Master's Project

As part of the program requirements, each student must complete a Master's Project or a Thesis. In general, for those students seeking employment upon graduation, the Master's Project is recommended.

Students looking for Master's Projects or Thesis ideas should consult the Project Opportunities page and check with Professional Organizations and Potential Employers for available opportunities.

For the Master's Project, the student will develop a project in conjunction with the information-related activities of an organization, under the guidance of a site supervisor and a master's project advisor. Projects could include creation of a web site for marketing a product or service, an inventory of the information needs of an organization, usability testing of information interface, product or service, applying a knowledge management methodology to elicit the tacit knowledge of employees, creating XML and metatags for a specific context to facilitate efficient and effective information retrieval, or analyzing the communication flows in an organization that promote or hinder the acceptance of an information product, process, system or service. The organization can be suggested by the student or by the advisors in the IAKM Program Office. Companies such as KeyCorp, Lexis-Nexis, and Ernst and Young may provide opportunities for such work.

The objectives of the Master's Project are to enable each IAKM student to:
• Complete an independent experience in the context of the information-related activities in an organization
• Foster a more in-depth, specialized treatment of a topic or work process than is usual in a formal classroom setting
• Work on an information product, technology, system or service so as to gain organizational, practical experience with these aspects of professional work.
• Submit a report to his/her on-site and faculty advisors and the program office detailing the nature of the work experience, its methods, process and results.

Evaluation of the project will result in grades of "S" or "U." The evaluation will be made by the faculty advisor with consultation to the site supervisor.

Master's Project Handbook
Master's Project Approval Form
Master's Project Proposal Elements