MASTER OF SCIENCE PROJECT OPTION
Guidelines
1. Project Committee
Student must identify a Project Supervisory Committee with at least three members, two of whom shall be members of the Graduate Faculty. At least one member of the committee must be a regular faculty member in OEES, who will serve as the primary faculty adviser for purposes of ensuring student progress, and be designated as chair of the supervisory committee. If the project is community-based, the committee may include a person from the affected community stakeholders.
2. Project Proposal
Beginning in spring quarter of the first year, students must form their Supervisory Committee and report quarterly to the committee on their progress. The committee must meet and approve the written proposal by the end of spring quarter of the first year, with a copy submitted to the Graduate Program Office.
3. Project Expectations
The Supervisory Committee will review the project proposal for adequacy using guidelines established by the OEES degree program. The project should be rigorous, demonstrate original thought, and examine a current issue or problem which has relevance to professional practice in exposure sciences. A reasonable test of adequacy is whether the project falls within the scope of current professional practice, could contribute to a professional practice or trade journal or could contribute to a publication in the peer-reviewed literature.
4. Project Completion
The project must result in a formal written report that is reviewed and accepted by the supervisory committee. Once accepted, the report will be filed with the Department’s Graduate program office. Usually, students are expected to present posters at Student Research Day, in addition, they may present their poster at a professional meeting. The student also must document their results in their professional portfolio and present the results in summary form to the community affected by the project.
Typical Organization of the Project Report
1. Abstract
Provide a one page abstract or executive summary
2. Introduction and background
Present a brief review of the relevant published literature on the topic and how it relates to professional practice in exposure sciences.
3. Statement of problem to be solved
Provide background about the specific problem under study, a description of other pertinent information of importance and the rationale for the methods used in the project.
4. Methods
Describe the approach, and possible alternative approaches to the problem, and the problem setting. The setting may be specific or involve a broad organization or community issue, which may be discussed above in the Introduction. Describe the data and/or information available or that was collected, how the data was sampled, along with definitions of measures of outcome or effect. Define a process for analysis of the data and a summary metrics, with a focus on potential actions or policy implications.
5. Results and Findings
Describe the results of the data analysis and comparisons of interest in the data. Quantitative results should routinely include statistical analysis or measures of uncertainty where appropriate to evaluate the reliability of the findings. The results should also include assessment of the data reliability, quality assurance and control measures, and address issues of potential bias or other methodological limitations in the study.
6. Discussion, recommendations and potential solutions
Discuss the findings in the context of the problem statement, and highlight any conclusions which would be relevant to professional practice or community outcomes. Address how this project contributes to a problem solution or other findings which address a community or regulatory concern.