Collaborative research or teacher research is an option in the Education major for the C&I Specialist in Music and Special Education General Curriculum Fifth Year programs.

Students should check the programs of study as outlined in the catalog to determine if this is the appropriate choice. The collaborative research or teacher research proposal will summarize the proposed study and give research methodology or critical framework for the study. The student in consultation with a faculty member either conducting similar research or willing to support the student's research formulates the collaborative research or teacher research proposal. It is then submitted to the student's research committee. The student's research committee will be composed of three graduate faculty members; adjunct faculty will not serve on this committee. The Longwood University Human and Animal Subjects Research Review committee must approve the proposal prior to commencement of the research.

Students must have already filed the Application for Graduate Degree to be eligible to enroll in MUSC 691 - Teacher Research or SPED 601 - Collaborative Special Education Research. Students will enroll in a minimum of one (1) credit hour of research per semester until completion. Each program sets the required total hours of research for completion of the degree, but there is no limit to the number of credits a student may earn in this course while pursuing completion of the degree. All research courses are to be graded on a pass (P) / satisfactory progress (SP) / not pass (NP) option and will not be used in calculating the grade point average (GPA). A grade of incomplete (I) may not be assigned. Students must remain continuously enrolled in at least one credit hour until completion.

General Requirements

Students should consult their advisors for specific departmental requirements and timelines for collaborative research and teacher research.

Collaborative Research (Special Education General Curriculum Fifth Year program)

The original copy of the ready-for-publication article shall follow the guidelines of a reputable content-area journal. The collaborative research project must be completed and in the hands of the examining committee no later than four weeks before the end of the semester in which the research will be completed. Presentation of the project to the student's committee must occur prior to the end of the semester. The final requirement for the collaborative research project is the submission of the revised article to the collaborative research chair who will then send written notification of completion to the Registrar and the College of Graduate and Professional Studies.

Teacher Research (C&I Specialist in Music program)

The General format of the written document should be the same as described above in "Thesis." In addition the student is responsible for including both a video recording of the presentations and an additional copy of any visuals (PP, etc.) used in the presentation. The timelines for completion of the research and document are included in the course syllabus. The required public presentation will be scheduled by the Department of Music for a Date in March, and all members of the Cohort who are completing their projects during that year will make their presentations at that time as a Symposium. After the public presentation the candidate will prepare three copies of the materials, submit them to the Library, and pay the binding fee to the Library.