Semester Reviews
Each semester, graduate students meet three times with their mentor committee (at least three SoAD faculty members). The first meeting is an informal planning session to set goals for the term. A mid-semester review offers a check-in on progress toward those goals. The end-of-semester review is a formal evaluation of the student’s advancement in the program and readiness for thesis work.
Students are evaluated on their creative practice, written research, effective use of tools, materials, and technology, as well as their written and oral communication skills.
As part of the end of semester review, mentors will consider the following areas of student progress and accomplishments:
- Creative Work: Each student’s mentors will review the creative work completed during the semester. This includes their exploration of Visual Communication, Critical Development, Content/Context, and Interdisciplinary Components.
- Written Communication: Students have the opportunity to demonstrate written proficiency through a research paper (minimum 5 pages) that follows either MLA, Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses/Dissertations, or guidelines set by your area coordinator. The paper should include an appropriate bibliography for their topic. Many students find it helpful to work with graduate writing consultants at the University Writing Center [https://writing.ecu.edu/uwc/].
- Oral Communication: Students oral communication will be considered through the defense of their creative work. To support the development of public speaking skills, students may also take advantage of consultations offered at the Speech Communication Center [https://communication.ecu.edu/cce/].
- Technological Capabilities: TMentors will also look at the ways students engaged with technologies in creating, documenting, disseminating, and preserving their work within their field(s) of specialization.
After each review, the SoAD Graduate Office compiles the committee’s evaluations to share with the students. Students are encouraged to meet with their committee to talk through the feedback, celebrate their progress, and discuss any recommendations that can help them continue to grow.
To support this process, students should share review materials—including visual documentation of their creative work—with the Graduate Program Director within two weeks of each review. This ensures their file is complete and allows the program to provide them with thorough support.
Upon successful completion of the spring review in the second year, students will be ready to take the next step: submitting the Pre-Thesis Research Approval Form. Once that form is approved, students will be registered for ART 7000 in the following semester and begin focusing energy on the thesis exhibition and written document.
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