Syllabus (W'14)

DIGM 680: Thesis Development

Winter Term 2013-2014

Meeting Time: Monday 12:00 pm – 02:50 pm, URBN Center 202

Instructors: Drs. Jichen Zhu & Michael Wagner

Office Hours: by appointment

Course Description

The distinguishing mark of graduate research is an original contribution to knowledge. The thesis is a formal document whose sole purpose is to prove that you have made an original contribution to knowledge. To this end, your thesis must show two important things:

• • You have identified a worthwhile problem or question which has not been previously answered,

  • You have solved the problem or answered the question.

The main purpose of this course is to guide you through the master thesis development process. A significant part of the class will focus on gaining a general understanding of reasoning and how the scientific and/or creative process is properly applied to research related to the DIGM program as well as the Drexel co-op approach to higher education. In particular, this term's focus is guide you along your thesis projects, proposed and approved last quarter, through this the scientific and/or creative process.

Learning Objectives

• • You will progress in the development of your Master's Thesis.

  • You will orally present your thesis projects to a variety of people from different backgrounds

  • You will create a demonstration of your project to be displayed in the lobby of URBN.

Format

Regular classroom sessions will consist of two parts:

• • Individual Master Thesis progress reports and discussions:

  • In each session, half of the class will present their progress and receive feedback from your instructors and peers.

  • External Critiques: There will be three external critiques where everyone will represent their projects to one or several Drexel faculty.

Requirements and Grading Policy

Active attendance of the classroom sessions is required and will count towards your grade. This includes participation in discussions and providing feedback to classmates.

You are expected to attend all classes. Class participation is an important part of your grade. Missing 3 classes may result in automatic failure. If a student must miss class, it is the student's responsibility to contact the instructors the day prior to the missed class. Students will also be responsible for getting missed notes from the other students.

Grading System

• • Class Participation 20 points

• External Critique 30 points

  • Thesis Progress 50 points

A+: 100-97, A: 94-96, A-: 90-93, B+: 87-89, B: 84-86, B-: 80-83,

C+: 77-79, C: 74-76, C-: 70-73, D+: 67-69, D: 60-66, F: 0-59

Group Assignment:

• • Group A: Kirk, Tom, Shao, Dan, Justin, Yue, Bingjie

  • Group B: Jenna, James, Liang, Chester, Phil, Bolun

Schedule (may be updated during the term)