Students must register for DES 398R, Master’s Report, during the last semester in which they are enrolled in the M.F.A. program. The master’s report is an article-length (3000-8000 words) piece of writing that critically analyzes and visually documents the works displayed in the master’s exhibition (and/or a selection of major works completed for design classes and reviews in the design program). It must follow the content guidelines established by the Graduate Studies Committee in Design and the formatting and submission guidelines established by the Graduate School.
Although the emphasis of each report is different, in general, the report should provide a rationale for the work undertaken; articulate a question or problem that guided the research; describe the methods used to gather data and/or generate solutions; assess the success of the proposed solutions; and document the work’s appearance.
Format Check
All M.F.A. in Design students are required to perform a format check prior to submitting their master’s reports. For more information on formatting, go to Your report need not be fully complete to perform a format check.
Supervisor and Reader Signatures
You must secure the original signatures of your supervisor and reader(s) on a hard copy of the master’s report signature page. This page must be formatted to meet the Graduate School’s requirements. Students must ensure that the names of their supervisor(s) and reader(s) on the online Application to Graduate form exactly match the names and assigned roles on their report’s signature page; mismatches in names or committee roles can result in a delay in graduation and the necessity of re-enrolling in (and paying tuition for) DES 398R.
Students who wish to have non-UT co-supervisors or readers on their committees must have each such person sign a No-Expense Letter for Non-UT Committee Members. This form can be downloaded at https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/forms.
Digital Submission of the Report
After you have secured the signatures of your committee members on the hard-copy signature page and your supervisor has cleared you to submit the final copy of your report to the Graduate School, you must upload the final version of your report by following instructions here: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/theses-and-dissertations/digital-submission-requirement
In addition to the text of your report, you must be prepared to upload as PDFs the following pages/documents:
- a title page,
- a signature page (Note: only the hard copy of this page should be signed. The PDF that you upload should not include scans of your committee members’ signatures.)
- an abstract,
- a Statement of Research in Restricted Regions. You must submit this form regardless of whether or not you conducted research in a restricted region. Students who did travel to a restricted region must attach a copy of their IOC approval letter(s).
- a Statement on Research with Human Participants. You must submit this form regardless of whether or not your research involved human participants. Students whose research did involve human participants must attach a copy of their IRB approval letter or exemption notification.
Be aware that all master’s reports (and theses and dissertations) are uploaded and made available for public viewing in perpetuity; students should not include in their reports any images or writing that they do not wish made public to the world, nor any work by others that might violate copyright law.
Prior to uploading your report to the TDL, you will be asked to enter keywords pertinent to the subject of your report, to enter contact information, and to submit once again the names and roles of your committee members (be sure that the names and roles you enter match exactly those on your Application to Graduate and on your signature page). You will also be asked to declare that the contents of your report do not violate copyright law, either because you have not reproduced any copyrighted works in your report, have secured permission for the use of any copyrighted works contained in your report, or are claiming fair use of any copyrighted works contained in your report.
At the time of digital submission, students are also required to choose an “embargo option”: that is, to indicate whether they approve immediate publication of their report by the TDL, or whether they are requesting a one-year delay in TDL publication in order to publish their report’s results in another venue and/or to secure patent protection for innovations disclosed in the report. The Design Graduate Advisor and/or your report supervisor can provide guidance about whether or not you need to request an embargo on your report.
Hard-Copy Submission of Report Preliminary Pages to the Graduate School
The Graduate School no longer requires submission of a hard copy of the entire report. However, it does require the following documents to be delivered in print to the Graduate School by the submission deadline:
- a hard copy of the title page,
- a hard copy of the signature page that includes all committee members’ original signatures (Note: only the hard copy of this page should be signed. The PDF that you upload should not include scans of your committee members’ signatures.)
- a hard copy of the abstract,
- a signed hard copy of the (https://utexas.app.box.com/s/0o5krx1uoddl401h68bi4nczhwmenqjx). You must submit this form regardless of whether or not you conducted research in a restricted region. Students who did travel to a restricted region must append a printed copy of their IOC approval letter(s).
- a signed hard copy of the (https://utexas.app.box.com/s/zz7iath101cwjjr7d6c6c0t0vlctg8s1). You must submit this form regardless of whether or not your research involved human participants. Students whose research did involve human participants must append a copy of their IRB approval letter or exemption notification.
If a Report is Not Accepted
If a report is not accepted by a supervisor, reader, or the Graduate School, the student must register (and pay tuition) for DES 398R during the following semester(s) until the report has been accepted by the report supervisor, reader, and the Graduate School. The graduate advisor, the student, and the report committee may meet in order to advise the student on revisions.