MSTC Thesis Details
MSTC Thesis Details
Students may choose to start their master’s thesis any time after they have completed 15 hours of coursework (and are maintaining a 3.0 GPA). Before submitting a proposal for a thesis, students should talk with the Director of the MSTC program about their plans. In addition, they should discuss their ideas with professors who they think would be most suited to direct the thesis.
TCOM 6390 – Directed Research Semester
After communicating with the Director and other relevant professors, students will enroll in TCOM 6390 - Directed Research.
Students will then put together a thesis proposal form and email it to the Program director by the fourth Monday of the semester in which they enroll in TCOM 6390. The Program Director will share the proposal with the Graduate Advisory Council (GAC) for review.
The GAC has a rotating membership of four faculty members in the MSTC program. They will review the proposal and respond within 2 weeks in one of three ways:
- Approve the proposal
- Ask student to revise and resubmit the proposal
- Reject the proposal with the recommendation that students find another project or consider a different final experience option
If the proposal is approved, students will spend the rest of the semester working on the thesis.
If the proposal is not approved, students will meet with the Director to discuss other options.
TCOM 6391 - Thesis Semester
During this semester, students will work on the thesis with a goal of defending their
work in front of their committee before the end of the semester. Students are expected
to keep the committee members informed about their progress throughout the semester.
Prior to their defense, the Director of the program will assign a third committee
member who acts as an “outside reader." The third member will not see the earlier
drafts of the thesis.
In order to arrange for the defense of their work students are responsible for completing a defense request form (PDF). Students are also responsible for providing a complete and final draft of their thesis to all of their committee members at least two weeks before the defense.
Students should make sure to follow the university formatting guidelines (PDF).
Once their final draft is approved and they have the signature page filled out, students should complete the binding request form (PDF).
The following information provides details about the deliverables and deadlines:
If Taken in the Fall Semester:
Deliverables
Deadline
Submit the 1st draft of the thesis (60% done) to the chair.
September 1
Submit the 2nd draft of the thesis (80% done) to all committee members.
September 15
- Submit the final draft of the thesis (100% done) to all committee members
- Schedule a defense date
October 15
Defend the thesis.
October 30 – November 6
Submit revisions by
December 1
Submit thesis to the library for binding by
December 15
If Taken in the Spring Semester:
Deliverables
Deadline
Submit the 1st draft of the thesis (60% done) to the chair.
January 31
Submit the 2nd draft of the thesis (80% done) to all committee members.
February 15
- Submit the final draft of the thesis (100% done) to all committee members
- Schedule a defense date
March 15
Defend the thesis.
March 31 – April 6
Submit revisions by
April 31
Submit thesis to the library for binding by
May 15