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  • Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Published on June 7, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on November 21, 2023.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process . It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding the specifics of your dissertation topic and showcasing its relevance to your field.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

  • Your anticipated title
  • Your abstract
  • Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review, research methods, avenues for future research, etc.)

In the final product, you can also provide a chapter outline for your readers. This is a short paragraph at the end of your introduction to inform readers about the organizational structure of your thesis or dissertation. This chapter outline is also known as a reading guide or summary outline.

Table of contents

How to outline your thesis or dissertation, dissertation and thesis outline templates, chapter outline example, sample sentences for your chapter outline, sample verbs for variation in your chapter outline, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis and dissertation outlines.

While there are some inter-institutional differences, many outlines proceed in a fairly similar fashion.

  • Working Title
  • “Elevator pitch” of your work (often written last).
  • Introduce your area of study, sharing details about your research question, problem statement , and hypotheses . Situate your research within an existing paradigm or conceptual or theoretical framework .
  • Subdivide as you see fit into main topics and sub-topics.
  • Describe your research methods (e.g., your scope , population , and data collection ).
  • Present your research findings and share about your data analysis methods.
  • Answer the research question in a concise way.
  • Interpret your findings, discuss potential limitations of your own research and speculate about future implications or related opportunities.

For a more detailed overview of chapters and other elements, be sure to check out our article on the structure of a dissertation or download our template .

To help you get started, we’ve created a full thesis or dissertation template in Word or Google Docs format. It’s easy adapt it to your own requirements.

 Download Word template    Download Google Docs template

Chapter outline example American English

It can be easy to fall into a pattern of overusing the same words or sentence constructions, which can make your work monotonous and repetitive for your readers. Consider utilizing some of the alternative constructions presented below.

Example 1: Passive construction

The passive voice is a common choice for outlines and overviews because the context makes it clear who is carrying out the action (e.g., you are conducting the research ). However, overuse of the passive voice can make your text vague and imprecise.

Example 2: IS-AV construction

You can also present your information using the “IS-AV” (inanimate subject with an active verb ) construction.

A chapter is an inanimate object, so it is not capable of taking an action itself (e.g., presenting or discussing). However, the meaning of the sentence is still easily understandable, so the IS-AV construction can be a good way to add variety to your text.

Example 3: The “I” construction

Another option is to use the “I” construction, which is often recommended by style manuals (e.g., APA Style and Chicago style ). However, depending on your field of study, this construction is not always considered professional or academic. Ask your supervisor if you’re not sure.

Example 4: Mix-and-match

To truly make the most of these options, consider mixing and matching the passive voice , IS-AV construction , and “I” construction .This can help the flow of your argument and improve the readability of your text.

As you draft the chapter outline, you may also find yourself frequently repeating the same words, such as “discuss,” “present,” “prove,” or “show.” Consider branching out to add richness and nuance to your writing. Here are some examples of synonyms you can use.

Address Describe Imply Refute
Argue Determine Indicate Report
Claim Emphasize Mention Reveal
Clarify Examine Point out Speculate
Compare Explain Posit Summarize
Concern Formulate Present Target
Counter Focus on Propose Treat
Define Give Provide insight into Underpin
Demonstrate Highlight Recommend Use

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

The title page of your thesis or dissertation goes first, before all other content or lists that you may choose to include.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

  • Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

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How to Write a Master's Thesis: A Guide to Planning Your Thesis, Pursuing It, and Avoiding Pitfalls

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Part 1: Initial Considerations

Who needs to write a master’s thesis.

Thesis writing is one of the more daunting challenges of higher education. That being said, not all master's students have to write a thesis. For example, fields that place a stronger emphasis on applied knowledge, such as nursing, business, and education, tend to have projects and exams to test students on the skills and abilities associated with those fields. Conversely, in disciplines that require in-depth research or highly polished creative abilities, students are usually expected to prove their understanding and independence with a thesis.

What's Your Goal?

Do you want to write a thesis? The process is a long one, often spanning years. It's best to know exactly what you want before you begin. Many people are motivated by career goals. For example, hiring managers may see a master's degree as proof that the candidate is an expert within their field and can lead, motivate, and demonstrate initiative for themselves and others. Others dream of earning their doctorate, and they see a master's degree as a stepping stone toward their Ph.D .

master's thesis projects

No matter what your desired goal is, you should have one before you start your thesis. With your goal in mind, your work will have a purpose, which will allow you to measure your progress more easily.

Major Types of Theses

Once you've carefully researched or even enrolled in a master's program—a feat that involves its own planning and resources —you should know if you are expected to produce a quantitative (which occurs in many math and science programs), qualitative (which occurs in many humanities programs), or creative (which occurs in many creative writing, music, or fine arts programs) thesis.

Time and Energy Considerations

Advanced degrees are notoriously time and energy consuming. If you have a job, thesis writing will become your second job. If you have a family, they will need to know that your thesis will take a great deal of your attention, energy, and focus.

master's thesis projects

Your studies should not consume you, but they also should not take a back seat to everything else. You will be expected to attend classes, conduct research, source relevant literature, and schedule meetings with various people as you pursue your master's, so it's important to let those you care about know what's going on.

As a general note, most master's programs expect students to finish within a two-year period but are willing to grant extra time if requested, especially if that time is needed to deal with unexpected life events (more on those later).

Part 2: Form an Initial Thesis Question, and Find a Supervisor

When to begin forming your initial thesis question.

Some fields, such as history, may require you to have already formed your thesis question and to have used it to create a statement of intent (outlining the nature of your research) prior to applying to a master’s program. Others may require this information only after you've been accepted. Most of the time, you will be expected to come up with your topic yourself. However, in some disciplines, your supervisor may assign a general research topic to you.

Overall, requirements vary immensely from program to program, so it's best to confirm the exact requirements of your specific program.

What to Say to Your Supervisor

You will have a supervisor during your master's studies. Have you identified who that person will be? If yes, have you introduced yourself via email or phone and obtained information on the processes and procedures that are in place for your master's program? Once you've established contact, request an in-person meeting with him or her, and take a page of questions along with you. Your questions might include:

  • Is there a research subject you can recommend in my field?
  • I would like to pursue [target research subject] for my thesis. Can you help me narrow my focus?
  • Can you give me an example of a properly formatted thesis proposal for my program?

Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help (to a Degree)

Procedures and expectations vary from program to program, and your supervisor is there to help remove doubt and provide encouragement so you can follow the right path when you embark on writing your thesis. Since your supervisor has almost certainly worked with other graduate students (and was one at some point), take advantage of their experience, and ask questions to put your mind at ease about how to write a master’s thesis.

That being said, do not rely too heavily on your supervisor. As a graduate student, you are also expected to be able to work independently. Proving your independent initiative and capacity is part of what will earn you your master's degree.

Part 3: Revise Your Thesis

Read everything you can get your hands on.

Whether you have a question or need to create one, your next step is simple and applies to all kinds of theses: read.

master's thesis projects

Seek Out Knowledge or Research Gaps

Read everything you can that relates to the question or the field you are studying. The only way you will be able to determine where you can go is to see where everyone else has been. After you have read some published material, you will start to spot gaps in current research or notice things that could be developed further with an alternative approach. Things that are known but not understood or understood but not explained clearly or consistently are great potential thesis subjects. Addressing something already known from a new perspective or with a different style could also be a potentially valuable project. Whichever way you choose to do it, keep in mind that your project should make a valuable contribution to your field.

master's thesis projects

Talk with Experts in Your Field (and Don't Be Afraid to Revise Your Thesis)

To help narrow down your thesis topic, talk to your supervisor. Your supervisor will have an idea of what is current in your field and what can be left alone because others are already working on it. Additionally, the school you are attending will have programs and faculty with particular areas of interest within your chosen field.

On a similar note, don't be surprised if your thesis question changes as you study. Other students and researchers are out there, and as they publish, what you are working on can change. You might also discover that your question is too vague, not substantial enough, or even no longer relevant. Do not lose heart! Take what you know and adjust the question to address these concerns as they arise. The freedom to adapt is part of the power you hold as a graduate student.

Part 4: Select a Proposal Committee

What proposal committees are and why they're useful.

When you have a solid question or set of questions, draft a proposal.

master's thesis projects

You'll need an original stance and a clear justification for asking, and answering, your thesis question. To ensure this, a committee will review your thesis proposal. Thankfully, that committee will consist of people assigned by your supervisor or department head or handpicked by you. These people will be experts who understand your field of study and will do everything in their power to ensure that you are pursuing something worthwhile. And yes, it is okay to put your supervisor on your committee. Some programs even require that your supervisor be on your committee.

Just remember that the committee will expect you to schedule meetings with them, present your proposal, respond to any questions they might have for you, and ultimately present your findings and thesis when all the work is done. Choose those who are willing to support you, give constructive feedback, and help address issues with your proposal. And don't forget to give your proposal a good, thorough edit and proofread before you present it.

How to Prepare for Committee Meetings

Be ready for committee meetings with synopses of your material for committee members, answers for expected questions, and a calm attitude. To prepare for those meetings, sit in on proposal and thesis defenses so you can watch how other graduate students handle them and see what your committee might ask of you. You can even hold rehearsals with friends and fellow students acting as your committee to help you build confidence for your presentation.

master's thesis projects

Part 5: Write Your Thesis

What to do once your proposal is approved.

After you have written your thesis proposal and received feedback from your committee, the fun part starts: doing the work. This is where you will take your proposal and carry it out. If you drafted a qualitative or quantitative proposal, your experimentation or will begin here. If you wrote a creative proposal, you will now start working on your material. Your proposal should be strong enough to give you direction when you perform your experiments, conduct interviews, or craft your work. Take note that you will have to check in with your supervisor from time to time to give progress updates.

master's thesis projects

Thesis Writing: It's Important to Pace Yourself and Take Breaks

Do not expect the work to go quickly. You will need to pace yourself and make sure you record your progress meticulously. You can always discard information you don't need, but you cannot go back and grab a crucial fact that you can't quite remember. When in doubt, write it down. When drawing from a source, always create a citation for the information to save your future self time and stress. In the same sense, you may also find journaling to be a helpful process.

Additionally, take breaks and allow yourself to step away from your thesis, even if you're having fun (and especially if you're not). Ideally, your proposal should have milestones in it— points where you can stop and assess what you've already completed and what's left to do. When you reach a milestone, celebrate. Take a day off and relax. Better yet, give yourself a week's vacation! The rest will help you regain your focus and ensure that you function at your best.

How to Become More Comfortable with Presenting Your Work

Once you start reaching your milestones, you should be able to start sharing what you have. Just about everyone in a graduate program has experience giving a presentation at the front of the class, attending a seminar, or watching an interview. If you haven't (or even if you have), look for conferences and clubs that will give you the opportunity to learn about presenting your work and become comfortable with the idea of public speaking. The more you practice talking about what you are studying, the more comfortable you'll be with the information, which will make your committee defenses and other official meetings easier.

Published authors can be called upon to present at conferences, and if your thesis is strong, you may receive an email or a phone call asking if you would share your findings onstage.

Presenting at conferences is also a great way to boost your CV and network within your field. Make presenting part of your education, and it will become something you look forward to instead of fear.

What to Do If Your Relationship with Your Supervisor Sours

A small aside: If it isn't already obvious, you will be communicating extensively with others as you pursue your thesis. That also means that others will need to communicate with you, and if you've been noticing things getting quiet, you will need to be the one to speak up. Your supervisor should speak to you at least once a term and preferably once a week in the more active parts of your research and writing. If you give written work to your supervisor, you should have feedback within three weeks.

If your supervisor does not provide feedback, frequently misses appointments, or is consistently discouraging of your work, contact your graduate program advisor and ask for a new supervisor. The relationship with your supervisor is crucial to your success, especially if she or he is on your committee, and while your supervisor does not have to be friendly, there should at least be professional respect between you.

What to Do If a Crisis Strikes

If something happens in your life that disrupts everything (e.g., emotional strain, the birth of a child, or the death of a family member), ask for help. You are a human being, and personal lives can and do change without warning. Do not wait until you are falling apart before asking for help, either. Learn what resources exist for crises before you have one, so you can head off trauma before it hits. That being said, if you get blindsided, don't refuse help. Seek it out, and take the time you need to recover. Your degree is supposed to help you become a stronger and smarter person, not break you.

Part 6: Polish and Defend Your Master's Thesis

How to write a master’s thesis: the final stages.

After your work is done and everything is written down, you will have to give your thesis a good, thorough polishing. This is where you will have to organize the information, draft it into a paper format with an abstract, and abbreviate things to help meet your word-count limit. This is also where your final editing and proofreading passes will occur, after which you will face your final hurdle: presenting your thesis defense to your committee. If they approve your thesis, then congratulations! You are now a master of your chosen field.

Conclusion and Parting Thoughts

Remember that you do not (and should not) have to learn how to write a master’s thesis on your own. Thesis writing is collaborative, as is practically any kind of research.

master's thesis projects

While you will be expected to develop your thesis using your own initiative, pursue it with your own ambition, and complete it with your own abilities, you will also be expected to use all available resources to do so. The purpose of a master's thesis is to help you develop your own independent abilities, ensuring that you can drive your own career forward without constantly looking to others to provide direction. Leaders get master's degrees. That's why many business professionals in leadership roles have graduate degree initials after their last names. If you already have the skills necessary to motivate yourself, lead others, and drive change, you may only need your master's as an acknowledgement of your abilities. If you do not, but you apply yourself carefully and thoroughly to the pursuit of your thesis, you should come away from your studies with those skills in place.

A final thought regarding collaboration: all theses have a section for acknowledgements. Be sure to say thank you to those who helped you become a master. One day, someone might be doing the same for you.

Image source: Falkenpost/Pixabay.com 

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A Scribendi in-house editor, Anthony is happily putting his BA in English from Western University to good use with thoughtful feedback and incisive editing. An avid reader and gamer, he can be found during his off hours enjoying narrative-driven games and obscure and amusing texts, as well as cooking for his family.

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How to write a masters dissertation or thesis: top tips.

How to write a masters dissertation

It is completely normal to find the idea of writing a masters thesis or dissertation slightly daunting, even for students who have written one before at undergraduate level. Though, don’t feel put off by the idea. You’ll have plenty of time to complete it, and plenty of support from your supervisor and peers.

One of the main challenges that students face is putting their ideas and findings into words. Writing is a skill in itself, but with the right advice, you’ll find it much easier to get into the flow of writing your masters thesis or dissertation.

We’ve put together a step-by-step guide on how to write a dissertation or thesis for your masters degree, with top tips to consider at each stage in the process.

1. Understand your dissertation or thesis topic

There are slight differences between theses and dissertations , although both require a high standard of writing skill and knowledge in your topic. They are also formatted very similarly.

At first, writing a masters thesis can feel like running a 100m race – the course feels very quick and like there is not as much time for thinking! However, you’ll usually have a summer semester dedicated to completing your dissertation – giving plenty of time and space to write a strong academic piece.

By comparison, writing a PhD thesis can feel like running a marathon, working on the same topic for 3-4 years can be laborious. But in many ways, the approach to both of these tasks is quite similar.

Before writing your masters dissertation, get to know your research topic inside out. Not only will understanding your topic help you conduct better research, it will also help you write better dissertation content.

Also consider the main purpose of your dissertation. You are writing to put forward a theory or unique research angle – so make your purpose clear in your writing.

Top writing tip: when researching your topic, look out for specific terms and writing patterns used by other academics. It is likely that there will be a lot of jargon and important themes across research papers in your chosen dissertation topic. 

How to write a thesis

2. Structure your dissertation or thesis

Writing a thesis is a unique experience and there is no general consensus on what the best way to structure it is. 

As a postgraduate student , you’ll probably decide what kind of structure suits your research project best after consultation with your supervisor. You’ll also have a chance to look at previous masters students’ theses in your university library.

To some extent, all postgraduate dissertations are unique. Though they almost always consist of chapters. The number of chapters you cover will vary depending on the research. 

A masters dissertation or thesis organised into chapters would typically look like this: 

Section

Description

Title page

The opening page includes all relevant information about the project.

Abstract

A brief project summary including background, methodology and findings.

Contents

A list of chapters and figures from your project.

Chapter 1 – Background

A description of the rationale behind your project.

Chapter 2 – Literature Review

A summary and evaluation of the literature supporting your project.

Chapter 3 – Methodology

A description of the specific methodology used in your project.

Chapter 4-6 – Data analysis and Findings

An overview of the key findings and data from your research.

Chapter 7 - Discussion and Evaluation

A description of what the data means and what you can draw from the findings.

Chapter 8 - Conclusion

Main summary of your overall project and key findings.

Bibliography

A list of the references cited in your dissertation or thesis.

Appendices

Additional materials used in your research.

Write down your structure and use these as headings that you’ll write for later on.

Top writing tip : ease each chapter together with a paragraph that links the end of a chapter to the start of a new chapter. For example, you could say something along the lines of “in the next section, these findings are evaluated in more detail”. This makes it easier for the reader to understand each chapter and helps your writing flow better.

3. Write up your literature review

One of the best places to start when writing your masters dissertation is with the literature review. This involves researching and evaluating existing academic literature in order to identify any gaps for your own research.

Many students prefer to write the literature review chapter first, as this is where several of the underpinning theories and concepts exist. This section helps set the stage for the rest of your dissertation, and will help inform the writing of your other dissertation chapters.

What to include in your literature review

The literature review chapter is more than just a summary of existing research, it is an evaluation of how this research has informed your own unique research.

Demonstrate how the different pieces of research fit together. Are there overlapping theories? Are there disagreements between researchers?

Highlight the gap in the research. This is key, as a dissertation is mostly about developing your own unique research. Is there an unexplored avenue of research? Has existing research failed to disprove a particular theory?

Back up your methodology. Demonstrate why your methodology is appropriate by discussing where it has been used successfully in other research.

4. Write up your research

Write up your thesis research

For instance, a more theoretical-based research topic might encompass more writing from a philosophical perspective. Qualitative data might require a lot more evaluation and discussion than quantitative research. 

Methodology chapter

The methodology chapter is all about how you carried out your research and which specific techniques you used to gather data. You should write about broader methodological approaches (e.g. qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods), and then go into more detail about your chosen data collection strategy. 

Data collection strategies include things like interviews, questionnaires, surveys, content analyses, discourse analyses and many more.

Data analysis and findings chapters

The data analysis or findings chapter should cover what you actually discovered during your research project. It should be detailed, specific and objective (don’t worry, you’ll have time for evaluation later on in your dissertation)

Write up your findings in a way that is easy to understand. For example, if you have a lot of numerical data, this could be easier to digest in tables.

This will make it easier for you to dive into some deeper analysis in later chapters. Remember, the reader will refer back to your data analysis section to cross-reference your later evaluations against your actual findings – so presenting your data in a simple manner is beneficial.

Think about how you can segment your data into categories. For instance, it can be useful to segment interview transcripts by interviewee. 

Top writing tip : write up notes on how you might phrase a certain part of the research. This will help bring the best out of your writing. There is nothing worse than when you think of the perfect way to phrase something and then you completely forget it.

5. Discuss and evaluate

Once you’ve presented your findings, it’s time to evaluate and discuss them.

It might feel difficult to differentiate between your findings and discussion sections, because you are essentially talking about the same data. The easiest way to remember the difference is that your findings simply present the data, whereas your discussion tells the story of this data.

Your evaluation breaks the story down, explaining the key findings, what went well and what didn’t go so well.

In your discussion chapter, you’ll have chance to expand on the results from your findings section. For example, explain what certain numbers mean and draw relationships between different pieces of data.

Top writing tip: don’t be afraid to point out the shortcomings of your research. You will receive higher marks for writing objectively. For example, if you didn’t receive as many interview responses as expected, evaluate how this has impacted your research and findings. Don’t let your ego get in the way!

6. Write your introduction

Your introduction sets the scene for the rest of your masters dissertation. You might be wondering why writing an introduction isn't at the start of our step-by-step list, and that’s because many students write this chapter last.

Here’s what your introduction chapter should cover:

Problem statement

Research question

Significance of your research

This tells the reader what you’ll be researching as well as its importance. You’ll have a good idea of what to include here from your original dissertation proposal , though it’s fairly common for research to change once it gets started.

Writing or at least revisiting this section last can be really helpful, since you’ll have a more well-rounded view of what your research actually covers once it has been completed and written up.

How to write a masters dissertation

Masters dissertation writing tips

When to start writing your thesis or dissertation.

When you should start writing your masters thesis or dissertation depends on the scope of the research project and the duration of your course. In some cases, your research project may be relatively short and you may not be able to write much of your thesis before completing the project. 

But regardless of the nature of your research project and of the scope of your course, you should start writing your thesis or at least some of its sections as early as possible, and there are a number of good reasons for this:

Academic writing is about practice, not talent. The first steps of writing your dissertation will help you get into the swing of your project. Write early to help you prepare in good time.

Write things as you do them. This is a good way to keep your dissertation full of fresh ideas and ensure that you don’t forget valuable information.

The first draft is never perfect. Give yourself time to edit and improve your dissertation. It’s likely that you’ll need to make at least one or two more drafts before your final submission.

Writing early on will help you stay motivated when writing all subsequent drafts.

Thinking and writing are very connected. As you write, new ideas and concepts will come to mind. So writing early on is a great way to generate new ideas.

How to improve your writing skills

The best way of improving your dissertation or thesis writing skills is to:

 Finish the first draft of your masters thesis as early as possible and send it to your supervisor for revision. Your supervisor will correct your draft and point out any writing errors. This process will be repeated a few times which will help you recognise and correct writing mistakes yourself as time progresses.

If you are not a native English speaker, it may be useful to ask your English friends to read a part of your thesis and warn you about any recurring writing mistakes. Read our section on English language support for more advice. 

Most universities have writing centres that offer writing courses and other kinds of support for postgraduate students. Attending these courses may help you improve your writing and meet other postgraduate students with whom you will be able to discuss what constitutes a well-written thesis.

Read academic articles and search for writing resources on the internet. This will help you adopt an academic writing style, which will eventually become effortless with practice.

Keep track of your bibliography 

Keep track of your bibliography

The easiest way to keep the track of all the articles you have read for your research is to create a database where you can summarise each article/chapter into a few most important bullet points to help you remember their content. 

Another useful tool for doing this effectively is to learn how to use specific reference management software (RMS) such as EndNote. RMS is relatively simple to use and saves a lot of time when it comes to organising your bibliography. This may come in very handy, especially if your reference section is suspiciously missing two hours before you need to submit your dissertation! 

Avoid accidental plagiarism

Plagiarism may cost you your postgraduate degree and it is important that you consciously avoid it when writing your thesis or dissertation. 

Occasionally, postgraduate students commit plagiarism unintentionally. This can happen when sections are copy and pasted from journal articles they are citing instead of simply rephrasing them. Whenever you are presenting information from another academic source, make sure you reference the source and avoid writing the statement exactly as it is written in the original paper.

What kind of format should your thesis have?

How to write a masters dissertation

Read your university’s guidelines before you actually start writing your thesis so you don’t have to waste time changing the format further down the line. However in general, most universities will require you to use 1.5-2 line spacing, font size 12 for text, and to print your thesis on A4 paper. These formatting guidelines may not necessarily result in the most aesthetically appealing thesis, however beauty is not always practical, and a nice looking thesis can be a more tiring reading experience for your postgrad examiner .

When should I submit my thesis?

The length of time it takes to complete your MSc or MA thesis will vary from student to student. This is because people work at different speeds, projects vary in difficulty, and some projects encounter more problems than others. 

Obviously, you should submit your MSc thesis or MA thesis when it is finished! Every university will say in its regulations that it is the student who must decide when it is ready to submit. 

However, your supervisor will advise you whether your work is ready and you should take their advice on this. If your supervisor says that your work is not ready, then it is probably unwise to submit it. Usually your supervisor will read your final thesis or dissertation draft and will let you know what’s required before submitting your final draft.

Set yourself a target for completion. This will help you stay on track and avoid falling behind. You may also only have funding for the year, so it is important to ensure you submit your dissertation before the deadline – and also ensure you don’t miss out on your graduation ceremony ! 

To set your target date, work backwards from the final completion and submission date, and aim to have your final draft completed at least three months before that final date.

Don’t leave your submission until the last minute – submit your work in good time before the final deadline. Consider what else you’ll have going on around that time. Are you moving back home? Do you have a holiday? Do you have other plans?

If you need to have finished by the end of June to be able to go to a graduation ceremony in July, then you should leave a suitable amount of time for this. You can build this into your dissertation project planning at the start of your research.

It is important to remember that handing in your thesis or dissertation is not the end of your masters program . There will be a period of time of one to three months between the time you submit and your final day. Some courses may even require a viva to discuss your research project, though this is more common at PhD level . 

If you have passed, you will need to make arrangements for the thesis to be properly bound and resubmitted, which will take a week or two. You may also have minor corrections to make to the work, which could take up to a month or so. This means that you need to allow a period of at least three months between submitting your thesis and the time when your program will be completely finished. Of course, it is also possible you may be asked after the viva to do more work on your thesis and resubmit it before the examiners will agree to award the degree – so there may be an even longer time period before you have finished.

How do I submit the MA or MSc dissertation?

Most universities will have a clear procedure for submitting a masters dissertation. Some universities require your ‘intention to submit’. This notifies them that you are ready to submit and allows the university to appoint an external examiner.

This normally has to be completed at least three months before the date on which you think you will be ready to submit.

When your MA or MSc dissertation is ready, you will have to print several copies and have them bound. The number of copies varies between universities, but the university usually requires three – one for each of the examiners and one for your supervisor.

However, you will need one more copy – for yourself! These copies must be softbound, not hardbound. The theses you see on the library shelves will be bound in an impressive hardback cover, but you can only get your work bound like this once you have passed. 

You should submit your dissertation or thesis for examination in soft paper or card covers, and your university will give you detailed guidance on how it should be bound. They will also recommend places where you can get the work done.

The next stage is to hand in your work, in the way and to the place that is indicated in your university’s regulations. All you can do then is sit and wait for the examination – but submitting your thesis is often a time of great relief and celebration!

Some universities only require a digital submission, where you upload your dissertation as a file through their online submission system.

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Master’s Projects Handbook

The scope of work should include the following sections: (1) introduction, (2) statement of objectives, (3) materials and methods, (4) expected results/format of report, and (5) literature citations. Your submitted scope of work should include the following:

1. The Cover Sheet . The cover sheet must include the tentative title, date, author(s), and MP advisor(s). The cover sheet must also include the author(s) and advisor(s) signature(s) to demonstrate faculty approval (Visit #1 on the Final Report page for more information on Cover Sheets or download the template ). 2. Introduction . Describe the problem you will be working on and why it is important. Include a concise literature review to relate your problem to previous work and set the stage for the approach you will take. If applicable, describe the client involved and their interest in the project. [2-4 pages] 3. Objectives . State the research questions your MP will answer or the hypotheses you will test. Be specific and succinct. You should be able to list your questions or hypotheses as a series of no more than 3 or 4 concrete bullet points. While you may fine-tune these questions after you begin your work, the initial description of your methods and expected results should follow directly from these objectives. [<1 page] 4. Methods and Sources of Support . Describe the methods/approach you plan to use including, as appropriate, your research approach, data or means of data collection, and plans for data analysis. Be specific and identify significant subtasks related to each part of your project. State any research support needed in terms of supplies, space, equipment and money. If needed, identify source(s) of financial support (e.g., case study funds, research project of professor, school support, grant, etc.). Note whether you will require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for data collection involving human subjects, or whether you will operate under a nondisclosure agreement . [2-3 pages] 5. Expected Results and Format of Report . Identify the expected results of the project and/or the deliverables to be produced (e.g., management plan, geospatial tool, scientific publication, policy recommendations, computer model, etc.). State the format of the final product and its intended audience. If appropriate, identify likely journals for publication of your research. [1-2 pages] 6. Literary Citations . Include full, standard citations for any references referred to in the text of your proposal. The Nicholas School does not require MPs to adhere to one specific citation style as long as citations are formatted consistently throughout the final document. Choose the appropriate manual of style for your project (for guidance, see Duke Libraries citation resources ). 7. Faculty . List all faculty who have agreed to serve as advisors or cooperators in your project, along with their affiliations (e.g., school or department). Indicate the primary adviser(s) responsible for evaluating the project.

Part II: Project Timeline

Part two should contain the timeline with anticipated deliverables, and may be attached as a separate document, if using Excel or other project management formats. Timeline of Tasks, Deliverables, and Events . Outline the various steps of project completion from start to finish. Include all significant milestones and recurring meetings with your teammates (if applicable) and MP advisor. For example, this could include completion of your literature review and other background research, as well as intermediate steps related to your data collection and planned analysis. It is highly recommended that you use a Gantt chart or an equivalent Excel spreadsheet (e.g. with individual tasks and milestones as rows and dates in columns), with ongoing tasks specified at a biweekly resolution. Your timeline should also include standing client meetings, if relevant.

Part III: Team Charter

The team charter should outline roles and responsibilities of the team and advisor. All students, including those completing an individual MPs, must include a team charter in the final Work Plan. If you are participating in an individual project, you and your MP advisor are considered a “team”.

Your team charter should include the following: 1. Team Roles and Responsibilities . Assign each team member a role and associated responsibilities to be fulfilled during completion of the MP. 2. Regular Meeting Schedule. Outline how often, in what way, and with whom your MP team will meet. This includes regular team meetings, as well as standing meetings with your advisor and, if relevant, client. Frequency and content of the meetings is up to the collective discretion of the team. 3. Team Expectations . Describe any additional agreements your MP team comes up with. (e.g., how to handle potential conflicts, preferred means of communication, data sharing and storage, etc.) 4. Team Purpose and Mission . Describe the top priorities and goals of each individual team member during the course of the project. 5. Team Cohesion and Conflict Resolution. Include a brief description that addresses these questions: How will your team resolve conflict? How can you most effectively handle scenarios in which team members are not pulling their weight or not living up to the expectations outlined in this charter? How will you have difficult conversations? What steps will you take to understand and know each other better? How do you want to promote ongoing integration and camaraderie within the team?

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Home > Engineering > Computer Science > Computer Science Graduate Projects

Computer Science Graduate Projects and Theses

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

High-Performance Domain-Specific Library for Hydrologic Data Processing , Kalyan Bhetwal

Verifying Data Provenance During Workflow Execution for Scientific Reproducibility , Rizbanul Hasan

Remote Sensing to Advance Understanding of Snow-Vegetation Relationships and Quantify Snow Depth and Snow Water Equivalent , Ahmad Hojatimalekshah

Exploring the Capability of a Self-Supervised Conditional Image Generator for Image-to-Image Translation without Labeled Data: A Case Study in Mobile User Interface Design , Hailee Kiesecker

Fake News Detection Using Narrative Content and Discourse , Hongmin Kim

Anomaly Detection Using Graph Neural Network , Bishal Lakha

Sparse Format Conversion and Code Synthesis , Tobi Goodness Popoola

Portable Sparse Polyhedral Framework Code Generation Using Multi Level Intermediate Representation , Aaron St. George

Severity Measures for Assessing Error in Automatic Speech Recognition , Ryan Whetten

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Improved Computational Prediction of Function and Structural Representation of Self-Cleaving Ribozymes with Enhanced Parameter Selection and Library Design , James D. Beck

Meshfree Methods for PDEs on Surfaces , Andrew Michael Jones

Deep Learning of Microstructures , Amir Abbas Kazemzadeh Farizhandi

Long-Term Trends in Extreme Environmental Events with Changepoint Detection , Mintaek Lee

Structure Aware Smart Encoding and Decoding of Information in DNA , Shoshanna Llewellyn

Towards Making Transformer-Based Language Models Learn How Children Learn , Yousra Mahdy

Ontology-Based Formal Approach for Safety and Security Verification of Industrial Control Systems , Ramesh Neupane

Improving Children's Authentication Practices with Respect to Graphical Authentication Mechanism , Dhanush Kumar Ratakonda

Hate Speech Detection Using Textual and User Features , Rohan Raut

Automated Detection of Sockpuppet Accounts in Wikipedia , Mostofa Najmus Sakib

Characterization and Mitigation of False Information on the Web , Anu Shrestha

Sinusoidal Projection for 360° Image Compression and Triangular Discrete Cosine Transform Impact in the JPEG Pipeline , Iker Vazquez Lopez

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Training Wheels for Web Search: Multi-Perspective Learning to Rank to Support Children's Information Seeking in the Classroom , Garrett Allen

Fair and Efficient Consensus Protocols for Secure Blockchain Applications , Golam Dastoger Bashar

Why Don't You Act Your Age?: Recognizing the Stereotypical 8-12 Year Old Searcher by Their Search Behavior , Michael Green

Ensuring Consistency and Efficiency of the Incremental Unit Network in a Distributed Architecture , Mir Tahsin Imtiaz

Modeling Real and Fake News Sharing in Social Networks , Abishai Joy

Modeling and Analyzing Users' Privacy Disclosure Behavior to Generate Personalized Privacy Policies , A.K.M. Nuhil Mehdy

Into the Unknown: Exploration of Search Engines' Responses to Users with Depression and Anxiety , Ashlee Milton

Generating Test Inputs from String Constraints with an Automata-Based Solver , Marlin Roberts

A Case Study in Representing Scientific Applications ( GeoAc ) Using the Sparse Polyhedral Framework , Ravi Shankar

Actors for the Internet of Things , Arjun Shukla

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Towards Unifying Grounded and Distributional Semantics Using the Words-as-Classifiers Model of Lexical Semantics , Stacy Black

Improving Scientist Productivity, Architecture Portability, and Performance in ParFlow , Michael Burke

Polyhedral+Dataflow Graphs , Eddie C. Davis

Improving Spellchecking for Children: Correction and Design , Brody Downs

A Collection of Fast Algorithms for Scalar and Vector-Valued Data on Irregular Domains: Spherical Harmonic Analysis, Divergence-Free/Curl-Free Radial Basis Functions, and Implicit Surface Reconstruction , Kathryn Primrose Drake

Privacy-Preserving Protocol for Atomic Swap Between Blockchains , Kiran Gurung

Unsupervised Structural Graph Node Representation Learning , Mikel Joaristi

Detecting Undisclosed Paid Editing in Wikipedia , Nikesh Joshi

Do You Feel Me?: Learning Language from Humans with Robot Emotional Displays , David McNeill

Obtaining Real-World Benchmark Programs from Open-Source Repositories Through Abstract-Semantics Preserving Transformations , Maria Anne Rachel Paquin

Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) for Brand Logos , Enjal Parajuli

A Resilience Metric for Modern Power Distribution Systems , Tyler Bennett Phillips

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Edge-Assisted Workload-Aware Image Processing System , Anil Acharya

MINOS: Unsupervised Netflow-Based Detection of Infected and Attacked Hosts, and Attack Time in Large Networks , Mousume Bhowmick

Deviant: A Mutation Testing Tool for Solidity Smart Contracts , Patrick Chapman

Querying Over Encrypted Databases in a Cloud Environment , Jake Douglas

A Hybrid Model to Detect Fake News , Indhumathi Gurunathan

Suitability of Finite State Automata to Model String Constraints in Probablistic Symbolic Execution , Andrew Harris

UNICORN Framework: A User-Centric Approach Toward Formal Verification of Privacy Norms , Rezvan Joshaghani

Detection and Countermeasure of Saturation Attacks in Software-Defined Networks , Samer Yousef Khamaiseh

Secure Two-Party Protocol for Privacy-Preserving Classification via Differential Privacy , Manish Kumar

Application-Specific Memory Subsystem Benchmarking , Mahesh Lakshminarasimhan

Multilingual Information Retrieval: A Representation Building Perspective , Ion Madrazo

Improved Study of Side-Channel Attacks Using Recurrent Neural Networks , Muhammad Abu Naser Rony Chowdhury

Investigating the Effects of Social and Temporal Dynamics in Fitness Games on Children's Physical Activity , Ankita Samariya

BullyNet: Unmasking Cyberbullies on Social Networks , Aparna Sankaran

FALCON: Framework for Anomaly Detection In Industrial Control Systems , Subin Sapkota

Investigating Semantic Properties of Images Generated from Natural Language Using Neural Networks , Samuel Ward Schrader

Incremental Processing for Improving Conversational Grounding in a Chatbot , Aprajita Shukla

Estimating Error and Bias of Offline Recommender System Evaluation Results , Mucun Tian

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Leveraging Tiled Display for Big Data Visualization Using D3.js , Ujjwal Acharya

Fostering the Retrieval of Suitable Web Resources in Response to Children's Educational Search Tasks , Oghenemaro Deborah Anuyah

Privacy-Preserving Genomic Data Publishing via Differential Privacy , Tanya Khatri

Injecting Control Commands Through Sensory Channel: Attack and Defense , Farhad Rasapour

Strong Mutation-Based Test Generation of XACML Policies , Roshan Shrestha

Performance, Scalability, and Robustness in Distributed File Tree Copy , Christopher Robert Sutton

Using DNA For Data Storage: Encoding and Decoding Algorithm Development , Kelsey Suyehira

Detecting Saliency by Combining Speech and Object Detection in Indoor Environments , Kiran Thapa

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Identifying Restaurants Proposing Novel Kinds of Cuisines: Using Yelp Reviews , Haritha Akella

Editing Behavior Analysis and Prediction of Active/Inactive Users in Wikipedia , Harish Arelli

CloudSkulk: Design of a Nested Virtual Machine Based Rootkit-in-the-Middle Attack , Joseph Anthony Connelly

Predicting Friendship Strength in Facebook , Nitish Dhakal

Privacy-Preserving Trajectory Data Publishing via Differential Privacy , Ishita Dwivedi

Cultivating Community Interactions in Citizen Science: Connecting People to Each Other and the Environment , Bret Allen Finley

Uncovering New Links Through Interaction Duration , Laxmi Amulya Gundala

Variance: Secure Two-Party Protocol for Solving Yao's Millionaires' Problem in Bitcoin , Joshua Holmes

A Scalable Graph-Coarsening Based Index for Dynamic Graph Databases , Akshay Kansal

Integrity Coded Databases: Ensuring Correctness and Freshness of Outsourced Databases , Ujwal Karki

Editable View Optimized Tone Mapping For Viewing High Dynamic Range Panoramas On Head Mounted Display , Yuan Li

The Effects of Pair-Programming in a High School Introductory Computer Science Class , Ken Manship

Towards Automatic Repair of XACML Policies , Shuai Peng

Identification of Unknown Landscape Types Using CNN Transfer Learning , Ashish Sharma

Hand Gesture Recognition for Sign Language Transcription , Iker Vazquez Lopez

Learning to Code Music : Development of a Supplemental Unit for High School Computer Science , Kelsey Wright

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Identification of Small Endogenous Viral Elements within Host Genomes , Edward C. Davis Jr.

When the System Becomes Your Personal Docent: Curated Book Recommendations , Nevena Dragovic

Security Testing with Misuse Case Modeling , Samer Yousef Khamaiseh

Estimating Length Statistics of Aggregate Fried Potato Product via Electromagnetic Radiation Attenuation , Jesse Lovitt

Towards Multipurpose Readability Assessment , Ion Madrazo

Evaluation of Topic Models for Content-Based Popularity Prediction on Social Microblogs , Axel Magnuson

CEST: City Event Summarization using Twitter , Deepa Mallela

Developing an ABAC-Based Grant Proposal Workflow Management System , Milson Munakami

Phoenix and Hive as Alternatives to RDBMS , Diana Ornelas

Massively Parallel Algorithm for Solving the Eikonal Equation on Multiple Accelerator Platforms , Anup Shrestha

A Certificateless One-Way Group Key Agreement Protocol for Point-to-Point Email Encryption , Srisarguru Sridhar

Dynamic Machine Level Resource Allocation to Improve Tasking Performance Across Multiple Processes , Richard Walter Thatcher

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Developing an Application for Evolutionary Search for Computational Models of Cellular Development , Nicolas Scott Cornia

Accelerated Radar Signal Processing in Large Geophysical Datasets , Ravi Preesha Geetha

Integrity Coded Databases (ICDB) – Protecting Integrity for Outsourced Databases , Archana Nanjundarao

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Master’s Theses & Projects

Graduate Studies

Toward the end of every semester, graduate students enrolled in a Master’s Thesis or Master’s Project course are required to turn in their thesis or project to the Office of Graduate Studies, as noted in the Academic Calendar . The thesis or project must meet the Formatting and Submission Guidelines , a set of formatting rules and procedures.

Besides collecting the completed theses and projects, the Office of Graduate Studies provides assistance to graduate students who are in the process of completing their master’s thesis or project in several ways.

Graduate students who are unclear of the guidelines, or would like their thesis/project reviewed against the Master’s Thesis/Project Guidelines, can do the following:

  • E-mail a copy of their thesis/project to gradstudies [at] emerson.edu (gradstudies[at]emerson[dot]edu) ; or
  • Bring a copy of their thesis/project to the Office of Graduate Studies, 180 Tremont Street, 13th Floor, Rooms 1313 or 1318.

The Graduate Studies staff will be able to review your thesis/project and point out any corrections that would have to be made to meet the Master’s Thesis/Project Guidelines.

The Office of Graduate Studies also provides templates for several pages that are required of every thesis or project:

  • Title Page Template
  • Approval page template
  • Abstract page template
  • License, Release, Waiver Form

Please refer to the Formatting and Submission Guidelines page for more information.

If you have any questions about your thesis or project, be sure to ask us as soon as possible! We will be able to answer your questions about formatting, or guide you to the correct contact for questions on style. Email us at gradstudies [at] emerson.edu (GradStudies[at]emerson[dot]edu) .

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Types of Theses

Three types of gallatin ma theses.

Each graduate student in the Gallatin School completes a final thesis as the culmination of their work toward a Master of Arts degree. The thesis may take one of three forms: a research thesis, an artistic thesis, or a project thesis. In each case, the thesis represents a synthesis of the student’s accumulated knowledge and skill and an opportunity to display the ideas, practices and skills learned through the program. While the master’s thesis, unlike a doctoral dissertation, does not have to create new knowledge or break new ground, it does display the student’s ability to go beyond the mere collection of information into synthesis, analysis, judgment and interpretation. Moreover, it should demonstrate the student’s familiarity with a substantial body of thought and literature and illustrate mastery of some self-chosen field of study.

Below you will find descriptions of the three types of theses: 

Research Thesis

Artistic thesis, project thesis.

Current MA students who are interested in seeing sample theses should consult the Gallatin Master's Thesis Archive , which is accessible with an NYU Net ID.

Students pursuing the research option produce and defend a substantial research essay, the thesis of which is demonstrably related to the student’s course of study and ongoing conversations with the primary adviser. The adviser and defense panelists are the ultimate arbiters of whether the thesis satisfies a reasonable understanding of a project worthy of the master’s degree. However, in general and at minimum, a successful Gallatin MA research thesis demonstrates sufficient mastery of relevant academic fields as well as a critical grasp of the scholarship and methods that currently define those fields. The thesis essay is a logically-constructed argument that presents its central points on the basis of research and critical interpretation. The sources and objects of study may cover the spectrum from archival materials to critical theory to statistical surveys and personal interviews, but the student should carefully choose sources in consultation with the primary adviser, and with reference to questions about what constitutes legitimate source within the student’s field(s). The research thesis essay must be more than a "review of the literature" but the demand for original findings is lower than that faced by doctoral candidates. Significantly original contributions are of course highly commendable, but the excellence of an MA research thesis essay may lie in its critical and creative synthesis, articulation of a fresh perspective on the work of others, or identification of new, research-based questions that themselves shed light on existing problems within fields. Generally speaking, the final research thesis essay should be at least 50 pages and not exceed 80 pages (not including appendices and bibliographic material). Students and advisers are encouraged to talk with the program's academic directors about these expectations whenever necessary.

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The artistic thesis is appropriate for those students who wish to display the creative process in the performing, visual or literary arts. A student might make a film or video; choreograph an evening of dance; act in a play; mount an exhibit of paintings; write a screenplay, novel, play or collection of short stories; or choose another artistic endeavor. The artistic thesis represents the culmination of a Gallatin arts concentration in which the student has studied the genre under consideration.

The artistic thesis comprises both the artistic project and three accompanying essays. Therefore, you should conceive of the artistic thesis as a unified piece composed of the creative work and the essays which enhance it. Members of the faculty committee will assess both the artistic work and the essays. The essays include:

  • an academic research paper related to the field of artistic work;
  • an essay on artistic aims and process;
  • a technical essay.

Please note: The technical essay does not apply to those students who are submitting a literary work.

Some General Advice

Be careful to keep records and a log of the artistic project as it evolves. This information can be used in the Technical Essay.

If a student is writing a work of fiction, poems, a play, etc., for the thesis, the student will submit this work to their adviser and other readers along with the essays. However, if the student is presenting a performance, they will need to arrange to have their adviser and other members of their committee see the performance. The student is responsible for coordinating schedules and for notifying committee members so that everyone can view the piece. The student should notify the thesis reviewer of the date of the performance at least one month in advance. In the event that one or more of the committee cannot attend the scheduled event, the student should arrange to have the performance videotaped so people can see it later. Except in unusual circumstances, the student must submit the first draft of the thesis to their adviser no more than three months after the performance.

Essays for the Artistic Thesis

Background Research Essay

As stated above, this essay follows the description for the standard research essay. It is a scholarly endeavor and differs from the standard essay in terms of length and focus. The length is approximately 25 to 40 pages. The focus of the essay is related to the artistic work and explores some aspect of that work that the student wishes to study and develop through outside research. The essay might take the form of an analysis of a performance or literary genre; a history of an art form or phenomenon; a philosophical study of an aesthetic concept; or a critical/biographical analysis of the work of an influential artistic figure.

Artistic Aims Essay

In this essay, the student is required to articulate their goals in mounting their particular artistic project. For example, what was the student trying to accomplish in writing short stories, a screenplay, a novel, presenting an evening of dances or songs, making a film or mounting an art exhibit? What were the aesthetic choices made and why?  The student should also explain their approach to the artistic work (their style, genre, or school), any relevant influences on the work, how the student's training influenced their artistic choices, and the student's intentions for particular elements of the creative work. After the student has carefully and clearly articulated these goals, they need to explain how their actual artistic work meets the stated goals. The student should use examples from their artistic project to illustrate these ideas. This essay should be approximately 10-15 pages in length.

Technical Essay

This essay is a description of the steps the student actually took to physically mount their production.  The student will need to include such technical details as arranging for rehearsal and performance space; choosing the performers; finding/creating, costumes, materials, lights; raising funds and getting institutional support. This essay should be approximately 10 pages in length.

Students may submit a portfolio, if appropriate. This would consist of any material, such as photos, slides, fliers, programs, videotapes, audiotapes etc. which might constitute an appendix and which might be helpful to a fuller understanding of the thesis.

The project thesis consists of two elements: (1) the project, a professional activity designed and executed primarily by the student as a way of solving a problem, and (2) an accompanying essay about the project. This thesis is especially appropriate for students in such fields as business, education, social work or public administration. The project thesis may appeal to those students who are active in their profession and who take responsibility for the creation of some kind of program or practice.

Students should understand that the project cannot simply propose a professional activity; the design for such an activity must actually be carried out (at least in a pilot version) and evaluated. Some examples of projects: a student in education may develop and apply a new strategy for teaching reading to recent immigrants; a person working in a corporation may construct new methods for managing financial information; or a community worker in a settlement house may organize a group of local residents to combat drug abuse.

At each step, the student should be careful to keep in touch with their adviser and with any other expert who can help them in their process. The student should keep careful records of the process by taking detailed notes of conversations, meetings, interviews, etc.  If at all possible, the student should arrange to have the members of their committee, especially their adviser, witness the project first-hand: Visit the site, talk with key actors, watch the program in operation. (This direct contact is highly recommended, but not required.)

Essays for the Project Thesis

The project thesis essay may take a number of forms and include a range of information. It ought to discuss at least the following elements:

Consider the institutional or social context within which the project takes place. Describe the organization, the potential clientele or participants, and the larger environment (social, economic and political conditions surrounding the problem and the project).

Describe the particular problem or need that you address in the project. What causes that problem? How extensive is it? Have other attempts to solve the problem been made; if so, what were their shortcomings, and why are you trying another approach? Place the problem in its professional and academic context by referring to the appropriate literature. Program

Describe the goals and objectives of the project and what the student hoped to accomplish. Describe how the program was designed and structured; for example, what kinds of activities did participants engage in, and in what sequence? What kinds of resources and techniques were used? Justify the strategies and tactics used by citing appropriate professional and academic literatures.

Implementation

Describe how the plan was carried out. Use as much detail as needed to give the reader a sense of what actually happened, and to indicate the extent to which the reality matched the plan.

Describe the criteria for assessing the project and evaluation methods used. Justify the criteria and methods by referring to appropriate literatures. To what extent did the project accomplish the goals and objectives identified earlier?

Citing relevant literature and the practical contingencies of the project, explain why the project did or did not achieve its stated purposes. Describe the factors (political, social, organizational, financial, psychological, etc.) that contributed to the process and to the outcomes. What changes--either conceptual or practical--would the student make if they were to repeat or extend the project? What would the student leave in place? Describe what was learned from the project about the original problem and about the student's strategy and tactics. Also consider the professional and theoretical implications of the project.

If necessary, put relevant documentary materials (flyers, important correspondence, budgets, etc.) in appendices.

Master Thesis/Project

Master thesis/project planning.

The selection of a master thesis project or a non-thesis topic is extremely important as it sets the stage for your career. You should give serious thoughts in choosing right project or topic and discuss your interests with as many faculty members as possible to gain a broad perspective. You will find your faculty advisor knowledgeable and willing to offer excellent suggestions and advice regarding an appropriate project topic. 

You should review literature related to your interests which include research papers, reports, and other pertinent information as relevant to your filed. You should also carefully review completed master theses to understand the skill, knowledge, and thought processes needed to complete a graduate level research project.

Students must select a supervisor during the first semester, before they register in the second semester. After the project advisor is selected, you may register on-line for a master project or master thesis section. You will need to see your project advisor to obtain the thesis and/or project section number.

Master Thesis/Project Committee

You and your advisor will jointly select your master project committee. A project/thesis committee should be comprised of at least three faculty members, one of whom should be the project/thesis advisor who will also serve as the chair of the committee. At least two members of the committee must be from the student’s department and the third person may be from outside the department. External committee member should have terminal degree from ABET accredited Science, Engineering, Technology programs (or graduate degree with extensive industry experience). External committee member selection should be agreed by your project advisor and other committee members of your project.

Once your committee has been selected, you should request Departmental and College for approval of the committee. Complete the Appointment of Thesis/Project Committee form ( M.S. Prjoect/Thesis Committee Appointment Form (PDF) , or,  M.S. in Training & Development Thesis Committee Appointment Form (PDF) ) and submit a copy to your department Chair and the College Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies. Once all signatures have been obtained, a copy should be submitted to the graduate advisor. If you are working on a Master Thesis, you may proceed with scheduling a thesis proposal defense meeting (optional) as soon as the committee has been approved.

Thesis Proposal Defense (Optional)

Meet informally with the thesis committee and each committee member to get direction for and assistance with the development of the thesis topic and proposal. You and the committee chair jointly determine when a thesis proposal defense meeting should be called to formalize the thesis proposal. To avoid any misunderstanding, you should not proceed with the research until the thesis topic and proposal have been approved by the thesis committee.

Request and schedule a proposal defense meeting which is agreeable to all members of the committee. You should provide a copy of the thesis proposal to all committee members at least two weeks prior to the scheduled meeting.

A meeting will not be considered official if the thesis proposal is not distributed as prescribed or if less than three committee members are present at the proposal defense. The outcome of the proposal defense meeting should be clear to you as well as to committee members. The proposal will be accepted, accepted with modification, or rejected. Once the proposal is accepted and you begin writing, you should work closely with thesis committee throughout writing the thesis to receive feedback and stay on track.

Thesis Defense and Project Presentation

When a consensus has been reached by you and your master project advisor that your project is finished and you are ready to present and/or defend your project, your advisor will instruct you to schedule a project presentation or thesis defense meeting. The project presentation or thesis defense meeting should be at a time when all committee members can be present. You must distribute the project report to all committee members at least two weeks in advance of the project presentation meeting, or distribute the thesis to all committee members at least three weeks in advance of the thesis defense meeting.

The project presentation and/or defense meeting will be open to the university community. All committee members must be in attendance at the project presentation and/or defense. The outcome of the project presentation and/or thesis defense meeting should be clear to you. Timelines should be established for the final thesis copy to be submitted for committee approval. You should refer to the University academic calendar for deadlines to submit the final draft of your project report or submitting electronically the final draft of the thesis

Once the committee has approved the final draft of the project report and/or thesis, one copy of the unbound project report and/or thesis must be submitted to the Technology Division at the Cullen College of Engineering, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies. This must be done at least two weeks prior to the deadline for submitting the electronic thesis. You should submit your approved signature page to the graduate advisor. After final approval by the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, the thesis can be uploaded electronically.

Contact For Additional Information

Contact the CCE Technology Division graduate advisors:  cotgrad [at] uh.edu (cotgrad[at]uh[dot]edu) .

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Graduate student resources, master's thesis/project.

Some master’s programs within the College require the completion of a thesis or project in order for students to graduate. Please check with your program advisors to see if a thesis or project is required in your chosen program.

The number of credit hours of thesis or project enrollment required for master's students will be determined by their program, if their chosen program includes a thesis/project option. Discussion with the Major Professor and/or advisors will help the student determine whether the thesis or project option is most appropriate. Students are required to enroll for a minimum of two (2) semester hours in the xxx-6971 thesis course or EDG 6975 project course each semester while working on the master's thesis/project, and for 2 semester hours in the thesis or project course during the semester of graduation.

Master's students who plan to complete a thesis or project will need to complete and submit an Advanced Graduate Student Supervisory Committee Appointment form. Master's students must have a minimum of three (3) credentialed faculty members on their committee. Please see below for the list of current credentialed faculty and the Committee Appointment Form.

USF Credentialed Faculty List (Credentialed faculty across all colleges at USF. Check with your program and/or department for updates on new faculty receiving credentials.)

Advanced Graduate Student Supervisory Committee Form

Important Note: Once you have decided to complete either a thesis or project, you must continue to register for only the thesis or project until your work is complete! Students cannot flip between thesis and project hours, as each course follows a different process and set of deadlines. 

Master's Thesis Requirements

Major professor.

The Major Professor serves as the student’s advisor and mentor throughout the thesis process. Master’s students completing a thesis must identify a Major Professor from their academic area, approved by the student’s Department and College, and receive that person’s agreement to serve as Major Professor. Students should select a Major Professor as soon as possible before starting their thesis research, and they must have a Major Professor in order to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.

If a Major Professor cannot be identified or in the event a Major Professor is unable or unwilling to continue serving on the student’s committee, the student is responsible for finding another professor from their program or department. Students who are unable to find a replacement should contact their program advisors for other available options, including converting to a non-thesis/project track if available.

Major Professors must meet the following requirements:

  • Be graduate faculty*, as defined by the University, from the student’s academic area.
  • Be engaged in current and sustained scholarly, creative, or research activities and have met departmental (or equivalent) requirements.
  • Have been approved by the student’s Department Chair (or equivalent) to serve as a Major Professor or Co-Major Professor.

* Affiliate Members of Graduate Faculty may serve as a Co-Major Professor with a fully credentialed Graduate Faculty member from the student’s department. Co-Major Professors may be two graduate faculty or one graduate faculty and one approved Affiliate Member of Graduate Faculty.  

Thesis Committee

Master's students completing a thesis are required to form a supervisory committee. The thesis committee will help students generate initial ideas for their research, plan and supervise the thesis research, and read and approve the thesis for content and format.

The master’s thesis committee is comprised of a minimum of three (3) members: the Major Professor and two other committee members, or two Co-Major Professors and one other member. The members must be credentialed as Associate or Full Members of the College of Education's Graduate Faculty. Committee members should be from the general research area in which the degree is sought. One member must be from outside the student's discipline; the one outside member may be chosen, if appropriate, from faculty of other USF Colleges. Instructors desiring to serve on a Graduate Committee who are not defined as Graduate Faculty (i.e., visiting faculty, professionals, etc.) must submit a curriculum vitae (CV) and be approved by the Department, College, and, as needed, the Office of Graduate Studies.

Once the committee has been determined, an Advanced Graduate Student Supervisory Committee Appointment form (see above) should be completed by the student and submitted to the Committee Members for original signatures. The original appointment form must be submitted to the Graduate Support Office for approval. An approved and current committee appointment form must be on file in the college before graduation may be certified. Committee forms need to be processed as early in the major as possible, but no later than the semester prior to graduation.

Changes to a Supervisory Committee must be recorded on a Change of Committee Form and submitted to the Graduate Support Office. Original signatures of faculty being added to the Committee, along with the approval signature of the (Co-) Major Professor(s), must be on the form. The form must also be signed by the Department Chair. Faculty who are removed from the Committee are not required to sign the form, provided that the (Co-) Major Professor(s) has signed. Change of Committee Forms should be submitted for approval as soon as the change takes place and are official only once approved and filed by the major and college.

Permission to Conduct Research Involving Human Beings

For both ethical and legal reasons, the USF Human Research Protection Program requires all researchers (including students) who conduct studies involving participation of human beings to have their projects reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects prior to the start of their studies. Virtually all research studies in the College of Education will require approval by the IRB as these studies involve the use of human subjects. Master's students who have chosen to complete a thesis must complete the required IRB training and submit an application for approval of their study by the IRB.

Certification to conduct human subjects research must take place every three years from the date of initial certification through the CITI Refresher Course, or another USF IRB-approved program listed on the IRB website. Please visit the USF Research Integrity & Compliance website to access IRB training and for more information about conducting research.

Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Information

Master’s students do not have a formalized thesis defense session like the doctoral dissertation defense; rather, students will conduct an informal defense within their individual program or department. Please contact your program advisor or department to learn more about master’s thesis defense procedures.

Once the thesis is successfully defended and approved by the committee, students will need to submit their completed thesis to the Electronic Thesis & Dissertation (ETD) office. The ETD Resource Center website is designed to help students through each step of the thesis submission process: how students should submit their manuscript, what additional documents they should upload, and general thesis formatting requirements. Students will need to formally register for ETD through the website; registration opens on the first day of each semester. Students should complete ETD registration as soon as possible to avoid delays when submitting their thesis and Certificate of Approval (COA) packet. Additionally, students should ensure that they are registered for at least 2 hours of thesis credit (xxx 6971) in the semester they submit the thesis to ETD.

After completing their thesis defense, students will need to submit a Certificate of Approval packet to the ETD office. The Certificate of Approval (COA) packet contains multiple documents, including a fully signed Certificate of Approval Form and a plagiarism review, which confirm that your committee approves the thesis for publication. This packet should be reviewed and signed by all committee members, then sent to both the ETD office and the Graduate Support Office to certify students for graduation. The Certificate of Approval packet should include:

  • Certificate of Approval Form , with all appropriate signatures (Major Professor, Committee members, and the Academic Program Specialist. The Graduate Support Office will obtain the COEDU Associate Dean’s signature.) Note that all information should be typed.
  • Page 1 of the Plagiarism Check (conducted through Turn-it-in or similar software)

The complete COA packet should be submitted to the Microsoft Form link found on the ETD website (see the Certificate of Approval "Packet Overview" page). The Office of Graduate Studies will review the thesis submission and notify students of any necessary revisions needed before publication.

Master's Project Information

Students who are required to submit a non-thesis project must meet all of the requirements as specified by the College of Education and their chosen graduate program. A project does not need to meet the formatting requirements of a thesis and is not submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies for approval and archiving. If you wish to complete a master's project, please contact your program for information about specific project requirements and deadlines.

Students completing a project will register for a minimum of two (2) credit hours in EDG 6975 with their chosen Major Professor during each semester of project work. Once the project requirements are completed, the student's Major Professor will submit one hard copy of the student's project and the signed Record of Ed.S. or Master's Project Completion Form to the Graduate Support Office three weeks before the end of the semester in which the student is graduating. 

Record of Ed.S. or Master's Project Completion Form

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Introduction

When creating references for dissertations, theses, and projects, you will need to determine the correct reference type to follow. Dissertations, theses, and projects are generally divided into two separate groups; those that are published and those that are unpublished.

In most cases, unpublished projects are those that are in print and available only from the degree-granting institution. On the other hand, published projects are those that are available in a database, a university archive, or a personal website. 

Variations - URLs?

Some URLs may be long and complicated. APA 7th edition allows the use of shorter URLs. Shortened URLs can be created using any URL shortener service; however, if you choose to shorten the URL, you must double-check that the URL is functioning and brings the reader to the correct website. 

Common URL Shortner websites include:

More Information

For more information about URLs, see Section 9.36 on page 300 of APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE:  Check your instructor's preference about using short URLs. Some instructors may want the full URL. 

Variations - DOIs?

Some DOIs may be long and complicated. APA 7th edition allows the use of shorter DOI numbers. Shortened DOIs can be located at the International DOI Foundations, shortDOI Service . 

More Information:

For more information about DOIs, see Section 9.36 on page 300 of APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE: Check your instructor's preference for using short DOIs. Some instructors may want the full DOI. 

Variations - Live Hyperlinks?

Should my urls be live.

It depends. When adding URLs to a paper or other work, first, be sure to include the full hyperlink. This includes the http:// or the https://. Additionally, consider where and how the paper or work will be published or read. If the work will only be read in print or as a Word doc or Google Doc, then the URLs should not be live (i.e., they are not blue or underlined). However, if the work will be published or read online, then APA advises to include live URLs. This would allow the reader to click on a link and go to the source.   

For more information, see Section 9.35 on pages 299-300 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE: Check your instructor's preference about using live URLs. Some instructors may not want you to use live URLs. 

Print Master's Thesis, Dissertation, or Project

When creating references for dissertations, theses, and projects, you will need to determine the correct reference type to follow. Dissertations, theses, and projects are generally divided into two separate groups; those that are published and those that are unpublished. In most cases, unpublished projects are those that are in print and available only from the degree-granting institution. 

Panasuk, K. N. (2008). What variables appear to work in stress management programs in the workplace and how effective are

these  programs  [Unpublished master’s final project]? The College of St. Scholastica.

Author: Panasuk, K. N.

Begin the reference with the author's last name first. then, add the initials for the first and middle names (if the middle name or middle initial is provided). add a period after each initial, and if there is a middle initial, add a space between the initials., year of publication: (2008)..

Next, in parentheses, list the year of publication, which appears on the title page or the title verso page (back side of title page). Follow the parentheses with a period.   

Title & Subtitle of the Book: What variables appear to work in stress management programs in the workplace and how effective are these programs [Unpublished master's final project]?

Next, add the title and subtitle of the master's thesis, dissertation, final applied project, or capstone. The title and subtitle are separated by a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle and all proper nouns.  Italicize the title and subtitle. Do not add a period immediately after the title. Instead, add brackets with the type of project (Master's project, doctoral dissertation, etc.) you are referencing. Before the type of project add "Unpublished". When choosing wording to describe the project, use the language the degree-granting institution uses to describe the project (e.g., Master's thesis, Doctoral dissertation, Final Applied Project, Capstone Project, Clinical Project, etc.). Add a period after the brackets. If the title has a question mark or exclamation mark, replace the period after the brackets with the proper punctuation mark used in the title.   

Source Information: The College of St. Scholastica.

Complete the reference with the source information, which is the full name of the college or university awarding the degree. add a period after the institution's name.  more information:.

For more information about master's theses, dissertations, or capstone projects, Section 10.6 on pages 333-334 in the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Parenthetical Citation Example:

 (Panasuk, 2008)

Narrative Citation Example:

Panasuk (2008) identified ...

For more information about author format within parenthetical and narrative citations, see Section 8.17 and Table 8.1 on page 266 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Master's Thesis Published in a Commercial Database (like ProQuest Dissertations & Theses)

When creating references for dissertations, theses, and projects, you will need to determine the correct reference type to follow. Dissertations, theses, and projects are generally divided into two separate groups; those that are published and those that are unpublished. In most cases, published projects are those that are available in a database, a university archive, or a personal website. 

Skallet, S. (2016). Environmental approval duration estimating model for improved linear energy construction project schedules  (Publication No.

10125148)  [Master's capstone project, The College of St. Scholastica]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. 

Author: Skallet, S.

Begin the reference with the author's last name first. then, add the initials for the author's first and middle names (if a middle name or middle initial is provided). add a period after each initial, and if there is a middle initial, add a space between the initials.     year of publication: (2016)..

Next, in parentheses, add the year of publication, which appears on the title page or the title page verso (back side of title page). Follow the parentheses with a period.   

Title & Subtitle of the Book:  Environmental approval duration estimating model for improved linear energy construction project schedules  (Publication No. 10125148) [Master's capstone project, The College of St. Scholastica].

Next, add the title and subtitle (if there is a subtitle) of the capstone, final applied project, thesis, or dissertation. Separate the title and subtitle with a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle and all proper nouns. Italicize the title. Do NOT add a period after the title.

After the title, in parentheses, add the publication number (normally found in the record of the project within ProQuest). Before the publication number put "Publication No." Do NOT add a period after the parentheses. 

After the publication number, add brackets with the type of project (Master's thesis, Master's capstone project, doctoral dissertation, etc.) you are referencing. Use the language described by the degree-granting institution to describe the project. Then, add a comma and the name of the institution. Add a period after the brackets.      

Source Information: ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. 

Complete the reference with the commercial database where you found the masters thesis/project. end with a period.    more information:  .

For more information on Master's Theses/Projects, see Section 10.6 on pages 333-334 in the APA Manual, 7th edition.

 (Skallet, 2016)

Skallet (2016) argued ...

Dissertation Published Online

Adame, A. (2019). Fully immersed, fully present: Examining the user experience through the multimodal presence scale and virtual reality gaming

variables [Master's thesis, California State University San Bernardino]. CSUSB ScholarWorks Electronic Theses, Projects, &

Dissertations.  https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/918/

Author: Adame, A. 

Begin the reference with the author's last name first. Then, add the initials of the author's first and middle names (if a middle name or middle initial is provided). Add a period after each initial, and if there is a middle initial, add a space between the initials. 

Year of Publication: (2019). 

Next, in parentheses, add the year of publication, which appears on the title page or the title verso page (back side of the title page). Follow the parentheses with a period. 

Title & Subtitle of the Book: Fully immersed, fully present: Examining the user experience through the multimodal presence scale and virtual reality gaming variables [Master's thesis, California State University San Bernardino]. 

Next, add the title and subtitle (if there a subtitle present) of the thesis or project. Separate the title and subtitle with a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle as well as proper nouns. Italicize the title and subtitle. Do NOT add a period after the title. Instead, after the title, add brackets with the type of project (Master's thesis, doctoral dissertation, etc.) you are referencing. Use the language described by the degree-granting institution to describe the project. Then, add a comma and the name of the institution. Add a period after the brackets.   

Source Information: CSUSB ScholarWorks Electronic Theses, Projects, & Dissertations.  https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/918/

Complete the reference with the name of the website or archive where you found the project. After the name of the website or archive, add a period. Then, add the URL to the project. 

For more information about Master's Theses or Projects, see Section 10.6 on page 333 and example 66 on page 334 in the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

(Adame, 2019)

Adame (2019) distinguished between ...

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AAU began digitizing all master's thesis projects in 2012. The Graduate School also has a selection of thesis projects available online.

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    University of Southern California
   
  Jun 23, 2024  
USC Catalogue 2024-2025    
USC Catalogue 2024-2025

The Master of Fine Arts degree in Animation and Digital Arts is a three-year (six semester) graduate program designed for students who have clearly identified animation and digital art as their primary interest in cinema. The program focuses on animation production, including a wide range of techniques and aesthetic approaches, from hand-drawn character animation to state-of-the-art interactive digital animation. While embracing traditional forms, the program strongly encourages innovation and experimentation, and emphasizes imagination, creativity and critical thinking. Students should graduate with a comprehensive knowledge of animation from conception through realization; an understanding of the history of the medium and its aesthetics; in-depth knowledge of computer animation software and the most important elements of digital and interactive media.

The program requires a minimum of 50 units: 35 units are in prescribed, sequential courses in the School of Cinematic Arts. The other 15 units are cinematic arts electives. A thesis is required for the MFA degree. Ongoing workshops in new technologies, traditional and digital media provide additional educational opportunities for students.

Admission is granted once a year in the fall; there are no spring admissions. Approximately 10 students will be enrolled in each incoming class. In addition to practical production, students would be notified of opportunities for extracurricular projects and internships that they may apply for. These experiences augment the work within the program and facilitate the student’s transition into the profession. Prior knowledge of fundamental digital animation concepts and techniques is recommended.

Applicants for the MFA in Animation and Digital Arts must apply online. For specific instructions, including deadline information, please visit cinema.usc.edu .

The Graduate School Two-Thirds Rule

The school requires 50 units minimum to graduate from the MFA in Animation and Digital Arts program, and two-thirds must be at the 500 level, not including 4 units of CTAN 594a Master’s Thesis   ,  CTAN 594b Master’s Thesis   .

Requirements for the MFA in Animation and Digital Arts

Year one, first semester.

  • CTAN 425 Studio Careers: Story to Screen Units: 2
  • CTAN 500 Animation: The Art and the Industry Units: 2
  • CTAN 519 Design Fundamentals for Animation Units: 3
  • CTAN 530 Fundamentals of 2-D Animation Units: 2
  • CTAN 533 Foundations of 3-D Computer Animation Units: 2

Year One, Second Semester

  • CNTV 530 Cinematic Ethics Units: 1
  • CTAN 535 Fundamentals of 3-D Character Animation Units: 2
  • CTAN 547 Animation Production I Units: 3
  • CTWR 510 Fundamentals of Storytelling for Animation Units: 2

Year Two, First Semester

  • CTAN 505 The Business of Animation Units: 2
  • CTAN 555 Animation Design and Production Units: 4
  • CTAN 586 Animation Storyboarding Practicum Units: 2

Year Two, Second Semester

  • CTAN 588 Cinematic Storytelling for Animators Units: 2
  • CTAN 591 Animation Pre-Thesis Seminar Units: 2

Year Three, First Semester

  • CTAN 594a Master’s Thesis Units: 2

Year Three, Second Semester

  • CTAN 594b Master’s Thesis Units: 2

Required units: 35

*A minimum total of 15 elective units must be taken.

Cinematic Arts Electives

To complete the 50 units required for the MFA in Animation and Digital Arts, students are required to take a minimum of 15 School of Cinematic Arts elective units.

Additional Requirements

Thesis project.

In order to begin work on the thesis project, students must first successfully propose their project to a committee of MFA animation and digital arts program faculty. Their proposal is prepared during the spring semester of their second year as part of their pre-thesis class CTAN 591   .

In order to pass the pre-thesis class, the thesis proposal must be presented and approved by the thesis committee at the end of the fourth semester. Students cannot change their approved thesis project after the completion of CTAN 591   . Throughout the pre-thesis and thesis years of study, students will meet regularly with an MFA animation and digital arts faculty adviser(s) and thesis committee to develop and refine the proposal and discuss the progress of their work. The adviser(s) may be a member of the thesis committee and/or other faculty as appointed by the Chair in consultation with the pre-thesis instructor.

The proposal itself will include a written treatment and an oral presentation of the project. It will describe aesthetic issues to be explored and specific techniques to be employed in its realization. It will also include a storyboard or visualization, budget and schedule, in addition to supporting materials created by the student demonstrating his/her/their ability to pursue the project. The thesis committee will make comments and decide whether the student may go forward with his/her/their project. Upon acceptance, the student will begin work on the project, otherwise revising the proposal and meeting again with the committee.

A mid-residency review of the thesis project will take place in the first semester of the final year of study. The student must show that deadlines set in the proposal have been met and that progress consistent with the proposal has been made. The committee may, if necessary, suggest modifications to the project, which the student is then obligated to implement.

In the final year, students concentrate on their thesis projects, completing production and post-production. The student’s thesis will be presented to the committee upon completion. Thesis projects must be completed at the end of the sixth semester prior to Commencement to meet MFA graduation requirements.

Completion is defined as a fully rendered, animated piece with a completed sound track (guide mix acceptable). In the case of live action and visual effects projects, at least 70 percent of the final film must be animated. In the case of installation work, the piece must be mounted in a suitable space with all sound and animated components completed and functional. In the case of an interactive work the piece must be fully functional with completed animation, sound and interactivity.

Criteria for successful completion include: 50 percent originality, 50 percent quality of execution.

Grade Point Average Requirements

A grade point average of at least 3.0 (A = 4.0) must be maintained in all USC course work toward the master’s degree. Courses in which a grade of C- (1.7) or lower is earned will not apply toward a graduate degree. Courses below a C must be repeated.

Students must maintain satisfactory progress toward their master’s degrees at all times. The time limit to complete all requirements is three years from the first course at USC applied toward the Master of Fine Arts degree. Course work more than seven years old is invalidated and will not be applied toward the degree.

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CS MS Programs

Jump to a program:, computer science m.s..

The department offers a M.S. in Computer Science suited to individuals with an undergraduate degree in several fields, including CS, Math, Physics, Economics, Biology, and other social, natural, or physical sciences or the humanities. The M.S. is an effective gateway into CS for students with backgrounds in other disciplines (basic programming and data structures, as well as quantitative aptitude are the only requirements.)

Those obtaining the degree may pursue careers in industry or enter a Ph.D. program in Computer Science.

Students are required to take the following 3 core courses:

  • CS 526: Algorithms or CS 523 Data Structures and Algorithms
  • CS 551: Systems Programming
  • CS 534: Machine Learning

In addition, students are required to take at least 4 concentration electives (12+ credit hrs) from among many electives such as:

  • CS 524: Theory of Computing
  • CS 554: Database Systems
  • CS 540: Software Engineering
  • CS 556: Program Language and Compilers
  • CS 557: Artificial Intelligence
  • CS 562: Advanced Computer Systems
  • CS 570: Data Mining
  • CS 580: Operating Systems
  • CS 581: High Performance Computing
  • CS 584: Topics in Computer Science

Students are required to choose ONE of the following tracks:

Coursework:.

Practicum: all MS students will be required to complete a practicum (CS596R: Computer Science Master's Practicum) involving a substantial project either under the direction of an Emory faculty member or a Computer Science/Informatics expert in Industry.

This requirement is intended to provide students with practical experience with real life projects, an essential element of an applied discipline such as Computer Science. In order to graduate, every MS student should successfully complete at least one CS596R. As an "R" designated course, students may repeat this once, and in exceptional circumstances, one additional time with permission from the Director of Graduate Studies. Students may substitute at most one of the above electives with a relevant course from Mathematics, Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Biomedical Informatics, the Rollins School of Public Health, School of Medicine, and appropriate schools at Georgia Tech through the ARCHE program. When substituting courses, a student must obtain prior written approval from the thesis advisor and CSI DGS/program director(s).

All MS coursework must be completed with a grade of C or higher. The GPA of all core, elective, and additional courses must be 3.0 or higher, i.e. a B average or better. Information on the web pages are for information only, definitive rules are in the graduate handbook.

Computer Science M.S (Biomedical Concentration)

The departments of Computer Science, Biomedical Informatics, and Biostatistics jointly offer a M.S. in Computer Science with a Biomedical Informatics concentration suited to individuals with an undergraduate degree in an appropriate discipline, e.g., mathematics, statistics, computer science, or a natural, physical or social sciences subject.

Those obtaining the degree will be exceptionally well-prepared for next-generation careers in industry, government, or public health, or to enter a doctoral program in Informatics, Computer Science, Biostatistics or Statistics.

  • BMI 500: Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3)
  • BMI 510 Biostatistics for Machine Learning (4)
  • CS 534 or BMI 534: Machine Learning (3)

In addition, students are required to take at least 4 concentration electives from many possible choices including:

  • BIOS 510: Probability Theory I (4)
  • BIOS 511: Statistical Inference (4)
  • BIOS 540: Introduction to Bioinformatics (2)
  • BIOS 545: Introduction to to R Programming (2)
  • CS 563: Digital Image Processing
  • IBS 523: Cancer Biology I (4)

Students are required to choose one of the following tracks:

  • Thesis: An acceptable masters thesis and oral defense (9 credit hours).
  • Project: Completion of one approved elective course (3+ credit hours), AND a faculty supervised project, formally taken by registering for CS598 (for up to 6 credit hours). The project may be external as long as it is approved and co-advised by the faculty advisor. The project result may be in the form of a report or documented software. Satisfactory completion of the project requires approval by the faculty advisor.
  • Coursework: Completion of 9 additional elective hours. Courses outside the department (e.g., from the sciences, schools of medicine and public health, or the business schools) may be taken if they coincide with the degree objective of the student. Approval of electives will be by the Computer Science Committee.

Practicum: all MS students will be required to complete a practicum (CS596R: Computer Science Master's Practicum) involving a substantial project either under the direction of an Emory faculty member or a Computer Science/Informatics expert in Industry. This requirement is intended to provide students with practical experience with real life projects, an essential element of an applied discipline such as Computer Science and Informatics.

In order to graduate, every MS student should successfully complete at least one CS596R. As an "R" designated course, students may repeat this once, and in exceptional circumstances, one additional time with permission from the Director of Graduate Studies.

Students may substitute at most one of the above electives with a relevant course from Mathematics, Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Biomedical Informatics, the Rollins School of Public Health, School of Medicine, and appropriate schools at Georgia Tech through the ARCHE program. When substituting courses, a student must obtain prior written approval from the thesis advisor and CSI DGS/program director(s).

Graduate (CS MS)

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2024 Design Show website

UW Design Show 2024 Website

The Division of Design launched the 2024 Design Show website featuring the Bachelor of Design (BDes) capstone projects and Master of Design (MDes) thesis projects.

View the 2024 Design Show website

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Wen Zhou: First Ph.D to Complete MOT Minor

A woman in a green top stands in front of a display that says "Ph.D Thesis Defense"

Congratulations to Wen Zhou , who successfully defended her doctoral thesis last week! Wen is the first Ph.D. candidate to complete TLI's Management of Technology minor. 

She received her B.S. in electrical engineering (instrumentation) from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and her M.S. in electrical engineering (RF and Microwave) from the University of Minnesota in 2015 and 2019, respectively. Her research interest includes mm-wave IC design, sensing system, and bioinstrumentation

Q: What did you study for your Ph.D, and what was the subject of your thesis?

A: My major is in Electrical Engineering and the subject of my dissertation is: Phase-Modulated Millimeter-Wave Radar SoCs based on Analog Correlators. My advisor Prof. Yahya Tousi and I proposed an innovative radar architecture for millimeter-wave distributed sensing. We spent six years together developing the theory and the prototype system-on-chips of this proposed idea. We have completed the proof-of-concept design and the qualitative validation, and have reached the point of integrating the POC design into a full-functioning radar sensor module and conducting quantitative evaluations.

Q: What drew you to the Management of Technology minor, and how do you feel it was helpful for you?

Q: After I completed the idea proposition and the system design of my research project, I encountered challenges in project planning and tasks breakdown. Back then, moving from a conceptual idea to the realization on silicon looked overwhelmingly complex. To figure out the pathway from idea to prototype, I started to explore graduate level coursework in project management and found the MOT program. Then after the consultation with MOT faculty, I started taking MOT courses and declared it as the minor.

The MOT program exposed me to the full design cycle of innovation process. I took project-based courses on new product design and business development, product innovation and management, financial accounting and corporate venturing. I also audited courses in organization development and technology policy.

The knowledge I learned from the MOT courses effectively guided the direction of my research. We methodically compiled a list of essential features for a minimum viable system, and then implemented the feature list in our radar system-on-chip design, and successfully demonstrated the functionalities of our designed radar system. In the later phase of the project, when we were working on the refinement of the design, we were also following the guidelines to factor in more practical considerations and focusing on the full-solution delivery. The MOT program also made me aware of the business potential of the project. I have also explored the value proposition and the product-market fit of our research project during my free time.

I strongly believe that MOT should be integrated into graduate level engineering programs. My personal view of the mission of higher education is not only to build technical expertise in specific domains, but also to provide candidates the visions of how to direct our expertise to better serve the communities. The MOT curriculum fills in the gap between the technologies we develop in the lab at the U and the real-life needs.

Q: What are your plans post-Ph.D?

After Ph.D. I will join the R&D lab of Samsung Semiconductor at San Diego to work on mm-Wave system architecture. I believe it is a good match to my technical background and research interest, where hopefully I can make direct contributions to the team from the early design definition stage to the product commercialization stage.    

I will also make the most of the nice weather in San Diego and explore outdoor opportunities. Still, I will definitely miss the lakes in Minnesota. I have not finished my adventures here yet--snowkiting on the lake and entering the sea caves along Lake Superior shoreline on foot are still on my bucket list.

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IMAGES

  1. Master Thesis Project :: Behance

    master's thesis projects

  2. Official Master's Thesis + Project

    master's thesis projects

  3. Stages of the Master's thesis project

    master's thesis projects

  4. Master Thesis Project :: Behance

    master's thesis projects

  5. Master Thesis Project on Behance

    master's thesis projects

  6. Master Thesis Project on Behance

    master's thesis projects

VIDEO

  1. Master Thesis CSDG NTNU 2024, case study 1, Automation in building design

  2. Master Thesis CSDG NTNU 2024, case study 2, Automation in building design

  3. Janell Shah

  4. Teaser thesis project Master in Design for Emergent Futures

  5. Master Thesis: The Full Process For Profitable Customer Acquisition In DTC

  6. Animation Showreel 2024

COMMENTS

  1. Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples

    Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples. Published on September 9, 2022 by Tegan George.Revised on July 18, 2023. It can be difficult to know where to start when writing your thesis or dissertation.One way to come up with some ideas or maybe even combat writer's block is to check out previous work done by other students on a similar thesis or dissertation topic to yours.

  2. Tips for Completing the Master's Thesis or Project

    Refer to the style manual required by your department for items not discussed in the "Guidelines for Preparing the Master's Thesis" or the Project Guidelines. Font- The recommend font is Times Roman, size 12. Line Spacing - Standard double spacing is used for the document text. Most style manuals require single spacing for long ...

  3. Dissertation & Thesis Outline

    Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates. Published on June 7, 2022 by Tegan George.Revised on November 21, 2023. A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process.It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding the specifics of your dissertation topic and showcasing its relevance to ...

  4. Master Thesis/Project Report Format

    Guidelines for Preparation of Master Thesis/Project Report Overview of the steps Select master project/thesis advisor. Select a project topic. Select a committee. Obtain approvals for committee, advisor. Register for the master project/thesis course with thesis advisor. (A section number will be provided to you by your project/thesis advisor.) Start Research on your master project. (Optional ...

  5. How to Write a Thesis: A Guide for Master's Students

    Typically, these students must write a thesis statement that consists of at least one compelling sentence and at least 50 pages of content, then turn it in within 16 weeks. I have taught graduate students, primarily from the U.S. Intelligence Community, how to conduct research for over eight years.

  6. How to Write a Master's Thesis: A Guide to Planning Your Thesis

    The purpose of a master's thesis is to help you develop your own independent abilities, ensuring that you can drive your own career forward without constantly looking to others to provide direction. Leaders get master's degrees. That's why many business professionals in leadership roles have graduate degree initials after their last names.

  7. How to Write a Dissertation or Masters Thesis

    Writing a masters dissertation or thesis is a sizable task. It takes a considerable amount of research, studying and writing. Usually, students need to write around 10,000 to 15,000 words. It is completely normal to find the idea of writing a masters thesis or dissertation slightly daunting, even for students who have written one before at ...

  8. PDF Master's Thesis and Project Report Guidelines_Mar2016 version

    The thesis and project report must contain the following standardized preliminaries in the order of listing. Cover Page: Standard format for the cover page is shown in Figure 1. The date appearing on the cover page should be the month and year of the expected degree award date and not the completion date of the work.

  9. PDF A PROPOSAL FOR A MASTER'S THESIS

    A Thesis Proposal is a document that sets forth what is to be studied as a thesis project, why and in what way. It contains a number of important sections. The purpose of the proposal is to communicate the plan for the work to the faculty of the Division of Emerging Media Studies via the First Reader (principal thesis advisor) and a Second Reader.

  10. Work Plan

    The completed work plan for your Master's Project should contain three parts: (1) scope of work, (2) project timeline, and (3) team charter. Guidelines for what to include in each section are outlined below. The full proposal should not exceed 15 pages in length, double-spaced, including the cover page.

  11. What Is A Master's Thesis?

    As stated above, a thesis is the final project required in the completion of many master's degrees. The thesis is a research paper, but it only involves using research from others and crafting your own analytical points. On the other hand, the dissertation is a more in-depth scholarly research paper completed mostly by doctoral students.

  12. Computer Science Graduate Projects and Theses

    The Department of Computer Science is a discipline concerned with the study of computing, which includes programming, automating tasks, creating tools to enhance productivity, and the understanding of the foundations of computation. The Computer Science program provides the breadth and depth needed to succeed in this rapidly changing field. One of the more recent fields of academic study ...

  13. Master's Theses & Projects

    E-mail a copy of their thesis/project to [email protected]; or. Bring a copy of their thesis/project to the Office of Graduate Studies, 180 Tremont Street, 13th Floor, Rooms 1313 or 1318. The Graduate Studies staff will be able to review your thesis/project and point out any corrections that would have to be made to meet the Master's ...

  14. Types of Theses > Master's Thesis > Graduate

    The thesis may take one of three forms: a research thesis, an artistic thesis, or a project thesis. In each case, the thesis represents a synthesis of the student's accumulated knowledge and skill and an opportunity to display the ideas, practices and skills learned through the program. While the master's thesis, unlike a doctoral ...

  15. Master Thesis/Project

    Guidelines Master Thesis/Project Planning The selection of a master thesis project or a non-thesis topic is extremely important as it sets the stage for your career. You should give serious thoughts in choosing right project or topic and discuss your interests with as many faculty members as possible to gain a broad perspective. You will find your faculty advisor knowledgeable and willing to ...

  16. Master's Thesis/Project

    Master's Thesis/Project. Some master's programs within the College require the completion of a thesis or project in order for students to graduate. Please check with your program advisors to see if a thesis or project is required in your chosen program. The number of credit hours of thesis or project enrollment required for master's students ...

  17. Formatting

    Master's theses and projects are representative of Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) scholarship and are considered University records. The University Library keeps a digital, permanent, copy of theses and projects within the Bronco ScholarWorks institutional repository and retains non-exclusive rights to the work as a matter of record.

  18. Master's Thesis, Dissertation, or Capstone Project

    When choosing wording to describe the project, use the language the degree-granting institution uses to describe the project (e.g., Master's thesis, Doctoral dissertation, Final Applied Project, Capstone Project, Clinical Project, etc.). Add a period after the brackets. If the title has a question mark or exclamation mark, replace the period ...

  19. Master's Thesis Projects

    Online Thesis Projects AAU began digitizing all master's thesis projects in 2012. The Graduate School also has a selection of thesis projects available online.

  20. Program: Animation and Digital Arts (MFA)

    Thesis Project. In order to begin work on the thesis project, students must first successfully propose their project to a committee of MFA animation and digital arts program faculty. Their proposal is prepared during the spring semester of their second year as part of their pre-thesis class CTAN 591 .

  21. Master of Science in Energy Engineering

    Thesis, Project, and Course-only Requirements. There are three pathways to earning an MS degree in Energy Engineering: Thesis: 30 credits - 24 credits of courses (15 credits from core), plus 6 credits of thesis,; Project: 30 credits - 27 credits of courses (15 from core), plus 3 credits of project, (available to Nuclear option students only); Course-Only: 30 credits - all from courses (15 from ...

  22. CS MS Programs

    An acceptable masters thesis and oral defense (9 credit hours). Project: Completion of one approved elective course (3+ credit hours), AND a faculty supervised project, formally taken by registering for CS598 (for up to 6 credit hours). The project may be external as long as it is approved and co-advised by a faculty advisor.

  23. 2024 Design Show website

    The Division of Design launched the 2024 Design Show website featuring the Bachelor of Design (BDes) capstone projects and Master of Design (MDes) thesis projects. View the 2024 Design Show website

  24. UAH

    Health & Wellness we have great resources available to assist students with their physical and mental health. like a student health center, counseling center and fitness center; Transition Programs we support students in their transition with programs like orientation, first-year experience, second-year experience, transfer student services, veteran student services, out-of-state student services

  25. Community & Careers

    Awards & Grants The AHA offers annual prizes honoring exceptional books, distinguished teaching and mentoring in the classroom, public history, digital projects, and other historical work. We also offer grants and fellowships supporting the research of historians. Upcoming Opportunities Professional and Career Resources View More Resources Standards & Guidelines for…

  26. Wen Zhou: First Ph.D to Complete MOT Minor

    Congratulations to Wen Zhou, who successfully defended her doctoral thesis last week! Wen is the first Ph.D. candidate to complete TLI's Management of Technology minor. She received her B.S. in electrical engineering (instrumentation) from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and her M.S. in electrical engineering (RF and Microwave) from the University of Minnesota in 2015 ...

  27. Administrative divisions of Moscow Oblast

    192. v. t. e. This is a list of the administrative and municipal divisions of Moscow Oblast, a federal subject of Russia . Moscow Oblast is located in the Central Federal District of Russia, and surrounds Moscow, the capital of Russia. While Moscow hosts the majority of the government bodies of the oblast, it does not officially serve as the ...

  28. Lobnya

    Main page; Contents; Current events; Random article; About Wikipedia; Contact us; Donate; Pages for logged out editors learn more

  29. Pushkinsky District: All You Must Know Before You Go (2024

    Pushkinsky District Tourism: Tripadvisor has 1,629 reviews of Pushkinsky District Hotels, Attractions, and Restaurants making it your best Pushkinsky District resource.

  30. Lobnya, Moscow Oblast, Russia Weather

    Hourly Local Weather Forecast, weather conditions, precipitation, dew point, humidity, wind from Weather.com and The Weather Channel