Thesis Components

Checklist for Presentating Your Thesis Proposal

This should contain:

• the abstract
• the hypothesis
• the theoretical perspective
• reflections of the evolution of your project
• and conclusions.

Use appropriate graphics and hypertext links to related websites. Both the proposal and presentation are due on the last day of class.


Proposal Components

• Title Page

• NAME OF YOUR UNIVERSITY
• TITLE OF YOUR STUDY
• A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
• IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
• FOR THE DEGREE
• MASTER OF FINE ARTS
• YOUR DEPARTMENT NAME
• BY YOUR NAME
• © 2005 Your Name

• Acknowledgments (Optional)
This is where you thank those people who have assisted you to this point in your project.
If you receive a grant from the university or from an outside funding source, you should acknowledge the contributors.
Keep it sincere, but keep it short and simple.


• Lists of Tables, Illustrations, Abbreviations, and Symbols (if applicable)


• Table of Contents

Write the Table of Contents after you have completed your entire proposal.
Double check page numbers for accuracy.


Title of the Study
o Include a working title for your proposal. This title may change as you move through the research process. The recommended length for the title is 10 to 12 words.


• Introduction
The introduction provides an orientation for the reader. It announces the topic you intend to investigate and often states the purpose of the study, provides a brief overview of the content, describes the organization of the study, and provides some background in order to place the study in appropriate context.


• Overview of the Inquiry
This overview is a brief synopsis of the study. This serves to further orient the reader to what will follow. It presents a general description of the line of inquiry you will pursue. It also presents the tentative arguments you intend to pose.


• Statement of Intent
This section of the proposal states the overall purpose of the study. It may also describe the significance of the study for a particular audience or group. This is where you will talk about how you think your master’s thesis will relate to your major MFA artistic project.


• Guiding Research Questions
Your research questions will provide the conceptual layout for the entire study. Some of the questions you may want to include are:

• How does my studio project relate to my previous coursework and to my own personal reading and research?
• What are the questions I am trying to answer by completing the project?
• What problem am I trying to solve?
• What do I want others to learn from my project?

• Review of Relevant Discourses
These discourses may be scholarly literature. However, you may include other types of discourse if you think they may shed light on your project or help you make your point. Other types of discourse may include books, critical reviews, journals, mass media, policy documents, correspondence, position papers, and other relevant pieces of writing related to your study.

• Research Procedures
Describe what you believe you will have to do to complete the creative project and the thesis. This section will describe the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of your research study. This section will be brief and will describe your overall plan for conducting the thesis research.

• Anticipated Portrayals (Narratives, Descriptions, Examples, etc.)
Here you will describe the type of information you will provide to support your discussion. For example, you may use personal narratives, critiques, interview summaries, or other formats.

• Tentative Outline of Thesis Chapters
You might consider listing the title and anticipated purpose of each of your chapters. Following the listing, you may want to include a description of the types of information you will use to support your arguments or discussion. Placing such information together in one section helps to bring the details of your study into sharper focus.

• Tentative Schedule For Completing the Thesis Research
You probably will include in this section your best guesses about when you intend to complete the various tasks involved in completing your study and your creative project. Remember that nothing is cast in stone at this point.


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