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Proposing Your Thesis

During the semester(s) prior to your final term, you are encouraged to have informal discussions with faculty members whose interests/expertise intersect in some way with your thesis idea. These faculty may serve on your committee or may simply help advise you as you refine your thesis idea.

• Composition of the Thesis Committee

  Your thesis committee will be composed of three individuals who possess the requisite qualifications (terminal degree in the field or a closely related field) to be faculty in the MA English program. At least two of these individuals must be faculty members from the MA English program. No more than one of these individuals may be from another department at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ or from outside the University.

  The thesis committee includes a chair and two readers. The chair will serve as your primary advisor on the thesis, and the readers will be secondary advisors. The chair is considered the “instructor of record” and is responsible for assigning the thesis a grade in Banner.

  It is strongly recommended that your thesis committee provide you with diverse academic positions that intersect with your thesis topic. In other words, it is encouraged that your thesis committee represents more than one emphasis or area of interest within the MA English program (creative writing, English education, linguistics, literature, rhetoric/writing).

• The Body of the Proposal and Bibliography

  The body of your thesis proposal should be a detailed summary of your thesis project. This should include a summary of the project itself, the genres that it will explore (for a creative project), the problem/issue that will be addressed (for a professional project), the literary work(s) that will be studied and the critical/theoretical approaches that will be utilized (for a literary project), and the type(s) of research that will inform the project (for all sub-disciplines). Please note that it is expected, as a capstone to your studies, that your thesis will grow out of your previous work and that research and writing that you have done for prior coursework may be part of your thesis.

  Please note that it is expected, as a capstone to your studies, that your preliminary bibliography for the thesis will include some works that you have previously consulted/studied and that the total bibliography will be equivalent to the amount of reading you would complete during a course of equivalent credit hours. The bibliography should include primary and secondary sources. It is expected that creative project bibliographies will have mostly (or entirely) primary sources – published works that model forms, styles, and/or genres for the project – whereas bibliographies for other projects are likely to have significantly more secondary sources, as such there is no minimum requirement for the number of sources, only that the amount of reading be equivalent to a course of the same number of credit hours.

• Submitting the Thesis Proposal

  The completed thesis proposal should be submitted to the MA English program director at least one month prior to the semester during which the thesis will occur. Once approved by the director, the program’s administrative specialist will create the course and send you the CRN for registration purposes.

  The MA English program director is available to advise students on thesis ideas, proposals, and committees prior to submission.

• Meetings with your Committee

  You must schedule a meeting with your committee by the third Monday of the semester. At this first meeting, you should go over your proposal in more detail, including any work you have completed since the proposal. You should present your proposed calendar to the committee, including completion dates for readings, drafts/portions of drafts, and the defense date/time. Once the defense date has been set, either you or your chair (decide cooperatively) should contact the MA English administrative specialist with the date/time. They will create a calendar invite for you and your committee that you can also share with family/friends, and reserve a room. The defense date should be in the final full week of classes at the latest, providing time to make corrections before semester grades are due.

Types of Theses

• Professional Project Thesis (MENG 6940)

  Generally speaking, these theses will fall into either the education or rhetoric and writing (including technical writing) subdisciplines. Theses should address a specific problem/issue in the field, be written in academic prose as appropriate to the area, and adhere to the stylistic conventions of the sub-discipline. As some projects may include components that are not traditional forms of writing, such as the creation of teaching lessons/units/modules/materials, translations of works, charts/graphs, etc., the workload should be equivalent to that of a publication in the specific sub-discipline -or- the equivalent of 6,000-7,000 words in length. This may include a critical introduction to the project that is written in academic prose, utilizes secondary research in a professional manner, and is 10-12 pages (or 2500-3000 words) in length. The thesis should be formatted consistently using whichever style guide is most appropriate to the sub-discipline.

• Creative Thesis Projects (MENG 6950)

  The thesis includes a manuscript of original writing with a critical foreword, both requiring extensive research and substantial writing on the thesis topic. The manuscript can be a creative response to literary works or original creative poetry, fiction, and/or nonfiction. The critical introduction will situate the creative component within the literary, historical, and/or theoretical context(s) of the creative component.

  Creative Thesis Projects (MENG 6950)

• Literature Thesis (MENG 6960)

  Literature theses should be written in academic prose, adhering to the stylistic guidelines of the discipline as modeled in peer-reviewed publications. Three (3) credit theses should be approximately 6,000-7,000 words in length, including in-text references and works cited/bibliography. The thesis should be formatted consistently using whichever style guide is agreed upon with the committee.