MISSOURI — The journalism department at the University of Missouri at Columbia has changed its requirements for master’s degrees in response to a dispute regarding the school’s policy on research projects.
\nThe journalism department will no longer require scientific research for master’s candidates. The university mandates that all scientific research projects gain the prior approval of an institutional review board.
\nMichael Carney, a journalism master’s student who graduated in May 2001, challenged the school’s policy last spring, arguing that subjecting journalism projects to institutional review violated the First Amendment. Carney’s proposal had been rejected in January 2001.