportunities

MSU has extensive resources for our students. Please click here for our New Student Welcome Packet: Campus Resources for details.