Final Project Guidelines

This final project is an in-depth look at your chosen field, the opportunities that you have here at MSU, and how you need to plan to achieve your goals. Your project will have three parts, but does *not* have to be a written paper. It can be a film put together using iMovie, a comic strip or other art project, a website with links and information -- or some other idea I haven't thought about but you have.

At the end of class on March 8, you will post to your blog your plans for your final project -- what career and goals you will be exploring, what format you will take (like written or film or podcast or something else), and what resources you need to find or get.

Section 1: Personal profile

In this section, you are going to give an overview of yourself. Who are you, where are you from, what are you like as a student and as a person more generally? You're also going to talk about your future plans -- what you want to be and why. For me, I would talk about how I've always been interested in education and, specifically in college and higher education. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but after teaching seventh graders for a while, I decided I wanted to learn more about teaching and literacy, so I went back to school. (You get the gist, I think).

1. Your background
2. Your life at MSU
3. Your future

Section 2: Career profile and ideas

This section is going to look at the career you have chosen in more depth, both at MSU and in a larger sense. Here you will talk about your career, the job options in your field, the range of salaries, places where you might live with this career choice, etc. You will also do a profile of the program in your career field at MSU -- can you major in your career? What kinds of classes are available? Who are some of the faculty? Students? This will include an interview of either a professor or a full-time student in your area *or* someone with the same career.

1. Career overview
2. Majors and classes in your area at MSU
3. Profile of someone in your field

Section 3: Conclusion

Here's where you tie it all together and tell us the "So What?" part. What are the steps you're going to have to take to achieve your goal? How will your performance as a student figure into this? What have you learned in this class that you can directly relate to your field or career?

1. What are your next steps?
2. What will you take away from this class?
3. What are your goals and hopes?

Your final project is due on the last day of class: Submit here