Thesis Guidelines

 

  1. Select a Thesis Director.
    • Choose someone with a background and/or interest in your topic
    • Keep in mind that individual faculty in the MATC program may only direct 5 theses at a given time.
  2. Select at least two additional faculty to serve as members on your thesis committee.
  3. Get a copy of the "Thesis Handbook" distributed by the Graduate College (available online).
  4. Familiarize yourself with important procedures and deadlines detailed in the handbook. The Graduate College observes very strict deadlines for submission of thesis materials, especially in relation to commencement. These deadlines fall approximately 1 1/2 months prior to actual commencement dates.
  5. Work with your thesis director to develop a thesis proposal.
  6. If relevant, complete all steps required to receive Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.
  7. Submit thesis proposal to committee chair and committee members for approval and signatures.
  8. Submit thesis proposal to Graduate College for approval and signatures.
  9. Draft and revise the thesis in consultation with your director.
  10. Ask committee members how active they would like to be in the thesis writing process. Some thesis committee members elect to work with the student and his/her director throughout the thesis writing process; most, however, prefer to read the thesis only when the student and director have decided that it is in a "finished" state·typically toward the end of the student's enrollment in the second semester of thesis hours ("Thesis B").
  11. Schedule oral defense of the thesis.
  12. Submit copies of the finished thesis to committee members at least two weeks prior to your scheduled defense date.
  13. Complete 1-hour oral defense.

More information can be found at Thesis & Dissertation Resources on the Graduate College website.