Thesis Proposal

The student submits a written proposal to the Faculty. The student also orally presents the thesis proposal to interested faculty and students in a public colloquium.

A thesis proposal should

• Explain the basic idea of the thesis topic (e.g., the problem to be solved and the approach to solving it)

• Argue why that topic is interesting (e.g., what contributions to the field would be made in carrying out the proposed work)

• State what kind of results are expected

• Argue that these results are obtainable within a reasonable amount of time

• Demonstrate the student's personal qualifications for doing the proposed work

The main purpose of the thesis proposal is to convince the faculty that the chosen thesis topic is significant and that the student's approach has a reasonable chance of success. A thesis proposal gives the faculty the opportunity to pass such judgment at the start of the work and not at the end. We want to minimize the chance that a thesis will be turned down when almost completed. We expect students to present their thesis proposals as early as possible, not halfway through writing the thesis. A thesis proposal should be short, about ten to fifteen pages.

A thesis proposal should not be

• A dry run for the thesis

• A summary or abstract of the thesis

• The first chapter or part of the thesis

• A technical report

• A survey of the field

• An annotated bibliography

Any included list of references or bibliography should serve the purpose of supporting the assessment of the state of the art and the student's personal qualifications.

To provide ample notice to the public, at least one week in advance of the oral presentation, students should provide the Associate Department Head with one hardcopy of the thesis proposal, an on-line copy of the proposal's abstract, and a list of the thesis committee members, including the external member. The Associate Department Head posts the public announcement of the thesis proposal presentation.

Upon completion of the thesis proposal the student must complete a Doctoral Candidate Contractual Agreement Form provided by the Associate Department Head.