Master's Report/Thesis/Portfolio
Overview
Some EDP Master’s programs require a Master’s Report, Master’s Thesis, or Master’s Portfolio. Check your Program of Work and consult your Area Chair to confirm your program’s requirement.
Helpful Links:
Checklist
Important: pay close attention to submission deadlines for the semester in which you plan to graduate!
Course Registration Requirements
For Master's Report: you must be enrolled in EDP 398R Master’s Report in the semester you graduate. Generally students begin enrolling in 398R when they start working on the Report.
For Master's Thesis: you must register for a minimum of two semesters of thesis hours. The first semester is EDP 698A Thesis and the second is EDP 698B Thesis (each counts as 3 credit hours, for a total of 6). You must be enrolled in EDP 698B in the semester you graduate.
For Master’s Portfolio: if your Program of Work includes a Master’s Portfolio option, refer to the Program of Work for course registration requirements (typically 1 semester of EDP 394R).
Choosing a Topic
Your topic should relate to an issue in educational psychology theory or practice. Inspiration may come from: coursework and readings, faculty research projects, practicum experiences, and professional articles, journals or conferences.
Selecting Your Advisers
You will need a minimum of two faculty members for a Master’s Committee: a Supervisor, and a Co-Supervisor or Reader. Your Supervisor must be an EDP GSC (Graduate Studies Committee) member. At least one committee member must also be from your area of specialization.
Students should consult with committee members early in the process regarding each member's expectations, and ensure the Graduate School deadlines for graduation will be met.
Dual-Degree Medical students who selected the Portfolio option: your secondary committee member should be from Dell Med.
Format and Development
Thesis vs. Report vs. Portfolio: What’s the Difference?
Thesis | Involves empirical research, closest to a mini-dissertation. |
|---|---|
Report Portfolio | Extended literature review & applied discussion, often connected to applied practice (e.g. M.Ed. students). Set of examples of work designed to reflect the academic journey/progress. |
Master’s Thesis
Typical Length
30-70 pages, though there is no strict minimum or maximum.
Formatting & Style
See the Graduate School’s templates for structure and formatting
Use APA style for references, in-text citations, and section headings
A thesis is very similar to a dissertation, with the key difference in the extent and expectations for each. The dissertation is an examination of a student’s competence as an autonomous researcher, and the final product is an original, significant contribution to the knowledge base. While a thesis should also contribute to the knowledge base, thesis requirements place less emphasis on original research, and candidates are expected to receive more guidance and supervision. A thesis may be a replication of an existing study, a pilot study for a subsequent dissertation, the validation of an existing measure with a particular sample, or a small program evaluation.
Most theses follow this structure:
Introduction, Statement of the Problem, and Rationale: Provides an overview, laying out the big picture and its importance. The focus should be identified and rationale presented, along with a short summary of what each upcoming section will cover.
Literature Review: Review of up-to-date research that lays the groundwork for the study. In most cases, pertinent theory or conceptualizations of the topic should be described. This review may include theoretical articles, published reviews on the topic, and/or empirical studies. Your critical evaluation of the literature is also important.
Method: Describes in detail the methodological approach you have taken for your study, your participants, procedure, measures (if relevant), and data analysis plan.
Results / Findings: Report of your data analysis. Tip: for ideas on how to organize your results, look for recent articles with the same methodological approach, and use your research questions as a guide for organization.
Discussion: Explain your findings, connecting them to earlier descriptions of literature from your review, and acknowledge limitations of the study.
Master’s Report
Typical Length
30-70 pages, though there is no strict minimum or maximum.
Formatting & Style
See the Graduate School’s templates for structure and formatting
Use APA style for references, in-text citations, and section headings
The Master’s Report is an extended review and discussion of a topic relevant to the field of study. For M.Ed. students, the report is often on an applied topic. Reports have at minimum the following 3 sections:
Introduction and Statement of the Problem: Provides an overview, laying out the big picture and its importance. The focus of the report should be identified and related to the general area of inquiry, along with the plan or organization of the report.
Review of the Literature: Review of up-to-date research addressing the topic of the report. In most cases, pertinent theory or conceptualizations of the topic should be described. This review may include theoretical articles, published reviews on the topic, and/or empirical studies. Your critical evaluation of the literature is also important.
Applications to Practice: Presents an integration of theory/research and practice in your specialization. If the topic is drawn primarily from the literature outside your specialization, explore and evaluate the implications of the topic to your specialization.
Master’s Portfolio
Portfolio Structure
The core of the portfolio is a set of examples of your work. Collectively, these examples serve as the foundation for a narrative about your academic journey as it relates to your master’s degree program experience. You should select 5-8 examples. These are generally:
Course papers
Research projects
Classroom activities
Presentations (broadly construed)
Reports from clinical or applied work
Op-eds or other publicly disseminated writing
Key experiences you can represent and reflect upon (something you participated in/engaged with that shaped your thinking).
Portfolio Format:
Portfolios are submitted as electronic documents/files only. For example:
A word document with links and sections.
Google or other cloud-based document with links and sections.
A well-structured blog or website, if you want this product to be public facing upon completion.
There is no one template for a portfolio. That said, the program typically expects the following overall structure as a starting point for portfolio development:
Introduction and overview of the portfolio. This provides context for why you started the program and what your trajectory looked like early in the experience. Introduces the key themes that anchor the portfolio, and working definitions of any constructs utilized throughout. Briefly introduces each example and its place in time, location, etc.
Example reflections. One per example. Contextualizes each example, with the example either linked or included as part of the portfolio. This is a fairly robust discussion and analysis of the reason behind the choice of example, how it fits in your academic or professional journey, and analysis of what it represents. There is no strict page requirement, but this is the substance of the portfolio, so is where you want to invest your time, get feedback, and guide the reader through your narrative.
Conclusion and final synthesis. The purpose of this section if to give a sense of your direction/momentum going forward, even if that is still to be determined.
Portfolio Development Tips