thesis writing syllabus

Thesis Syllabus I - EDUC 684

This course is intended for Master’s level students to create a Master’s Thesis project and to see it through to the first draft. In this semester, students will work with their thesis committee to make any necessary revisions to the thesis proposal and produce the first draft of the thesis. Students will work one-on-one with their thesis advisor and the thesis coordinator to identify times that they will meet and create a plan for communication throughout the process of completing the Master’s Thesis.   

Course Focus

The Master’s Thesis is the culminating assessment in earning the degree of Master of Arts in Urban Education at Rhodes College. As such, it should be treated as a serious and academically rigorous component of the program. Each project is unique to the student completing it, and thus there is flexibility in scheduling, approach, and style that is up to the discretion of the thesis advisor. The thesis component of the M.A. in Urban Education at Rhodes College is meant to demonstrate advanced study and inquiry into a particular facet of urban education in relation to the experiences of candidates in the program. The thesis is a work of original scholarship, designed with guidance from a thesis advisor and thesis committee. A copy of the final project is uploaded to the ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database and added to the College Archives. 

Thesis Committee

Program faculty will assign a thesis advisor and an additional committee member to each student. Working with their advisor, candidates can elect to add a third advisor from the college faculty or from a member of the community who has demonstrated expertise in the subject matter or who has considerable relevant practitioner experience. All committee appointments are subject to review and approval by the Master's Thesis coordinator and program faculty.

Thesis Proposal

The proposal should explain the purpose of the study or inquiry, including the following sections:

• Introduction
• Review of Relevant Research

Thesis proposals should be roughly 2,000 words, excluding references. Guidelines for specific requirements of each section of the proposal will be assigned by the thesis advisor. The thesis committee will review the proposal and submit requests for revisions to the candidate as necessary. 

Thesis Proposal Formatting

Length :  Double-spaced typed pages, size 12 Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins on all sides. Thesis proposals should be approximately 2,000 words, before references.

Citations : All proposals must use APA formatting. If you have any questions, consult the APA manual.

Grammar/Spelling/Punctuation : Be sure to proofread your proposal and strive to avoid any grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. 

Thesis Draft

The thesis should be organized into something like the following structure (though consult with your advisor for more specific guidance):

• Findings (Results/Analysis)
• Discussion (e.g., Interpretation, Connection to Existing Research, Implications, Limitations of the Study)
• Appendix(es) [only if required by the project; e.g., curriculum project]

Complete theses should be between 6,000-8,000 words, including references and the curriculum appendices of curriculum projects.

Thesis Draft Formatting

See all thesis draft formatting requirements here .

Evaluation of Student Performance

Student performance will be evaluated based on the components listed below. Each element is required in order to receive any credit for the course. (One cannot, for example, skip the thesis proposal and still pass with a 70% in the course. This caveat includes any and all required revisions to the thesis following the thesis proposal.) The final judgment about each of these areas is made by the advisor in consultation with the thesis coordinator and/or other committee members.

Grading Scale :

• achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.
• achievement that is above the level necessary to meet course requirements.
• achievement that meets the minimum course requirements in every respect.
• achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements.

Course Policies

Participation : Students are required to schedule and attend meetings with their advisor (number of meetings TBD by advisor), respond to inquiries and requests by advisors, committee members, and thesis coordinator (including timely response to all correspondence over email), and attend all core events related to the thesis (e.g., workshops). 

In recognition of the fact that illness and emergencies occur, students are allowed one absence from scheduled meetings/events without it impacting their grade. After the second absence, the participation score will drop to half. After the third absence, a student will receive a zero for the participation score. Four absences will result in an automatic failure of the course . In the event of exceptional circumstances, a student who has had four absences in a single course can request a hearing with the program faculty to consider granting a waiver of this policy. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to notify the instructor as soon as you know and make a plan for a new meeting time. 

Automatic Failing Grade : If a student misses 4 or more meetings, they will automatically receive an F for the semester. See above for examples of excusable absences and requirements for completing missed course work.

Students who do not submit a thesis proposal or first draft will automatically receive an F for the semester.

Tardiness : Please arrive to meetings on time. Tardiness will result in a loss of participation credit.

Late assignments : You are expected to hand in all assignments on time. Failure to do so will affect your grade at your advisor's discretion. 

All submitted components of the thesis must be your own work and completed in accordance with Rhodes’ Honor Code. Students are expected to be familiar with the requirements of the Code and to conduct themselves accordingly in all classroom matters. Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s information or ideas without proper citation. If you have questions about the correct use or citation of materials, please consult with your advisor or the Writing Center. Papers with evidence of plagiarism will be referred to the Honor Council.

Rhodes faculty are concerned about the well-being and development of our students and are required by policy to share knowledge of sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, sexual exploitation, stalking, sexual harassment, and sex/gender discrimination with the Title IX Coordinator, Tiffany Cox. For more information about Rhodes’s sexual misconduct policy or to make a report, please go here .

While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence) 

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim 

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim 

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis 

• Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
• Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
• Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
• Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
• Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
• picture_as_pdf Thesis

Browse Course Material

Course info.

• David Custer

Departments

• Mechanical Engineering

As Taught In

• Academic Writing

Undergraduate Thesis for Course 2-A

Course meeting times.

Lectures: 7 sessions for 4 weeks, 2 hours / session

Subject Description

2.ThA focuses on the communication problems encountered in researching and writing a thesis. The class is designed to be 1/3 thesis writers anonymous, 1/3 writing and speaking skills, and 1/3 project organization skills. The writing and speaking assignments culminate in a thesis proposal and an oral presentation.

Text and Other Instructional Materials

No textbook is required; all materials are handed out in class.

Teaching Approach

2.ThA is based on the following premises:

• Writing a thesis is a process that requires continual, focused effort.
• Writing, presentation, and research reinforce each other and all contribute to excellence in the final product.
• Writing and presentations improve with practice; feedback produces better writing and presentations. As a corollary, “practice” at thesis writing is difficult to obtain because an individual only writes a few theses, thus the increased need to learn from the experience of others.

Class attendance and participation lead directly to success in 2.ThA; be sure to attend the classes. Students who miss more than one of the required class sessions will require an excused absence from the dean’s office to pass. (Class meets but 7 times.)

Grading is digital. Come to class; write a proposal in a series of drafts; prepare and deliver a series of oral presentations; live long and prosper.

Term Schedule and Assignments

This class meets six times as shown below. Deliverables culminate in a written thesis proposal and an oral presentation based on the proposal. The proposal and an appropriately signed cover sheet must be turned in to the 2.ThA instructor. Finally, students are expected to fill out a pair of end-of-term evaluations, one MIT form and one 2.ThA-specific form.

2.ThA Deliverables Timeline ( PDF )

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By your last term, you should have finished 14 credits of research and be enrolled in 4 credits of BRR403 ( syllabus ). Try to finish any remaining research no later than the beginning of this term, leaving plenty of time to write your thesis. At the beginning of your last term, prepare a brief thesis outline in consultation with your mentor. Also, plan ahead : let your mentor know when you hope to give your final seminar, and make sure he or she will be available. Thesis format:

Your thesis will be written in the format of a manuscript submitted to a scientific journal in your field. You and your mentor will select an appropriate journal. You will follow this format exactly, except that the Introduction and Methods sections of your thesis may be expanded to provide more detail than what is found in a typical journal article. The average thesis is about 25 double-spaced text pages, plus 6-8 tables and figures.  At the discretion of the mentor, additional material may be added in an appendix. Link to examples in Library archive.

A helpful checklist you can use to critique your thesis can be found here.

Thesis/BRR403 Meetings:

You will attend BRR403 during the term you are writing your thesis (usually your final term). The usual meeting time for BRR 403 is Mondays at 5 pm. When you come to the first meeting, you will bring a journal article from the journal you have selected to use for format.

Finishing your thesis: timeline:

The BRR advisor will help you schedule your final seminar/thesis defense, to be held no later than Friday before dead week . You should give drafts of each thesis section to your mentor as you complete them .

Submit a complete draft copy of your thesis to your faculty mentor no later than three weeks prior to final seminar/defense date . Your advisor will meet with you to give you back an edited draft two weeks before your final defense. Submit a revised copy of the thesis to the faculty mentor, secondary advisor, and BRR director no later than one week prior to final seminar/defense date .  This copy should contain the Thesis Title Page and Signatures Page , which you and your committee will sign when the final thesis is approved. [note: clicking on the Thesis Title Page link will download an RTF version of the title and signture pages, which you can open in Word or cut and paste into a Word document. You will insert your information in the highlighted sections and remove the highlighting].

Honors College thesis formatting requirements are slightly different: see link . If you are in Honors College, follow their required format. Your committee will give you suggestions and editorial changes to the thesis at your defense. Using these, edit and submit a final copy of the thesis to your faculty mentor and BRR director. Obtain signatures from your committee on the signatures page and give a signed final copy to the advisor by Wednesday of finals week .

NOTE THAT THE UNIVERSITY HONORS COLLEGE HAS DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS FOR THE THESIS COMMITTEE, TITLE PAGE FORMAT, AND DEADLINES (deadlines are earlier)! YOU WILL HAVE TO HAND IN A BOUND COPY OF YOUR THESIS TO HONORS COLLEGE, WHEREAS BRR RECQUIRES AN ELECTRONIC COPY.

IF YOU ARE IN THE HONORS COLLEGE, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO FIND OUT DETAILS OF THESE HONORS COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS.

EDU4310 – Thesis Proposal Writing and Thesis Research Seminars

Course description, course content, learning outcome, prerequisites, examination, schedule, syllabus and examination date.

• Autumn 2012
• Spring 2012
• Autumn 2011
• Spring 2011

In preparation of the thesis, students will be taught how to develop a research proposal outlining all aspects of the planned work. The proposals will be discussed in research seminars. The proposal must be approved by the supervisor before planned field work for the thesis can be undertaken.

The course aims at enhancing the students’ capacity to plan independent research and to communicate this in a research proposal and orally to the academic community.

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb .

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures .

The Comparative and International Education Programme is open to all students who fulfil the basic requirements above. The main target groups are international students, for example students under the 'Quota' Programme (developing countries), NOMA scholarship students from developing countries, partner institutions, Erasmus students and NORDPLUS students. Norwegian students are also encouraged to apply.

All students in the 3rd semester of the programme have equal access to the course.

Only students who have been admitted to the course may attend the lectures, seminars and examination.

Formal prerequisite knowledge

Students are required to have passed the previous courses.

A minimum of 90% attendance is required of all students. If a student does not fulfil the mandatory attendance requirement, they will need to complete an additional assignment prior to passing the course.

Access to teaching

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

The examination will be passed on the submission of a thesis proposal, as well as an attendance rate of 90%. The submission of the thesis proposal is an obligatory requirement. The proposals must be approved by the responsible teacher before a supervisor can be appointed. The supervisor must approve the final proposal before field work can be undertaken.

Language of examination

The examination language is English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system .

The assignment will count as the entire portion of the final course grade.

Explanations and appeals

• Explanation of grades and appeals

Resit an examination

• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Resitting an examination

Special examination arrangements

Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements .

Facts about this course

Teaching is no longer offered for this course because of the new CIE structure. Exams will continue until Spring 2014.

Exams will continue until Spring 2014.

Faculty of Educational Sciences

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Syllabus COM 5319 Thesis Seminar

As you approach the finish line, it's time for you to get in the driver's seat and grab the steering wheel! The purpose of the Thesis Seminar is to provide you with a road map in the form of individual support regarding the selection, development, and preparation of a suitable research topic. You will be guided and advised in drafting a first proposal summary that will serve as a base for your comprehensive thesis exposé. The course content is directly derived from the areas of interest each one of you is planning to explore in your Master Thesis. Hence, every idea for topics will be discussed in detail to identify possible roadblocks and short cuts, in order to make sure you avoid any dead-end streets or U-Turns that would slow you down. Collaborative creative input and constructive criticism from your co-pilots will serve as a warm-up round for your future defense and provide instant feedback that will redirect your efforts into another direction or give you the green light to gear up and go ahead.

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