Professional Paper

Professional papers take many forms. Students may work within any established tradition of social science (e.g., positivist, interpretivist, critical); they may focus on questions of interest to scholars or practitioners; and their analyses may be descriptive, explanatory, or normative in nature. To qualify for credit, a paper must meet the following six criteria to the satisfaction of supervisory committee members:  

1. It must pursue an empirical and/or theoretical analysis of some phenomenon relevant to the world of public affairs (broadly conceived) or human rights.

2. It must articulate why this phenomenon should be seen as significant.

3. It must draw on relevant sources to explain any methodology used in the analysis.

4. It must demonstrate that the student has developed a Masters-level understanding of a relevant theoretical and/or empirical literature.

5. Its analysis must meet methodological standards relevant for the student’s chosen approach.

6. It must clearly state what implications or lessons, if any, can be drawn from the analysis and acknowledge significant limitations of the research. 

Students should use and properly cite relevant literature, apply skills acquired through their coursework, and strive to write a paper that (with additional work) could potentially be publishable. Professional papers may or may not be based on an original collection of evidence but, in all cases, should reflect substantial research of some kind (e.g., based on a deep investigation of secondary sources). Professional papers should be planned in consultation with the supervisor; they should be developed and revised through an iterative process of writing drafts, reading drafts, and discussing revisions. Although the target length of a professional paper is generally about 30 pages of text, appropriate lengths and formats vary across Humphrey School concentrations and should be worked out with the supervisor. 

Here are some examples of prize-winning professional papers. Professional papers from past years are viewable on UMN’s Digital Conservancy. 

For a small number of students, a Professional Project alternative to the professional paper will be considered.  Examples of such projects that have been approved include a photojournalism documentary and the use of theater in post-conflict reconciliation.  Students may petition their program’s DGS to do a professional project by completing a Professional Project approval form.

Most students doing professional papers should complete them in the context of the PA 8082 seminar in the Spring semester of their second year. Students doing professional papers in Spring semester who do not take PA 8082 must submit a waiver request to their DGS in Fall semester before October 4; after approval they may enroll in PA 8921. This page lists all current program DGSs.

Beginning in Fall 2025, students who will be completing their professional paper in the spring semester will also be required to enroll in PA 5082: Professional Paper Preparation Workshop. This 1-credit course will support Professional Paper students to focus their broad topics, figure out specific research questions to address, find supervisors and committee members with appropriate experience who can guide them, decide how to address their research questions, figure out whether the data they hope to use will work for their purpose or if not, find other data, and submit IRB requests, if needed.

Students not enrolling in PA 8082, usually because they are completing the professional paper in summer or fall, may instead request a faculty member (typically the paper supervisor) to work with them through an independent study class, PA 8921 (Master's: Professional Paper). The waiver request must be submitted to their DGS by March 1 for summer and by April 1 for fall. Completing the professional paper through this option will require self-direction and time management on the part of the student. It is not the responsibility of the paper supervisor to set or enforce deadlines for the student.

Based upon topic of interest, a student will consult faculty with similar research and/or professional backgrounds to request permission to complete their professional paper under their guidance. This faculty member will typically be the paper supervisor and provide feedback and guidance during the writing and revision process. The student should work with the particular faculty member to determine the appropriate number of credits to register for (1–3 credits).

For students completing a professional paper in summer or fall, the supervisor would typically be the person to add an independent study section for that student. This works best if the supervisor is a member of the Humphrey faculty. Once the student and the Humphrey supervisor have reached an agreement, the faculty member should contact the registrar to request that a section of PA 8921 be added for the particular faculty member; the number of credits (1-3) should also be indicated. 

Click here for information for supervisors of Professional Papers.

• Professional paper or capstone? Think about whether, in the context of your busy life, you can undertake an independent research project requiring substantial effort, discipline, and perseverance. For many students, a capstone project is a more reliable path to degree completion.

• When would you undertake a professional paper? Spring semester completion enables you to participate in PA 8082, essentially a writing support group. That support does not exist in Fall or Summer.

• Does writing a professional paper align with your career objectives?

• What question are you trying to answer? Start figuring out your topic 4-8 months before you intend to start working on the paper. A substantial exploration period may be needed to figure out a research question, find data or get approval to collect data, find sources, and find faculty and other experts who are willing to advise on your topic.

• Do you have appropriate skills to undertake the proposed topic? For example, you should not plan a research project that requires doing interviews without already having studied qualitative methods.

• Who could supervise and advise on your topic? It is helpful to consult with multiple faculty/experts before confirming a two-person committee. Your committee must include one faculty member from an appropriate list (Humphrey Graduate Faculty for MPPs and MS-STEP students; Human Rights Graduate Faculty for MHRs); the second committee member may be UMN faculty or a community expert. The person who acts as supervisor is typically the person who can be the most helpful to the student during the paper-writing process. You may invite more than one additional committee member if appropriate.

• Have you explained their responsibilities to your supervisor and committee member(s)? (Send information for professional paper supervisors to them!) Students meet occasionally with their supervisors and less frequently with their other committee member(s). They show their recent work and get feedback and direction. Supervisors review several drafts of the paper; typically, committee members read only the complete draft just before the oral.

• Have you completed the Paper Topic Approval form? (Or the Professional Project Approval form?)

  • For Summer 2025 semester, due by March 1, 2025

  • For Fall 2025 semester, due by April 1, 2025

  • For Spring 2026 semester, due by October 3, 2025

  • For Summer 2026 semester, due by March 1, 2026

• Have you registered for PA 5082 in fall semester (Spring paper completion only)?

• Have you registered for PA 8082 (Spring paper completion only)?

• If you do not plan to register for PA 8082, did you submit the waiver form to your Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) for your degree to request permission to register for PA 8921? Once approved, send the waiver to hhhcss@umn.edu.

• Have you checked in with your committee? It is your responsibility to set up regular meeting times with your paper supervisor.

• Did you share your proposed timeline with committee members?

• About a month before the end of the semester: Did you schedule a tentative oral date?

• Is the paper ready? The supervisor gives the “okay” (or not) to proceed with the oral on the date scheduled.

• Is your cover page in the appropriate format? Use the Professional Paper Title Page Guidelines template (copy before making changes).

• Did you leave your committee members two weeks to read your paper before the oral?

• Are you expected to give a presentation in your oral? The supervisor determines what will happen in the oral. It could be entirely discussion (questions posed to the student, and discussion around the answers) or it could begin with a 10-15 minute formal presentation before the discussion.

• Did you schedule a conference room for your oral? (The HHH Front Desk can help with this.) Professional paper orals are typically one hour, but students should schedule 1.5 hours to allow time for debriefing with the supervisor after the oral.

• After the oral: Do you understand what, if any, revisions are needed? Typically, the supervisor reviews final revisions. In that case, committee members sign the cover page at the end of the oral.

• Does your supervisor understand your timeline for approving final revisions? For May graduation, the deadline for turning in everything is about May 20th. (The deadline is August 20th for summer or December 20th for fall.) The supervisor approves revisions made after the oral, then signs the cover page.

• Did you turn in the final three documents? Email hhhcss@umn.edu (1) the final paper, including an unsigned cover page; (2) a cover page signed by committee members to indicate completion; and (3) a Digital Conservancy Agreement Form.