Important Abbreviations

Important Abbreviations

As one might expect, clear communication in the Dept. of Communication and Culture is taken pretty seriously. To facilitate clarity, here are some abbreviations I use regularly, with their meanings.

AI - Assistant Instructor
CMCL - Communication and Culture
DGS - Director of Graduate Studies
GAC - Graduate Affairs Committee
SAA - Student Academic Appointment
UGS - University Graduate School

Colloquium Scheduling

Dissertation Colloquiua

The Colloquium season in CMCL kicks-off this Friday with the 2007 Virginia S. Gunderson Award winner, Shelley Bradfield. The Virginia S. Gunderson winner always presents the first colloquium of the season. Future speakers include special guests, faculty, and our own CMCL graduate students.

All Ph.D. students must present a colloquium, based upon their dissertation research, as part of their degree requirements. The timing for the Dissertation Colloquium is critical. It must be presented after the successful Prospectus Defense to count as the degree requirement. Of course, you may give more than one colloquium during your time in CMCL, but please be cognizant of the timing if you want yours to "count."

CMCL Student Performing

One of our own students, Lori-Hall Araujo, will be performing in Chicago with the experimental physical theatre company, Plasticene on October 7th. FOr more information, visit:
http://musicircus.chicagocomposers.org/

Term Codes

Term Coding

You may have noticed that here at IU, we use term codes to refer to specific semesters. Many forms and databases will ask for term codes to look-up records, to file grades, etc. How you determine a term code is really very simple. Here's how it works:

The current term (fall 2007) is coded as 4078.

The first digit for all years in this century is 4. The first digit for the last century was 3, so if you need to find something from the 1990-somethings, you will need this number, too.

The second two digits are the last two digits in the year, hence the 07.

The last digit designates the semester – 8 means fall, 2 means spring, 5 means summer. Fall of 2006 was 4068, spring of 2002 was 4022, fall of 1999 was 3998, summer of 2010 will be 4105. Summer can be a little tricky, since there is no way to differentiate the two summer sessions. For term coding purposes, it's all 5.

If you need help using these codes, come see me or email me; I’ll be happy to help you figure it out.

Electronic Forms

Electronic Forms

Most of the forms you will need as you complete your degree are now available as Word files. Those of you who have been around for over a year will appreciate not having to feed forms through the typewriter (how quaint) to complete the steps toward your degree. If you need a form, just let me know and I'll send it to you. Where possible, I'll try to prepopulate the form for you with as much information as I have. Please ask me for any data you need to complete a form - blank spaces are a bad thing.

Of course, you may request hardcopies of any form. However, please be aware that I don't keep a stockpile of hardcopies - I'll print out whatever you need as you need it.

Appointment of Advisory Committee

Advisory Committee
(If you are double-majoring, details of the committee composition and the form are slightly different, but the timeline is the same.)

Each PhD student should choose an advisor by April 15th of the first year of study. With his or her advisor, a student will identify other faculty to serve on the advisory committee. The advisory committee consists of two or three members of the faculty of the Department of Communication and Culture and one member from outside the department representing the student's minor area of study. At least two of the committee members must be either associate or full members of the graduate faculty. (I keep an updated copy of the Grad Faculty - ask me if you have questions.)

Of course, there is a form which accompanies the appointment of the advisory committee, the membership of which is subject to the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee or the Director of Graduate Studies acting as its representative, and the Dean of the UGS.

By custom, the Appointment of Advisory Committee form is signed by its members at the Plan of Study interview. The form serves as a de facto acceptance of the Plan of Study. As is the case with the Plan of Study itself, the Appointment of Advisory Committee deadline differs for students with MAs from IU. These students must file the Appointment of Advisory Committee paperwork by April 15th of the first year of study. Students with MAs from institutions other than IU have until October 15th of the second year to file.

The advisory committee will serve the student through the PhD Exams, until the Prospectus Defense, at which time the Research Committee will be nominated. This committee may have the same members as the advisory committee, but this is not required. Changes to the membership of the Advisory Committee are permitted, but must be approved by the DGS and the Dean of the UGS. (And yes, there's a form for this, too.)

Transfer of Credits

Transferring Graduate Credit

Wondering how to earn the hours of credit needed for your degree? In addition to your coursework here at IU, graduate coursework may be transferred from another accredited college or university. MA students may transfer up to eight credits, PhD students up to 30. You must have earned a grade of at least a B in a course for it to considered for transfer.

Credits earned on a two semester schedule such as the one here at IU generally transfer at a rate of 1 to 1. However, credits earned on a quarter system are counted differently. A multiplier of 2/3 may be used to determine how quarter-system hours convert to IU. For example, five hours earned in a quarter system earn 3.3 hours at IU - 5 x 2/3 = 3 1/3 or 3.3.

Transfers require a form (of course) which you may get from me. MA students will work with the Director of Graduate Studies to determine which courses are eligible for transfer to our program. PhD students will work with their advisory committees to determine which credits to transfer. In both cases, the transfer must be approved by the Dean of the University Graduate School (UGS).

For PhD students, the transfer of credit customarily coincides with the writing of the Plan of Study, in the third semester for students who earned their MA degrees at schools other than IU, in the second semester for students with IU MAs. Timing of the transfer is not mandated in the UGS rules, but if the Plan of Study includes work earned at another school, it makes sense to make sure the transfer will be accepted by the UGS before proceeding with the Plan.

Plan of Study

Plan of Study Deadline - October 15, 2007
Applicable to Second Year PhD Students Only

The doctoral candidate will devise a Plan of Study in consultation with a faculty advisor and an advisory committee. The designing of the Plan of Study is a function of the interaction between the student and the advisory committee with an eye to accommodating the unique and special interests of each individual student, as well as to helping that student develop the skills of an independent scholar.

Doctoral students select an advisor and nominate an advisory committee by the end of their second semester (usually by April 15th). Subsequently the student and advisor complete a written plan of study; the candidate further completes a plan of study interview with the advisory committee. The Advisory Committee consists of two or three members of the faculty of the Department of Communication and Culture and one member from outside the department representing the student's minor area of study. Students should take care to recruit members of the approved graduate faculty as advisors.

Once students have secured the approval of an advisor and the willingness of the various members of the committee to serve, they must file an Appointment of Advisory Committee Form with the Graduate Secretary, who will forward it to the University Graduate School. The nomination of the advisory Committee is subject to the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee or the Director of Graduate Studies acting as its representative.

The Plan of Study interview should take place no later than the first month of the third semester of the student’s study beyond the MA degree.

The written Plan of Study must be filed with the Graduate Secretary by October 15^th of the second year of study for students who have entered with an M.A. from other institutions and by April 15^th of the first year for students who completed their M.A. in CMCL and went directly into the Ph.D. program.

The purpose of the plan of study interview is twofold:

· to make certain that graduates will have a sound general knowledge of the study of communication and culture in the general field they choose;

· to make certain that graduates will be equipped to conduct scholarly research in a specialized aspect of that field.

To that end, the advisory committee will request such information from Ph.D. students as it believes will be useful in determining the student's needs in working toward his or her academic and career goals.

Preparation for the interview: Students are encouraged to prepare for the interview by working in consultation with their advisor to propose a written plan of study that includes a careful description and rationale of the student’s academic and career goals (the narrative typically runs from 500-1000 words); a completed Transfer of Credit form accompanied by an explanation of the relevance of the transferred courses to the student's Ph.D. program; a list of major and minor courses and research competencies to be successfully completed before the student can be admitted to take the qualifying examination; and copies of the student’s undergraduate and graduate transcripts. Advisory committees should generally see a completed copy of the written plan of study at least one week in advance of the interview.

At the plan of study interview the student and the members of the advisory committee will discuss the student's proposal and make final decisions regarding major and minor areas, specific coursework to be taken, and the transfer of credits. Note: With respect to the transfer of credits, if any of the courses to be transferred were completed more than seven years prior to the request for transfer, they will need to be revalidated. To be valid, coursework must be completed within seven years of the time at which the student takes the qualifying examination. Thus, some coursework that might be valid at the time of transfer may no longer be valid at the time of the qualifying examination and will have to be revalidated before the student can take the examination. Students and advisory committees must thus carefully consider the dates for transferred credits at the time of the interview so as to make timely and appropriate plans for revalidation. Proposals for revalidation are subject to the approval of the advisory committee and the Dean of the Graduate School. (For specific information on the criteria governing revalidation see the University Graduate School Bulletin.)

At the end of the plan of study interview, the advisory committee members and the student should all sign the written plan of study, making careful note of any changes or revisions that have been made as a result of the interview. This signed, written plan of study will then serve as a contract between the student and the committee, and must be filed with the Director of Graduate Studies. The Director of Graduate Studies will transmit the Transfer of Credit form (plus any plans for revalidation) to the Dean of the University Graduate School.

Ph.D. students who fail to file an approved Plan of Study with the Director of Graduate studies by the beginning of the 4^th semester of their coursework will not be considered in good standing for the purpose of A.I. reappointment for the following year.

The plan of study may be amended for good cause upon the agreement of the student and the advisory committee. To be valid an amended plan of study must be signed by the student and all of the members of the committee and filed with the Director of Graduate Studies.