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The Thesis Program for Master's Degrees in English

PLAN A:   Twenty-seven semester hours of course work and the thesis--six semester hours.

ELIGIBILITY:  Applicants for the thesis must be matriculated students who have
completed or are currently completing fifteen credit hours with a 3.0 average.
Applicants must complete two courses in their chosen area of concentration
before registering for the thesis and M.A. candidates must have completed the
language requirement.  If the applicant's record is not filed in the English Office,
the applicant should request that the registrar's office send a transcript to the
Chairperson or Graduate Director.

REGISTRATION FOR THE THESIS:  In the semester the student wishes to begin work on the thesis, she/he should obtain the proper registration form from the English Office or the Graduate Office (EN 118) and should register for six credits of ENG 590--THESIS.  The six credits are awarded after the thesis has been submitted and approved.  Because of the several steps required for final approval of the thesis, it is unusual for a candidate to complete a thesis in one semester.

CHOICE OF TOPIC:  The thesis should be written on a topic related to the student's area of concentration as established in planned M.A. program or as elected in the M.S. program.  Areas of concentration:  American Literature, British Literature, Creative Writing, Composition Theory, Critical Theory, or Women's Studies.

APPLICATION FOR THESIS ADVISOR:  A student should choose his/her specific topic for research in consultation with the member of the English Graduate Faculty he/she wishes to have as thesis advisor.  The student should then make a formal request for the advisor by filing with the chairperson of the department a thesis advisor form, available in the English Office or from the Graduate Director. The Chairperson will appoint a second reader whose name is added to the advisor assignment form. The Chairperson retains the original form and sends copies to the applicant, thesis advisor, second reader, course advisor, Graduate Director, and the English Office file.  If a thesis advisor or a second reader is unable to continue to serve, the chairperson appoints a replacement.

CONSULTATION WITH THE THESIS ADVISOR:  Unless the thesis advisor suggests other arrangements, the student should consult the advisor regularly and submit material chapter by chapter for comments and suggestions.  While the student is not required to contact the second reader, she/he is strongly urged to submit the completed first draft to the reader for comments and suggestions before the formal submission ten weeks prior to the end of the semester in which she/he intends to graduate.

GUIDE FOR THESIS PROPOSAL: Prior to writing any portion of the thesis itself, students  must submit a proposal to the  Graduate Office, signed by both the advisor and the chair, to the Graduate Office (EN 118) for approval. This proposal must follow rigidly the guidelines outlined in the Graduate School's Requirements and Guidelines for Graduate Theses (click on link). If you have difficulty in applying the guidelines outlined in the Graduate Studies brochure on page four, you may wish to consult the following English Department suggestions.  You and your advisor must agree that you have met the Graduate School's five requirements. Remember that the thesis proposal must be completed and accepted by the Graduate School by the end of the semester in which the student registers for ENG 590.

To fulfill requirements 1-2:

A specific description of the topic being studied including a statement of its relationship to existing studies of the same author, genre, style, historical period, etc.  If, for example, one proposes an unprecedented critical reading of an author's works or if one wishes to concentrate on a relatively neglected topic or work of an author or if one decides to re-examine previously unresolved issues, such a direction should be noted.

To fulfill requirements 3 and 5:

A complete bibliography of primary readings and an annotated bibliography of secondary readings that suggests the critical orientation and general relevance of the work to the thesis topic.

To fulfill requirement 4:

Describe what critical approach or approaches (e.g. historical, structuralist, post-structuralist, Freudian, Marxist, feminist, reader-response, close textual analysis, etc.) to your topic you will draw on, including a statement describing why that is appropriate.

 

GUIDES FOR USE IN WRITING THE THESIS: Once the proposal has been approved by the Graduate School, the student can then being to write her or his thesis. In so doing, the student needs to be aware of specific guidelines in the aforementioned Requirements and Guidelines for Graduate Theses. A hard copy of this document is available in the Graduate Office (EN 118). For complete details of manuscript form, the student should consult the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook usually available in the SCSU bookstore.

EVALUATION OF THESIS:Faculty readers will be guided in their evaluation of
theses by the following considerations:  the topic must be substantial and clearly defined, and the outline and development of material should demonstrate logical thinking.  The thesis must represent careful analysis of primary materials and appropriate synthesis of secondary materials.  The final manuscript must be consistent with the principles enunciated in the "Graduate Studies' "Requirements and Guidelines for Graduate Theses" and MLA Handbook.  A grade of commendation will be awarded when both readers and the chairperson agree that the scholarship and writing are of unusual merit. The criteria for the evaluation of creative writing theses is detailed in a separate statement.

SUBMISSION OF THE COMPLETED THESIS AND ABSTRACT:An original and one copy of the completed thesis should be given to the thesis advisor, who will submit the copy to the second reader. When the advisor and the second reader have both approved the thesis, they will indicate their approval on the signature page of the original completed thesis.  Since the advisor or the second reader may require minor or major revisions before approving the thesis, the student must include adequate time for potential revisions in his thesis calendar (see below). Neither reader will sign the signature page until final revisions and retyping, if necessary, have been satisfactorily completed.  If a grade of commendation is to be awarded, the thesis advisor appends to the signature page a brief citation signed also by the second reader and the chairperson.

DATES FOR SUBMISSION OF THESES:

For graduation in January or May:

    * Ten weeks prior to the end of the semester:  submit two copies of the completed draft to the advisor.

    * Six weeks prior to the end of the semester: If revisions and/or retyping have been necessary, submit two final copies of the thesis to the advisor.

    * Four weeks prior to the end of the semester: Advisor returns the original and one copy of the approved signed thesis to the student who submits the original approved signed thesis with two copies of the approved thesis abstract and the title page to the Dean of the Graduate School.

Note: Theses received in the graduate office later than four weeks prior to the end of the semester will be reviewed for approval, but the student will not receive the degree until next formal awarding of diplomas.  The student can, however, request an official letter from the registrar certifying the completion of all work for the degree as soon as the thesis is approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.
FORM FOR ASSIGNMENT OF THESIS ADVISOR AND SECOND READER

Name of Student______________________________________________________

Number of Completed Graduate Credits with 3.0 Average______________________

Language Requirement for M.A. Candidates_________________________________

Degree Program______________Area of Concentration_______________________

Thesis Topic or Area of Research_________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Thesis Advisor Requested_______________________________________________

Approval_____________________________________________________________
Chairperson, Department of English

Second Reader Appointed by the Chairperson_________________________________

Date__________________________________________________________________
Original--Chairperson of the English Department
Six Copies:
Student
Student File in the English Office
Thesis Advisor
Second Reader
Course Advisor
Graduate Coordinator