Glossary of Terms
ABD (All But Dissertation): This is a term used to describe a doctoral student who has completed coursework and preliminary exams but has not completed the dissertation.
Academic Year: The academic year at WSU consists of two semesters, Fall and Spring.
Annual Review: The annual review is updated every spring and is an internal College of Communication document that records your progress to degree. If you are not progressing adequately, as defined by the Graduate School, your review will be sent to the Graduate School.
Comprehensive Exams: The comprehensive exams for MA students taking the non-thesis option includes a 6 hour written exam and a 2 hour oral defense. The written exam tests understanding of theoretical foundations of communication inquiry, methodological approaches in communication research, and the student’s area of specialization.
Curriculum Vita (CV): A special type of resume traditionally used within the academic community. Earned degrees, teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, and related activities are featured. Unlike a resume, a CV tends to be longer and more informational than promotional in tone.
Committee: A thesis/dissertation committee consists of three faculty members. Two faculty members must be from the College of Communication. One faculty member is identified as the chair or thesis/dissertation advisor of the committee. The chair is your primary contact and is responsible for guidance during your degree. This may or may not be your program advisor.
Dissertation: A dissertation is a substantial work of independent original research, at the doctoral level, which makes a contribution to the current body of knowledge in a scholarly field. A dissertation usually consists of an abstract, introduction with statement of problem, literature review, methods, results, discussion, limitations, and references (not necessarily in this order). Other sections may or may not be necessary depending on your individual research. Your chair will guide you further with regard to the details of your dissertation and all Graduate School guidelines must be followed.
ERMSOC (Edward R Murrow College of Communication): You may see E-mails from “ERMSOC” from time to time - don’t worry, it is not spam but important information and announcements from College of Communication faculty and staff.
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid): The needs analysis annual application for federal student aid programs. The FAFSA is due around March of every year for the following year.
Fellowship: A fellowship is money given to the student usually with no WSU work expectations. However, there may be additional guidelines to follow set forth by the granting agency.
Financial Aid Package: A "package" is any combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work funds used by the postsecondary institution to assist the student in meeting the cost of education.
Forbearance: Permitting the temporary cessation of repayments of loans, allowing an extension of time for making loan payments, or accepting smaller loan payments than were previously scheduled.
FTE (Full Time Equivalency): The number of hours an employee is expected to work. Forty hours per week is full time or 1.0 FTE. Twenty hours per week is half time or .50 FTE. Assistantships are usually considered half time employment (20 hours per week).
Full-Time Enrollment (Academic Year): Enrollment in a minimum of twelve graduate level credits. The normal load for a graduate student is 12-16 credit hours per semester. For those on assistantship the minimum is ten graduate level credits with the average student on assistantship enrolling in twelve. ** Note: in order to be eligible for financial aid you must be enrolled in a minimum number of graded credits. Be aware of this number for academic year and summer terms.
Graduate Studies Associate Director: The faculty member responsible for administering the graduate program in an academic department. In the College of Communication it is Dr. Elizabeth Blanks Hindman.
Grant: A grant is money given to the student with or without WSU work expectations. However, there may be additional guidelines to follow set forth by the granting agency.
Independent Student Status: A student who has attained age 24, or who has not attained age 24 but: is an orphan, is a ward of the court or was a ward of the court until age 18, is a veteran, is married or is a graduate or professional student, has legal dependents other than a spouse presents documentation of other unusual circumstances demonstrating independence to the student financial aid administrator in order to be reviewed.
IRB (Institutional Review Board): The Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Washington State University (WSU) is responsible for the review and approval of all projects involving human subjects. The IRB is charged with protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects to ensure that all are treated physically, psychologically and socially in such a way as to minimize embarrassment and stress, and to avoid harm or other negative effects in compliance with the federal, state and university regulations. All projects involving human subjects conducted by WSU faculty, staff and students must be approved by the IRB regardless of the funding source or location and prior to initiating any portion of the activity. It is especially important that graduate students who use data from human subjects for theses and dissertations be fully aware of this policy. Failure to comply with the IRB review may make it impossible for these documents to be accepted by the Graduate School.
International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Exam: An exam taken through the Intensive American Language Center in order for them to receive a teaching assistantship.
Mentor Program: The mentor program is an informal program in the College of Communication where returning graduate students are paired up with new graduate students. This program is designed to provide a resource for new students during their first year of graduate school and/or their TA assignment.
Minimum Enrollment: If you are a TA or RA you must be enrolled in a minimum of 10 credit hours in order to be considered full time and get your tuition waiver. If you are done with coursework you need to be enrolled in a minimum of 2 credit hours in order to defend.
Personnel Action Form (PAF): A form you will need to fill out if you are employed by WSU.
Preliminary Exams: Written and oral exams taken by doctoral students. These exams are taken near the end of their coursework. The exam is designed by the student’s committee to measure and reflect the specific areas and method’s of each program of study. The written component will take place over a week and will vary in length from 12-16 hours. The oral exam will follow and must be conducted by the last date to take it according to the WSU academic calendar.
Program Advisor: The faculty member appointed to mentor and guide you through the completion of your graduate degree, assigned to you prior to your arrival on the program. This person may or may not become the chair of your committee.
Program of Study: A form accessed from the Graduate School web site that must be filed with the Graduate School by your second semester of enrollment. It indicates the degree sought, general topic area, committee members, and course work plan. It must be approved and signed by your committee members, the chair of your department (Dr. Erica Weintraub Austin) and the Dean of the Graduate School (Dr. Howard Grimes).
Proposal / Prospectus: Before research has begun, students taking the thesis/dissertation option must orally present their research proposal to their committee. A proposal usually consists of an abstract, statement of problem, literature review, methods, expected results, and references (not necessarily in this order). The chair of your committee will be able to guide you further with regard to the details of your proposal.
Proposal Defense: An oral presentation of your research proposal to your committee members. This must be done before research can begin (i.e. data collection).
Research Assistantship (RA): Occasionally, faculty will hire graduate students to assist them with research projects. These projects are usually funded by grants or outside agencies. An RA may be ¼ time (10 hours per week) or ½ time (20 hours per week) depending on the assistantship and it may or may not include a tuition waiver.
Teaching Assistantship (TA): All ½ time (20 hours per week) teaching assistantships come with tuition waivers and require that you instruct 2 class sessions per semester. These are awarded per semester and usually at the start of fall. There may be situations where you may have a ¼ time (10 hours per week) TA assignment instructing one class.
Thesis: A thesis is a substantial master's level paper presenting independent research, which makes a contribution to the current body of knowledge in a scholarly field. A thesis usually consists of an abstract, introduction with statement of problem, literature review, methods, results, discussion, limitations, and references (not necessarily in this order). Other sections may or may not be necessary depending on your individual thesis. Your chair will guide you further with regard to the details of your thesis and all Graduate School guidelines must be followed.
TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language): A test taken by International students for admissions into a graduate program at WSU. A course can also be taken through the Intensive American Language Center in lieu of the TOEFL.