A Master's thesis is a written piece of work consisting of original research related to the field. The formal requirements for a written thesis are the same as those for a doctoral dissertation, it being understood however that the Master's thesis will, in most cases, be considerably shorter than a doctoral dissertation. A Master’s thesis is the more traditional route to completing a graduate degree and is highly recommend for those interested in careers in academia and research and/or those who are interested in continuing their education to the Ph.D. level. As the thesis is generally a selective study with a specific focus, it affords the student the opportunity to concentrate on an academic area of interest and to conduct meaningful research and inquiry into that area.
Printable S-CAR Thesis Process Handbook
CONF 797- Thesis Proposal (1 Credit)-Thesis Proposal CONF 797 is strongly recommended, but not required, for students planning to complete a thesis. Student can register for Thesis Proposal the semester before they plan to begin their thesis. This class will assist in beginning the process of researching potential thesis topics, all while receiving feedback from the instructor and fellow students-culminating in a Thesis Proposal at the end of the semester. NOTE: All students are required to write a thesis proposal regardless of whether or not they take CONF 797. Once the thesis proposal is approved, a proposal signature page and copy of your proposal must be submitted to the S-CAR MS Program Director and S-CAR Graduate Student Services Director for record keeping. These can be printed on regular paper. This serves as a contract that can be referred back to by the student or committee members for clarification. If you choose not to complete a thesis after registering and completing CONF 797, the 1 credit course will then count towards your elective credits.
CONF 799-Thesis- Before registering for CONF 799 you will need to find a faculty chair for your thesis comittee and have some sense of your thesis topic. Students may register for CONF 799 after an S-CAR faculty member has agreed to chair the student’s thesis committee. Registration requires a CRN specific to the thesis chair, so students will need to contact their chair or the Graduate Student Services Director for the correct course registration number (CRN). Please note that the CRN will change each term, so you will need to request a new CRN for each term you register for CONF 799 (fall, spring and summer). Patriot Web will use a default registration of 1 credit, but you can click on 1 credit and change it up to 6 credits. It is recommended that a student register for thesis over 2 terms as opposed to registering for all 6 credits in one term. Students must register for thesis each semester until they reach the required 6 credits. A student who has not completed his/her thesis after meeting the six hours credit allowed must register for at least 1 hour of thesis (CONF 799) credit each semester until the thesis is completed. Students working on their thesis must maintain continuous registration. A grade of "IP" will be assigned for CONF 799 courses until the thesis is completed at which time Change of Grade Forms will be issued by S-CAR.
Students completing a Master’s thesis must submit a copy of their proposal and all other necessary documents to the Human Subjects Review Board (HSRB), even if the thesis research will not include research on human subjects.
- Students interested in completing a Master’s Thesis should consult http://thesis.gmu.edu regularly to ensure they are meeting the appropriate GMU requirements. Templates are also available there to ensure proper formatting.
- George Mason University requires strict adherence to the formats described in the online thesis guide. All dissertations, theses, and projects must be reviewed by the University Dissertation and Thesis Coordinator prior to final submission. Please make an appointment with the University Dissertation and Thesis Coordinator, udts@gmu.edu, to review formatting guidelines as soon as you have a workable draft.
- For degree conferral, two copies with cover sheets signed by committee and director must be submitted to the library by 5:00 p.m. on the last Friday of classes in the term in which the student plans to graduate. In addition, one copy and one e-copy need to be deposited in S-CAR’s Burton Library.
- You are encourages to submit an e-copy of your thesis to Mason's Archival Repository Services (MARS) and to upload a pdf copy of your thesis to your S-CAR profile page (contact the John Burton Library if you have questions about this).
Students completing a thesis do not have to “defend” their thesis as doctoral students do. However, because your work is very important to the S-CAR community, we do encourage students to present their work in some way. At least one “brown bag” lunch session is reserved each semester for these presentations, as well as a Celebration of Achievements each spring.
The Earlier the Better
Many students find themselves in a stressful situation trying to finish all of the thesis requirements in the last minute. Give yourself plenty of time to submit a draft to your committee members to allow them to make recommendations for revising your work. Pay attention to University deadlines for format reviews, making appointments with the UDTS coordintaor and final submission deadlines.
Communication is Key
S-CAR faclty have very different schedules and frequently travel, especially during the summer months. If you are planning on submitting your thesis during the summer, make sure that everyone on your committee is aware and available for draft reviews and signatures. It is up to the student to make sure that they communitcate with their committeee about important meetings and deadlines. The student is ultimately responsible to obtain all necessary signatures from the committee along with the S-CAR MS Program Director and the S-CAR Director well before you submit your final copy Please do not wait until the final week before the thesis deadline to obtain signatures.
Pay Attention to Specific Guidelines
S-CAR does not provide 100% cotton paper for thesis printing and submission. It is up to the student to purchase their own paper and print their own thesis copies.
For a helpful student guide and checklist click HERE
Important information to consider for the final semester of your program:
• The final copy of your theses or dissertation must be submitted to Mason Library no later than the 1st Friday of December (12/9/11); 1st Friday of May (5/4/12); or 1st Friday of August (8/6/12). These dates are not negotiable. See Mason requirements for formatting, checklists and requirements: http://thesis.gmu.edu/References
• The defense for your thesis or dissertation must occur 1 month prior to those final due dates (11/9/11; 4/4/12 or 7/6/12)
• All committee members must have your final draft of the dissertation or thesis one month prior to the defense (10/9/11; 3/4/12 or 6/6/12).
• The announcement to the community is one week before the defense for the Master’s Thesis and two weeks before the defense for the Doctoral Dissertation. See student handbook for specifics: (http://icar.gmu.edu/Handbook_Fall_2009.pdf). These dates are not negotiable.
[To summarize: If you plan to graduate fall semester you must have a final draft to your committee the first week of OCTOBER; if in the spring, the first week of MARCH; if in the summer, the first week of JUNE.]
