MA Thesis Procedures

An MA thesis represents an original investigation into a problem or a research project that contributes new knowledge to the field.  A thesis is not required in our MA program.  You should undertake an MA thesis if some idea or observation intrigues you so much that you want to pursue it in depth, and you wish to have the experience of organizing and executing your own research project. Beyond this, some students may be motivated to write the MA thesis in order to produce a writing sample for PhD applications or because the MA degree may carry more weight professionally if associated with a thesis. Note that students who elect to write a thesis may count the oral thesis-defense as the concluding exam for the program in place of the written comprehensive exam taken by non-thesis-writers.

The Steps

• Select a topic. It is very important that you enlist the help of faculty advisors (official or not) as you work toward a topic. You may also benefit from taking the Research in Linguistics course. Many students try to tackle a project that is much too big for the time and resources available; faculty will help in refining your research question(s) and your methodology into something manageable. You are required to have an approved thesis proposal by April 1 of your first year in the program, but you may start even earlier. (Students graduating in Fall semester should have an approved thesis proposal by Nov. 1 of the preceding year.)
• Select an official advisor and committee. Faculty are not obliged to take on thesis projects, so listen to the feedback you receive from faculty and be prepared to refine your ideas in collaboration with your chosen mentor(s). You will also need to recruit two additional committee members (for a committee of three, including your advisor). At least two of your committee members must be from the Linguistics Department. You are welcome (but not required) to invite a faculty member from another department to serve as the third member of your thesis committee, but faculty members from institutions outside CU are not permitted to serve on MA thesis committees.
• Start early and observe the work schedule religiously. Both the research and the writing are critical steps of your thesis process, and both require time and attention. If you are not making adequate progress, your advisor may require you to leave the thesis plan.

The Schedule

If you plan to graduate with a completed thesis in May of 20xx, you must file your completed thesis by mid-April of 20xx (exact date set by the Graduate School each Academic Year). Before your thesis is filed, it must be researched, written, read by the committee (usually more than one draft), defended, revised, and re-read by the committee. And the defense and revision always happen at a time of the semester when both you and the faculty are extremely busy. You need to allow the faculty readers sufficient time to evaluate the document carefully. You may also have required revisions to implement after the defense and before filing. Be aware that if you do not leave enough time between your defense date and the thesis filing date, you may postpone the awarding of your diploma until the following graduation date (at least).

So aiming for a spring graduation, your schedule might look like this (the dates for a particular year will vary):

• December, first year (end of first semester in program):  Express "soft intent" to do a thesis. This means that you have discussed the thesis possibility with at least one interested faculty member and the Grad Advisor. At this point, you are not yet obligated to write a thesis; however, you are encouraged to take the Research in Linguistics course in Spring to further explore your interests.
• March, first year: Submit a draft thesis proposal (2 pages) that outlines your topic and methods to your advisor and one additional committee member. Incorporate feedback and revise, aiming for approval by April 1.
• April 1, first year: Submit your thesis proposal, approved by your advisor and one additional committee member, to the department. You will also receive instructions about how to officially declare the thesis plan with the Grad School and submit a thesis agreement at this time. You now have nearly a year in which to do the project and write the thesis.
  • April: After your thesis proposal is approved, get right to work! Summer is an excellent time to make progress on your thesis, but faculty are often not very available. So use April to work with your advisor to make sure that you have a concrete plan for independent summer progress.
  • Summer: Implement your summer plan. This might involve a focused review of literature, building an experiment, collecting data, annotating existing data, etc.
  • Fall: Usually the fall is devoted to research and analysis.
  • January-March: Usually the early spring is devoted to writing.
• early-March (or earlier): Submit a full draft of your thesis to your advisor. Often your advisor will want to read this draft and request revisions before you circulate it to the rest of the committee. Expect to do some revising.
• mid-March (at least 2 weeks before defense): Submit the completed thesis (the "defense version") to your committee. Make sure that you have submitted the exam report form to the Graduate School at least two weeks in advance of your defense date.
• late-March: Take the thesis defense exam. Work with your committee and the graduate program assistant in Linguistics to set the time and room for your thesis defense. Allow an hour and a half for the defense. Check with your thesis advisor about the format for the defense (e.g., how long your presentation should be, how many minutes to set aside for questions).
• early-April: Submit the final version of your thesis, incorporating revisions required by your thesis committee, to your thesis committee. Make sure to do this well ahead of the thesis filing deadline; your committee may have further revisions requests. While they read it, make sure your thesis follows Graduate School formatting requirements.
• mid- to late-April: File the thesis with the Graduate School by the thesis filing deadline, ensuring that you have conformed to the thesis specifications.

Additional Regulations

• Credit hours: You must take (i.e., pay for) between 4 and 6 credits of the course listed as "MA Thesis" in order to graduate under the thesis plan. You can register for those hours at any time that is convenient (financially most advantageous) for you and your advisor; the timing of the credits does not have to be the same as the timing of your work on the thesis. You may take all the credits in one semester or divide them across semesters. Those 4-6 credit hours count as elective credits and contribute to the 30 total hours you need to graduate.
• Master's Thesis Plan Form: Students completing a written thesis must submit a Master’s Thesis Plan Form. This form should be submitted after the thesis proposal has been approved by the advisor and one committee member.
• Candidacy application: The Candidacy Application is a form required by the Graduate School before you can take your final exam (which, for thesis writers, is the thesis defense). It is due near the beginning of the semester in which you expect to take the exam (e.g., around Feb. 1 for spring defenses). The candidacy form must be approved by the Department and the Graduate School.
• Comprehensive exam: Students have the option to either write and defend an MA thesis or take the comprehensive exam in order to complete the MA degree requirements. Students who pass the thesis defense are not required to take the written comprehensive exam.

The Rules

There are strict Graduate School procedures and deadlines governing the preparation and submission of the thesis.  Be sure to follow them. The Linguistics Graduate Program Assistant knows the procedures and should be consulted about them. See this link for thesis formatting. Your thesis will be submitted electronically; the signed Thesis Approval Form will also be submitted.