The Master's Thesis
Each candidate must show evidence of his or her ability to research a discursive problem and write the findings clearly and correctly. To meet this requirement, the student prepares a Master?s thesis (50 - 100 pages), which should demonstrate the student?s ability to interpret closely and critically, on a subject agreeable to the student and the advisor of his or her Master?s thesis.
Thesis Policies and Procedures
Once a student has identified a topic of interest for a thesis, the student must meet with the Director of the graduate program, who will then recommend possible Advisors and Readers. This meeting should take place once a student has earned 12-15 credits at the graduate level. A graduate student writing a thesis must constitute his or her full thesis committee (one advisor and one reader, and they both must be active members of the department) under advisement by the department chair and the director of graduate studies. This committee must then approve a complete thesis proposal (as described below) before the student may proceed to writing the actual thesis.
A formal thesis proposal consists of:
- A thesis statement (roughly 2 sentences)
- A formal prospectus that identifies the research topic, describes the form of the argument, explains the importance of the research, and lists resources necessary to the project?s completion (3 - 4 pages).
- A working bibliography of at least twenty primary and secondary sources.
- A general identification of the tasks that will need to be completed (e.g., reading primary materials, conducting interviews, traveling to libraries, writing drafts,revising, etc.)
- A preliminary timeline for the completion of the tasks listed in #4. Each student should expect to give drafts of the thesis to their Advisor and Readers for feedback.
The final form of the thesis will vary according to the project, but it will (minimally) include:
- An abstract
- The thesis itself
- A bibliography
All theses must conform to a system of documentation recognized by the disciplines of English, Composition, and Communication: e.g., MLA style, APA style, Chicago style. Upon completion of the thesis, the student must successfully defend the thesis during a roughly one-hour oral examination conducted by the committee. The format of the defense will be question and answer. For a defense to be considered successful at least two members of the committee must pass the candidate. The committee has sole responsibility over the decision to pass or fail the candidate. The thesis defense will occur only after a student has completed all course requirements.
When the thesis has been approved, the student will provide the department with a bound copy for its files.