Thesis Option
This six-credit thesis option provides advanced graduate students with the opportunity to explore in-depth a topic of interest through a supervised research project.
Allows for:
| individualized instruction with faculty | ||
| provides a basis for doctoral-level work
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You must:
| register for the thesis credit (the appropriate time to register is discussed further in this outline) | ||
| identify a faculty member to serve as "thesis committee chair" | ||
| begin discussions with your committee chair concerning your interests |
Select a thesis committee:
| consists of three or four faculty members which includes the committee chair |
committee may include an off-campus person with special expertise, but needs to be requested by the department and be approved by the Graduate School Dean
Process includes:
| submission of a 3-5 page prospectus which is to be expanded into an 8-10 page proposal | ||
| proposal must be approved by tentative committee members and forwarded to the Sociology Graduate Coordinator for review and approval | ||
| proposal must be approved by both thesis committee and Sociology Graduate Committee prior to semester one intends to register for thesis credit | ||
| Research Topic approval Form must then be submitted to the Graduate School |
If applicable to research being conducted, the IRB (Institutional Review Board) must have all paperwork that is required. Upon approval by the IRB, you may register for the 6 credit hours (SOC 850)
It is important:
| to meet regularly with your committee members | ||
| that format conforms to format outlined by the Graduate School |
After review of the written thesis, the committee interviews the student in an oral "thesis defense."
The oral defense must be announced to all Sociology faculty members two weeks prior to the date that it is scheduled to take place. A flyer must be posted in the department announcing the title, presenter's name, and date and time of defense.
For those who choose the thesis option, they are not required to take the comprehensive exams.
You can find the procedures for the Master's Thesis in the Sociology Graduate Student Handbook.
Format, stipulations, submissions, and graduation dates, as well as other important information appear in the Thesis/Dissertation Manual which is available at the Graduate School Office.
Please note: The dates for filing the "Research Topic Approval Form" prior to writing a thesis or dissertation are also listed in the Thesis/Dissertation Manual available in the Graduate School and Research.
This webpage does not replace the Sociology Graduate Student Catalog and is intended to provide only an outline concerning the thesis option. For further reference see the Sociology Graduate Student Catalog.
This website is currently being developed and the thesis defense dates will eventually be announced in the Announcement link. Also, deadlines concerning the thesis process are important to remember and will be included in the future. We also are planning to create an IUP Sociology Thesis Library on the website. This site site would include a selection of theses written by former Graduate students. The site will include the authors name, thesis title and an abstract of the work. You may also view theses written by former students in the IUP Stapleton Library.
Please click here to access Graduate School Deadlines.
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