Registering at NYU

On August 27th I attended the Media Ecology MA program orientation given I lacked enough information to make informed decisions about registration. On that and subsequent days I was fortunate to meet the following folks:

• Siva Vaidhyanathan , < sv24@nyu.edu >, similar interests (copyright, p2p)
• Alex Galloway , < galloway@nyu.edu >,similar interests (protocols)
• Salvatore Fallica, < sjf1@nyu.edu >, Associate Program Director
• Terrance Moran , < plb1@nyu.edu >, MA Program Director
• Linda Burns, < lmb3@nyu.edu >, Graduate Student Advisor
• Paul, MA student from Korea interested in broadcasting
• Donny, MA student who attended the undergrad program
• Annete, receptionist
• John Meyers, Financial, (212.998-5353)
• Helen Nissenbaum , < helen.nissenbaum@nyu.edu >, similar interests (ethics and value of design, also presently running the brown bag lunch series)
• JoEllen Fisherkeller , < jf4@nyu.edu > Ph.D. Program Director

and still need to meet with

• Arvind Rajagopal, < arvind.rajagopal@nyu.edu>, previous interim PhD director and leader of the PhD proseminar.

but I still have some outstanding questions which are high-lighted in the notes below. My goal is to build a curriculum that allows me to focus on new media (e.g., blogs, messaging, lists, etc.) as the "petri dish" (to borrow Professor Moran's metaphor) of collaberative communities (e.g., open source and standards).

Notes and Questions

1. Has anyone found my file, as my "contract" would be in that and it is presently misplaced?

   It's in Professor Fisherkeller's mbox.

2. Credits
   1. Why if my Fellowship (and a matriculation requirement I saw in the documentation) requires 12 credits, is the plan laid out presuming 9 requirements a semester?

      The allotment of credits (3 or 4 for the same work) is not consistent between all schools and courses. The Media Ecology program considers an academic semester of 9 credits sufficient, but Steinhardt requires twelve for my financial aid.

   2. Many of the Media Ecology courses are 3 credits, and many others at NYU are 4, which makes achieving 12 credits a bit more difficult. Furthermore, that then needs to be reconsiled with the "distribution requirements" which are multiples of three. Any reason for these differences, how are they best reconciled?

      Independent Study courses (E38.2300-04/5119) can be used to satisfy shortfalls.

   3. Given the above, my award letter says that if I exceed 12 credits, I need to inform John Meyers and adjustments may be made profided I inform them 3 weeks prior to the semseter! This is obviously difficult in my case. On 030829: Meyers said definitely have the 12 registered by deadline, and can tweak from there with possibility of 13 if necessary.
3. Funding: apparently funds appear after registration, and the stipend is obtained at the Graduate Enrollment services.
4. Courses
   1. From what schools of the "foundational disciplines" come? Does that include Steinhardt only, or Arts and Sciences as well?

      The Steinhardt School has a "Handbook for Doctoral Study" that explains some of this, though it is not online. The foundational courses are philosophy and history of education courses which don't seem very relevant.

   2. What are cognate studies (outside of one's specialization)? There's a number of courses outside of Steinhardt that I consider essential to my specialization, are they "cognate" just because they are outside the School?

      The handbook says they are 6 credits of electively close related to and supportive of specialization, but outside the program.

   3. What classes (exactly) are considered to be approriate classes to the specialization electives, only Steinhardt courses?
   4. Who makes the determination? Some of this categorization seems like a subjective call that needs to be made by a faculty, do I need to document that a course is being considered one thing instead of another?

      One seems to have to deal with one's adviser, the Director of the PhD program, Department, and the School's Dean's Assistant.

   5. Designations
      • E Steinhardt
        • E63 Applied Psych
        • E38 Media Ecology
      • G School of Arts and Sciences
        • G14 American Studies
        • G57 History
        • G54 Journalism
        • G62 Law and Society
        • G89 Psychology
        • G93 Sociology
5. Theses: Can folks point me to what they consider to be good examples of a "Media Ecology" thesis?
   • Sal Fallica recommends early dissertation by Lance Strate, Josh Meyrowitz, Jay Rosen, Cliff Hess, David Linton which can be found in the library.
6. I understand that at some point I will need to choose a Dissertaion Chair (probably should also be my advisor). The original proposal will go to the Chair and two "external" faculty, if approved my committee will then include the Chair and two related faculty.
7. How do I register for a Tisch course : H79.-2426: Social Software for Group Work? It's closed.
8. Can I take no 1000 level courses? B01.1302 is "Managing Organizations" which sounds interesting.

   I would have to determine if it is a graduate course, and then approved by Stern.

Classes

The following is my expected Fall 2003 Schedule:

KOrganizer Calendar

This page was created by Joseph M. Reagle Jr. with KOrganizer