Overview

This section of the handbook combines all aspects of the examination policies and procedures associated with obtaining an MS from this department. These policies and procedures apply to degrees in OEH, ASH and IH. The information given here combines guidelines mandated by the Graduate College and those specific to this department. The student should refer to the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College for specific guidelines associated with these examinations, and the Graduate College Thesis Manual for guidelines associated with the preparation of a thesis or dissertation.

MS With Thesis Final Examination

For the MS in Occupational & Environmental Health, Industrial Hygiene and Agricultural Safety & Health, the Final Examination consists of the Thesis Defense, an oral examination of the of the purpose, methods, and results of the thesis research. A committee will thoroughly examine the student’s area of knowledge associated with the context of the work. It is acceptable to link the defense to a departmental seminar. The Master’s thesis must be directed by an Occupational and Environmental Health faculty member but not necessarily the student’s academic advisor. The master’s thesis must be of a scholarly quality with evidence of original thinking. This may or may not include data collection as determined by the student’s thesis committee.

Time Consideration

Deadlines are set by the Graduate College for the submission of the thesis. See the Graduate College website for the thesis single-deposit deadline associated with the semester you plan to obtain the degree. You will submit your thesis to the Graduate College after you have defended it and finalized the manuscript. At deposit, your thesis must be complete and in final form. It needs to include all required elements, finalized content and must be properly formatted. The written thesis must be distributed to the committee members at least two weeks prior to the thesis defense.

Committee

The thesis committee shall consist of at least three members of the graduate faculty as recommended by the student and approved by the student’s academic advisor; these members shall include the student’s advisor and at least two members from this department. (Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College, Section X.K)

Format

Instructions for preparing a thesis to satisfy requirements set by this Department and the Graduate College are described in the next section, “Instructions for Preparation of an MS Thesis”. MS Theses written by students of this department can be consulted as formatting examples. They are available from the OEH front office or by accessing an OEH thesis (given a known author) through the UI electronic thesis depository at UI electronic thesis depository.

Process

An announcement giving the thesis title; student name; date, place, and time of defense; and brief abstract is emailed to all OEH faculty, staff and students two weeks prior to the defense date.

If an audience is present in addition to the student’s committee members, the defense will consist of the following format.

• The chairperson introduces the student and explains the format that will be followed to the audience.
  • May include asking the student to give a brief history of their academic/work history (what brought you to this point?).
• The student then gives summary overview of the objectives and important findings associated with his/her work.
  • Limit time to 20-30 minutes.
  • Talk should be addressed more towards audience than committee members who have already read the thesis/dissertation.

• The question-and-answer period then follows where, initially, the audience is allowed to ask questions. Following audience questions, the audience is asked to leave and the committee members only will ask any additional questions. These questions are typically related to the content of the thesis and associated slides of the presentation. At the discretion of the committee, the student may also be examined on the broader professional and scientific issues associated with his/her scholastic focus area.

• Upon completion of the question-and-answer period, the committee members will convene a closed-door session to discuss the student’s performance during the oral presentation of thesis research. The committee will then also discuss the content of the thesis to determine whether (a) it satisfies the expected level of content and rigor in each of the three chapters, and (b) whether edits and/or additional material is required prior to acceptance. The student is informed of the result of the committee’s decision.
  
• The student is called back into the conference room and informed of the result of the committee’s decisions.

Outcomes

There are two outcomes associated with a thesis defense. The oral performance and the overall condition of the thesis will be designated as “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” by vote of the committee. Two unsatisfactory votes will make the committee report unsatisfactory, which constitutes a failure of the examination. If a failure is ruled, the student may retake the exam one time, no sooner than the next session (fall, spring, or summer) and no later than one year. A second failure will result in dismissal.

If less than two votes are “unsatisfactory”, the committee will then determine the acceptability of the contents of the student’s thesis. Generally, some changes to the thesis are requested by at least one committee member. The changes may be to reorganize a section, clarify a statement, or include additional information such as the inclusion of a figure or table. The student will then make the required changes and seek approval of them by the requesting committee member prior to making the deposit of the thesis. The official vote of acceptance of the thesis by the committee member is made in an online form generated by the Graduate College after the student has deposited the thesis via the ProQuest portal. During that process, a PDF of the thesis will be available for the committee member to view to be sure that the deposited thesis contains any requested changes.

Responsibilities

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all work is performed, and all forms are submitted, in a timely manner to obtain the degree. The forms and timelines originate from the Graduate College, which ultimately confers the degree, not the department. A detailed checklist of duties and responsibilities required for obtaining a degree is available from the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC).

Student

• Notifies Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) of intent to defend and works with GPC to satisfy all Graduate College requirements
• Sends requests to potential committee members
• Schedules defense date with advisor and committee members
• Completes thesis with sufficient time for review by advisor
• Prints and sends copies of thesis to advisor and committee members prior to defense
• Satisfies all Departmental requirements as given in the Detailed Checklist
• Submits thesis to ProQuest portal before the Graduate College deadline
• Provides an electronic (PDF) copy of the accepted thesis/dissertation to the departmental secretary for departmental records

Student and Advisor

• Selects committee members
• Determines potential defense date
• Reviews/edits student’s thesis prior to submission to committee members

Advisor

• Advises student on thesis content
• Chairs thesis defense
• Signs required forms

Graduate Program Coordinator

• Supplies a detailed checklist, needed forms and advice when asked by student
• Distributes announcement of thesis/dissertation defense

Instructions for Preparation of an MS Thesis

In the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, a Master’s thesis will generally consist of at least one manuscript that the Thesis Committee deems suitable for publication. The scope of the work entailed in the manuscript should be negotiated in advance with the Thesis Committee.

Thesis Composition

• The thesis will contain three sections:
  • an introductory chapter,
  • a chapter containing the body of a publishable manuscript ,
  • a concluding chapter.
• The introductory chapter will:
  • outline the larger problems addressed in the research,
  • discuss the purpose and major goals of the research, and (if requested)
  • contain a comprehensive literature review of the research area.
• The concluding chapter will:
  • show how the manuscripts shine light on the larger problems mentioned in the introduction,
  • address the significance of the research to the field(s) of Occupational and/or Environmental Health,
  • mention any aspect(s) of the research not included in the manuscripts but worthy of discussion, and
  • discuss the potential for future research.

Formatting Guidelines

• In general, follow formatting recommendations by the University of Iowa Graduate College for preparing an MS thesis when preparing the thesis or dissertation.
• In order to satisfy the format-check procedure of the Graduate College, the thesis must appear in all ways as a typical thesis or dissertation. For example:
  • The chapter that contains a manuscript must be formatted as if it were a chapter in a typical thesis.
  • The chapters must each contain a title and be numbered consecutively.
  • The format of subheadings must be consistent from chapter to chapter.
• Graphs and tables must be numbered in association with the chapter they are associated with (e.g. Figure 1.1 and 1.2 in Chapter 1 followed by Figure 2.1 and 2.2 in Chapter 2). They must also agree with the numbers given in the List of Figures and List of Tables.
• The same referencing style must be used throughout the thesis or dissertation regardless of whether the articles are submitted to different journals with different referencing styles.
• Given the comments above, some reformatting of a manuscript is expected prior to submission to the publisher of a peer-reviewed journal if submitted for publication.

MS With Internship Culminating Experience

A student choosing the internship option of the Industrial Hygiene master’s degree must enroll in OEH:7050 – OEH Internship during two consecutive spring semesters. The student must also attend a meeting during each previous fall semester that discusses the internship process. The culminating experience of the internship option consists of the Internship Presentation and written Internship Report, which are required for successful completion of OEH:7050. As part of the graduation requirements of students pursuing the MS in Industrial Hygiene internship option, a satisfactory grade in OEH:7050 must be obtained.

The Internship Presentation and Internship Report describe the internship site; its organizational structure (departments, production); health, safety, environmental systems relevant to the internship; and a detailed description of the self-directed internship project. Additional instructions are given in the section, “Instructions for Preparation of an MS Internship Report”. The Internship Report will be reviewed by a committee to thoroughly examine the student’s area of knowledge associated with the context of the work. The Internship Report must be directed by a faculty in OEH but not necessarily the student’s academic advisor.

Time Considerations

The student must complete an agreement with their internship advisor and EHS representative at the internship site by the end of their first spring semester. Students should complete their internship before the spring semester of the student’s second year. The Internship Report should be provided to the advisor by the beginning of spring break. The student must submit the revised Internship Report to their committee a minimum of two weeks prior to the scheduled presentation.

The final report must be submitted to the committee and the instructor of OEH:7050 by the thesis deposit date for the University.

Committee

At a minimum, the internship committee shall consist of at least two members. One member shall include the OEH faculty internship advisor who directs the Internship Report. A second member may be the EHS representative from the internship site or another graduate faculty at the University. The committee should have expertise in the work that was performed for the internship project.

Process

The student will work with the Graduate Program Coordinator to prepare an announcement of the presentation that will be given to all OEH faculty, staff, and students at least two weeks prior to the Internship Presentation scheduled event. It will include: the Internship Report’s title; student name; date, place, and time of presentation; and a brief abstract. Attendance will be open to the public.

The presentation will consist of the following format.

• The OEH internship advisor introduces the student presenting.
• The student then provides a 15-minute presentation that covers the major aspects of the Internship Report, including the following:
  • Where and when the internship occurred, with acknowledgement of the intern supervisor
  • A brief description of the workplace – number of employees, shift, product made, EHS structure
  • Summary of the project performed, to include: risk, objectives, product(s) developed, feedback from the internship supervisor
  • Specific examples to demonstrate achieving departmental competencies and/or student outcomes relevant to the field of study
  • Lessons learned from the experience and reflection of what EHS skills you developed with this internship, pointing to the most significant departmental competencies and/or student outcomes relevant to the field of study
  • Note: elements of the report and presentation may be redacted or otherwise rendered non-identifiable in cases where confidentiality is needed.
• The audience asks questions for up to 5 minutes, with questions preferentially coming from faculty, staff and students with whom the student has not worked with in OEH:7050.

Outcomes

The internship advisor will determine the acceptability of the student’s written Internship Report. Acceptability will be defined as having adequately addressed all comments on the Internship Report from the committee. The advisor will report the results (satisfactory or unsatisfactory) to the director of OEH:7050 by the final examination week.

In addition to a satisfactory Internship Report,  PDF versions of the Internship Presentation and the Internship Report must be uploaded to the dropbox on the ICON site for OEH:7050 to receive a “satisfactory” grade in OEH:7050.

Responsibilities

Student

• Notifies the OEH Graduate Program Coordinator of intent to graduate during final spring semester.
• Enrolls in OEH:7050 to develop internship plan and to secure agreements from the EHS supervisor at the internship site and by your academic advisor.
• Identifies Internship Advisor based on the internship goals and site selected.
• Sends requests to potential committee member(s).
• Completes Internship Report with sufficient time for review as defined by advisor.
• Emails copies of Internship Report in MS Word format to advisor and committee member(s) at least two weeks prior to the Internship Presentation.
• Obtains committee signatures on report signature page.
• NOTE: The Internship Report is not publicly available and is not sent to the Graduate College. It is available for future students to review for content/style and for program accreditation, only. Should the EHS personnel at the internship site require anonymity, information on the company and any employee names must be redacted by the student.

Student and Internship Advisor

• Selects committee members.
• Review/edit student’s report prior to submission to committee members.

Internship Advisor

• Negotiates with student and internship EHS personnel regarding suitable project.
• Provides feedback on Internship Report in a timely fashion.
• Attends oral defense presentation of Internship Report.
• Provides feedback and coordinates that of committee, recording pass/fail recommendation.
• Provides feedback to student and OEH:7050 primary faculty.

Graduate Program Coordinator

• Distributes announcement of Internship Presentation.

Instructions for Preparation of an MS Internship Report

In the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, a Master’s Internship Report consists of three chapters, with the central chapter providing a detailed description of the key project that was completed during the internship. The scope of the work for this report is agreed to by the student, advisor, and the EHS representative at the internship site.

Report Composition

The master’s Internship Report must refer to the significance of the health/safety/environmental hazard being addressed and must contain site-specific materials or analysis relevant to the proposed project agreed upon between the student, the advisor, and the EHS representative at the internship site. The structure of the report of the report is as follows:

• Introductory Chapter: Description of the Worksite and Hazard Review
  • Summarize the personnel, EHS structure, and what is produced
  • Summarize the overall manufacturing process (what comes in, what goes out), using terminology understood by the host site and translated to ensure the general public understands the process
    NOTE: You will want someone at your host site to review this
  • Summarize the key hazards / risks that are associated with this internship site (this requires a literature search)
  • Summarize the hazards that pose a major concern to your EHS personnel
    NOTE: This should feed into justification of why you have chosen the project you will report in the next chapter
• Middle Chapter: Description of your Project
  • Introduction: Justify the need for the project you worked on (use literature and include regulatory or consensus standards or new health/risk information to justify the need).
  • Methods: What did you do and how did you do it
  • Results: What did you generate/find/decide
  • Discussion: Consider how your project might impact those at your internship site; will it stand up to time or is more needed; what should be done next?
  • Recommendations / Conclusion: pick whichever is most appropriate to end this chapter.
• Final Chapter: What Was Learned from the Internship
  • Discuss your opinions on the significance of your project to EHS at your internship site
  • Identify and discuss key competencies (programmatic) that you developed during this project, giving specific examples of each of these
  • Identify anything you would change about the way you completed your project, knowing now what you did not know at the time
  • Identify recommendations for future actions at the internship site
  • Provide any other pertinent self-reflection on the project you are willing to share

Formatting Guidelines

• In general, follow formatting recommendations by the University of Iowa Graduate College for preparing an MS thesis when preparing the Internship Report.
• For example:
  • The chapters must each contain a title and be numbered consecutively.
  • The format of subheadings must be consistent from chapter to chapter.
  • Figures and tables must be numbered in association with the chapter they are associated with (e.g., Figure 1.1 and 1.2 in Chapter 1 followed by Figure 2.1 and 2.2 in Chapter 2). They must also agree with the numbers given in the List of Figures and List of Tables (both in the front).
  • The same referencing style must be used throughout the document.