a thesis in university

Think of yourself as a member of a jury, listening to a lawyer who is presenting an opening argument. You'll want to know very soon whether the lawyer believes the accused to be guilty or not guilty, and how the lawyer plans to convince you. Readers of academic essays are like jury members: before they have read too far, they want to know what the essay argues as well as how the writer plans to make the argument. After reading your thesis statement, the reader should think, "This essay is going to try to convince me of something. I'm not convinced yet, but I'm interested to see how I might be."

An effective thesis cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." A thesis is not a topic; nor is it a fact; nor is it an opinion. "Reasons for the fall of communism" is a topic. "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" is a fact known by educated people. "The fall of communism is the best thing that ever happened in Europe" is an opinion. (Superlatives like "the best" almost always lead to trouble. It's impossible to weigh every "thing" that ever happened in Europe. And what about the fall of Hitler? Couldn't that be "the best thing"?)

A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay.

Steps in Constructing a Thesis

First, analyze your primary sources.  Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication. Does the author contradict himself or herself? Is a point made and later reversed? What are the deeper implications of the author's argument? Figuring out the why to one or more of these questions, or to related questions, will put you on the path to developing a working thesis. (Without the why, you probably have only come up with an observation—that there are, for instance, many different metaphors in such-and-such a poem—which is not a thesis.)

Once you have a working thesis, write it down.  There is nothing as frustrating as hitting on a great idea for a thesis, then forgetting it when you lose concentration. And by writing down your thesis you will be forced to think of it clearly, logically, and concisely. You probably will not be able to write out a final-draft version of your thesis the first time you try, but you'll get yourself on the right track by writing down what you have.

Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction.  A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter (5-15 page) essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction. Although this is not required in all academic essays, it is a good rule of thumb.

Anticipate the counterarguments.  Once you have a working thesis, you should think about what might be said against it. This will help you to refine your thesis, and it will also make you think of the arguments that you'll need to refute later on in your essay. (Every argument has a counterargument. If yours doesn't, then it's not an argument—it may be a fact, or an opinion, but it is not an argument.)

This statement is on its way to being a thesis. However, it is too easy to imagine possible counterarguments. For example, a political observer might believe that Dukakis lost because he suffered from a "soft-on-crime" image. If you complicate your thesis by anticipating the counterargument, you'll strengthen your argument, as shown in the sentence below.

Some Caveats and Some Examples

A thesis is never a question.  Readers of academic essays expect to have questions discussed, explored, or even answered. A question ("Why did communism collapse in Eastern Europe?") is not an argument, and without an argument, a thesis is dead in the water.

A thesis is never a list.  "For political, economic, social and cultural reasons, communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" does a good job of "telegraphing" the reader what to expect in the essay—a section about political reasons, a section about economic reasons, a section about social reasons, and a section about cultural reasons. However, political, economic, social and cultural reasons are pretty much the only possible reasons why communism could collapse. This sentence lacks tension and doesn't advance an argument. Everyone knows that politics, economics, and culture are important.

A thesis should never be vague, combative or confrontational.  An ineffective thesis would be, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because communism is evil." This is hard to argue (evil from whose perspective? what does evil mean?) and it is likely to mark you as moralistic and judgmental rather than rational and thorough. It also may spark a defensive reaction from readers sympathetic to communism. If readers strongly disagree with you right off the bat, they may stop reading.

An effective thesis has a definable, arguable claim.  "While cultural forces contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of economies played the key role in driving its decline" is an effective thesis sentence that "telegraphs," so that the reader expects the essay to have a section about cultural forces and another about the disintegration of economies. This thesis makes a definite, arguable claim: that the disintegration of economies played a more important role than cultural forces in defeating communism in Eastern Europe. The reader would react to this statement by thinking, "Perhaps what the author says is true, but I am not convinced. I want to read further to see how the author argues this claim."

A thesis should be as clear and specific as possible.  Avoid overused, general terms and abstractions. For example, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because of the ruling elite's inability to address the economic concerns of the people" is more powerful than "Communism collapsed due to societal discontent."

Copyright 1999, Maxine Rodburg and The Tutors of the Writing Center at Harvard University

Thesis Statements

What this handout is about.

This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft.

Introduction

Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement:

• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.)

How do I create a thesis?

A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way.

Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming .

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :

• Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. If the prompt isn’t phrased as a question, try to rephrase it. For example, “Discuss the effect of X on Y” can be rephrased as “What is the effect of X on Y?”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to  be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
• Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Suppose you are taking a course on contemporary communication, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: “Discuss the impact of social media on public awareness.” Looking back at your notes, you might start with this working thesis:

Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.

You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.

• Do I answer the question? You can analyze this if you rephrase “discuss the impact” as “what is the impact?” This way, you can see that you’ve answered the question only very generally with the vague “positive and negative ways.”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not likely. Only people who maintain that social media has a solely positive or solely negative impact could disagree.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? No. What are the positive effects? What are the negative effects?
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? No. Why are they positive? How are they positive? What are their causes? Why are they negative? How are they negative? What are their causes?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? No. Why should anyone care about the positive and/or negative impact of social media?

After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:

Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters.

This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters.

Let’s try another. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn!” You grab a pad of paper and write:

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.

You begin to analyze your thesis:

• Do I answer the question? No. The prompt asks you to analyze some aspect of the novel. Your working thesis is a statement of general appreciation for the entire novel.

Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.

• Do I answer the question? Yes!
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not really. This contrast is well-known and accepted.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? It’s getting there–you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. However, it’s still not clear what your analysis will reveal.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? Not yet. Compare scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck’s actions and reactions and anything else that seems interesting.
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? What’s the point of this contrast? What does it signify?”

After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 2018. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing , 8th ed. New York: Pearson.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

Writing your thesis

Follow these steps, thesis proposal arrow_drop_down.

Most doctoral programs and some master’s programs require students to submit a formal thesis proposal. The thesis proposal is an excellent planning tool. It helps bring the thesis topic into sharper focus. A thesis proposal may start out being vague, but as the student works on the proposal and discusses it with his or her supervisor, the proposal should outline: 

• the topic or the central research question
• the resources from which the topic or research question is drawn, and
• where relevant, the strategies and instruments used for data collection and analysis.

The research conducted for the proposal will be a useful foundation in preparing the thesis. With this in mind, during this proposal writing stage, the student should start “building” what will eventually become footnotes or endnotes, and a full bibliography or list of references. This means taking meticulous notes and keeping track of the author, title, place and date of publication, and any relevant page numbers in works consulted.

Where appropriate, it is helpful to outline in the proposal the actual papers that will be submitted should the work proceed as planned, including authorships in the case of collaborative projects. This will give the student and the supervisor a clear idea of responsibilities and expectations.

The student may have to present the proposal formally as part of the approval process. This is an opportunity to sharpen the student's focus and to set out exactly how he or she intends to proceed.

Some research projects require other approvals such as ethical clearances. The thesis supervisor should know what approvals are required and how they can be obtained, but the student is ultimately responsible for obtaining these approvals.

Topic registration arrow_drop_down

The topic of the thesis is to be determined in consultation with the student's research supervisor.  

From the  uoZone  Application tab, click Candidate Center to create a service request and register your thesis topic.

Work plan arrow_drop_down

The work plan should include realistic target dates for all the major milestones. Students should show their thesis supervisor a work plan as soon as possible. This will help ensure that the student has not forgotten anything, and give the student a sense of whether his or her expectations about turnaround time and feedback are feasible for the supervisor. Once the student and supervisor have discussed and agreed on the work plan, the student should give the supervisor a copy. Information supplements are at the student's disposal to help them prepare their work plan.

Components of a work plan

The work plan, at a minimum should include at least ballpark dates for these:

• narrowing down the thesis topic
• beginning the research
• completing the field work, the mining of sources, or the experimental part or the data collection
• coming up with at least a rough thesis outline at a point appropriate to the topic and discipline
• completing most of your research
• where relevant, drafting and submitting each chapter to the thesis supervisor
• where relevant, receiving feedback on each chapter submitted
• submitting a completed first draft to the supervisor
• hearing back from the supervisor after the student submits the completed first draft
• doing changes that the student and supervisor have agreed on
• providing the last version of the thesis to the supervisor for approval before submission of the thesis
• submitting articles to journals
• presenting research at conferences
• submitting the completed thesis
• defending the thesis (some master's programs do not require an oral defence)

Research arrow_drop_down

By the time the candidate becomes a graduate student, he or she should know quite a bit about writing papers even though the sheer size of the thesis project makes a difference. The supervisor will help, but any student embarking on a thesis should also read up independently on how to research and write a thesis.  The style guide appropriate to the student's discipline will include tips on research, the mechanics of writing, and citing sources properly.

Improving skills

The students will need to use their research, writing and oral presentation skills to complete their thesis. They will improve in all these areas with practice. If a candidate lacks confidence in any of the skills necessary for success, he or she should speak to the thesis supervisor about training courses that may be offered at the University to address what they perceive as shortcomings in the required abilities. Avail of the  Academic Writing Help Centre’s (AWHC)  resources about the mechanics of writing.

Literature review

The purpose of a literature review is to demonstrate the student’s knowledge of, and ability to synthesize, major aspects of the scholarly literature of the field in which the student’s thesis is situated. The review also helps the reader to place the student’s work in its context. As a finished product, the literature review shows that the student is familiar with the literature pertinent to his topic; shows the importance of his decision to conduct research and write on the topic with the approach chosen; explores what has been written on the topic and by whom; and, explores what the literature tells, what it does not tell, and why both of these are important for his topic.

The scope of the literature review must be broader than the topic of the student’s thesis. It must cover the major scholarly contributions to the field of study in which the student’s thesis is situated.

Narrow down your topic

The students should discuss potential topics with the supervisor and colleagues, and think carefully about the feasibility of the topic in relation to the number and complexity of the experiments required, the lab equipment required, their knowledge of the different related fields, the extent of the reading required, and the accessibility of the books or items to be studied. 

Get approvals

As already discussed, the students have to obtain all the necessary approvals for your thesis topic. In addition to ethics and other approvals, a student who plans to travel abroad to do research must investigate possible international travel restrictions. Depending on the country in which the research will be conducted, students should check with the  Office of Risk Management and uOInternational before making plans to do research abroad.

Research: collect and analyze data

When researching the topic, or collecting and analyzing data, the student should read as widely as possible and take meticulous notes identifying each source. They should also sharpen their focus as they go, if necessary, and keep developing and refining their thesis outlines.

Hints on note-taking and proper referencing

Writing arrow_drop_down

Depending on the discipline and topic, the student may finish all their research and then begin writing, or they may move back and forth between research and writing.

It is important to know when it is time to stop researching and start writing. The students should give themselves time to develop ideas, but recognize real procrastination and try to avoid it.

When the students start writing, they shouldn't get stuck on the introduction. The thesis will have a linear structure in the end, but that doesn’t mean it starts out that way. The student should get as much written as they can. Then they can really start to work with it. Since writing is a way of thinking, in some disciplines the students may have to write all the way to the end of a section before they arrive at what they really want to say—at that point they may move the end to the beginning and start again.

A cademic Writing Help Centre (AWHC)

Revision arrow_drop_down

The students should expect to have to make revisions to what they have already written, either as a result of their own analyses of the ideas, structure and organization of the paper or as a result of feedback from others. Revision as a result of feedback is an important part of writing a thesis and good practice—in many workplaces, revision as a result of feedback is part of the job.

Editing arrow_drop_down

There are many kinds of editing the student might have to do to their thesis. These range from relatively superficial proofreading and copy editing for spelling and typographical errors to more substantive edits that get at the heart of the paper and border on revision—reorganizing sections, for example.

It is possible to seek professional proofreading assistance by hiring an editor. Students should always consult their thesis supervisor before seeking services of professional proofreaders /editors . In such case s , the student is entirely responsible for the cost of services rendered by the editor. It is the student ’s responsibility to accept, decline or challenge the advice and corrections suggested by a proofreader.  Students must formally acknowledge the use of a proofreader in the final submitted version of the thesis.

Beyond the basic steps outlined above, how the student proceeds with the research and writing will depend a lot on the chosen discipline, the topic and the student's personal style.

Academic Writing Help Center (AWHC)

Thesis seminar arrow_drop_down

Some academic units require a student to lead a seminar on the thesis topic towards the end of the thesis preparation period usually a couple of months before the thesis defence. Fellow students, supervisors, members of the thesis committee and other members of the academic unit often attend.

In some cases, students present their research within a seminar course, usually referred to as a research seminar. This seminar provides an ideal forum for a student to discuss the thesis and to practice for the upcoming defence.

The student should check with his or her thesis supervisor and academic unit to see whether this is possible or required in the chosen program.

Also, the students should attend seminars given by other students in the chosen program or in other programs. This way, they can get a realistic idea of what will be expected. They should also attend or present at the annual interdisciplinary conference organized by the Graduate Student’s Association (GSAÉD) at the University of Ottawa.

Learn about thesis types

Master thesis arrow_drop_down.

A master’s thesis must show that the student is able to work in a scholarly manner and is acquainted with the principal works published on the subject of the thesis. As much as possible, it should be an original contribution. Some disciplines require that the thesis be of publishable quality. There is an oral examination for a master’s thesis, in the presence of examiners, if that is a program requirement.  Some master’s programs do not require an oral examination for the thesis.

Doctoral thesis arrow_drop_down

A doctoral thesis must make a significant contribution to knowledge in a field of study, embody the results of original investigation and analysis, and be of such quality as to merit publication.

A doctoral thesis may build upon and continue the work done by a student in his or her master’s thesis, but must go significantly beyond the master’s thesis and be substantially different from that thesis. There is an oral examination for a doctoral thesis, in presence of examiners.

Thesis formats

Monograph thesis arrow_drop_down.

The monograph thesis is the most usual form in the humanities and social sciences and it resembles a non-fiction book in that it deals in depth with a particular topic.

Monograph components

Thesis as a series of articles arrow_drop_down

A significant number of thesis, especially in the sciences, engineering and medicine, consist of a series of articles or, very rarely, a single article. Each individual academic unit decides which format is suitable for its discipline, so before the student embarks on the thesis, he or she should check with the academic unit to see what format is accepted.

Components of a thesis in a series of articles (see C-7.3)

Non-traditional thesis arrow_drop_down

It is the responsibility of each program to determine what non-traditional thesis forms are acceptable.

Components of a non-traditional thesis (see C-7.3)

Additional information

Ethics and collaboration arrow_drop_down.

If the research embodied in the article or articles required approval of an ethics board or was part of a collaboration, this must be spelled out in a preface. In this preface or statement, the student must indicate what ethics approvals were secured and give a detailed account of the contributions of collaborators and/or co-authors which clearly distinguishes the contributions of this student from those of all other collaborators or co-authors, and identifies in detail all other contributions.

Copyright arrow_drop_down

The student must get permission to use copyrighted material from any co-authors as well as from publishers.

Thesis toolbox

How to find resources by format

Why use a dissertation or a thesis.

A dissertation is the final large research paper, based on original research, for many disciplines to be able to complete a PhD degree. The thesis is the same idea but for a masters degree.

They are often considered scholarly sources since they are closely supervised by a committee, are directed at an academic audience, are extensively researched, follow research methodology, and are cited in other scholarly work. Often the research is newer or answering questions that are more recent, and can help push scholarship in new directions. 

Search for dissertations and theses

Locating dissertations and theses.

The Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global database includes doctoral dissertations and selected masters theses from major universities worldwide.

• Searchable by subject, author, advisor, title, school, date, etc.
• More information about full text access and requesting through Interlibrary Loan

NDLTD – Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations provides free online access to a over a million theses and dissertations from all over the world.

WorldCat Dissertations and Theses searches library catalogs from across the U.S. and worldwide.

Locating University of Minnesota Dissertations and Theses

Use  Libraries search  and search by title or author and add the word "thesis" in the search box. Write down the library and call number and find it on the shelf. They can be checked out.

Check the  University Digital Conservancy  for online access to dissertations and theses from 2007 to present as well as historic, scanned theses from 1887-1923.

Other Sources for Dissertations and Theses

• Center for Research Libraries
• DART-Europe E-Thesis Portal
• Theses Canada
• Ethos (Great Britain)
• Australasian Digital Theses in Trove
• DiVA (Sweden)
• E-Thesis at the University of Helsinki
• DissOnline (Germany)
• List of libraries worldwide - to search for a thesis when you know the institution and cannot find in the larger collections

University of Minnesota Dissertations and Theses FAQs

What dissertations and theses are available.

With minor exceptions, all doctoral dissertations and all "Plan A" master's theses accepted by the University of Minnesota are available in the University Libraries system. In some cases (see below) only a non-circulating copy in University Archives exists, but for doctoral dissertations from 1940 to date, and for master's theses from 1925 to date, a circulating copy should almost always be available.

"Plan B" papers, accepted in the place of a thesis in many master's degree programs, are not received by the University Libraries and are generally not available. (The only real exceptions are a number of old library school Plan B papers on publishing history, which have been separately cataloged.) In a few cases individual departments may have maintained files of such papers.

In what libraries are U of M dissertations and theses located?

Circulating copies of doctoral dissertations:.

• Use Libraries Search to look for the author or title of the work desired to determine location and call number of a specific dissertation. Circulating copies of U of M doctoral dissertations can be in one of several locations in the library system, depending upon the date and the department for which the dissertation was done. The following are the general rules:
• Dissertations prior to 1940 Circulating copies of U of M dissertations prior to 1940 do not exist (with rare exceptions): for these, only the archival copy (see below) is available. Also, most dissertations prior to 1940 are not cataloged in MNCAT and can only be identified by the departmental listings described below.  
• Dissertations from 1940-1979 Circulating copies of U of M dissertations from 1940 to 1979 will in most cases be held within the Elmer L. Andersen Library, with three major classes of exceptions: dissertations accepted by biological, medical, and related departments are housed in the Health Science Library; science/engineering dissertations from 1970 to date will be located in the Science and Engineering Library (in Walter); and dissertations accepted by agricultural and related departments are available at the Magrath Library or one of the other libraries on the St. Paul campus (the Magrath Library maintains records of locations for such dissertations).  
• Dissertations from 1980-date Circulating copies of U of M dissertations from 1980 to date at present may be located either in Wilson Library (see below) or in storage; consult Libraries Search for location of specific items. Again, exceptions noted above apply here also; dissertations in their respective departments will instead be in Health Science Library or in one of the St. Paul campus libraries.

Circulating copies of master's theses:

• Theses prior to 1925 Circulating copies of U of M master's theses prior to 1925 do not exist (with rare exceptions); for these, only the archival copy (see below) is available.  
• Theses from 1925-1996 Circulating copies of U of M master's theses from 1925 to 1996 may be held in storage; consult Libraries search in specific instances. Once again, there are exceptions and theses in their respective departments will be housed in the Health Science Library or in one of the St. Paul campus libraries.  
• Theses from 1997-date Circulating copies of U of M master's theses from 1997 to date will be located in Wilson Library (see below), except for the same exceptions for Health Science  and St. Paul theses. There is also an exception to the exception: MHA (Masters in Health Administration) theses through 1998 are in the Health Science Library, but those from 1999 on are in Wilson Library.

Archival copies (non-circulating)

Archival (non-circulating) copies of virtually all U of M doctoral dissertations from 1888-1952, and of U of M master's theses from all years up to the present, are maintained by University Archives (located in the Elmer L. Andersen Library). These copies must be consulted on the premises, and it is highly recommended for the present that users make an appointment in advance to ensure that the desired works can be retrieved for them from storage. For dissertations accepted prior to 1940 and for master's theses accepted prior to 1925, University Archives is generally the only option (e.g., there usually will be no circulating copy). Archival copies of U of M doctoral dissertations from 1953 to the present are maintained by Bell and Howell Corporation (formerly University Microfilms Inc.), which produces print or filmed copies from our originals upon request. (There are a very few post-1952 U of M dissertations not available from Bell and Howell; these include such things as music manuscripts and works with color illustrations or extremely large pages that will not photocopy well; in these few cases, our archival copy is retained in University Archives.)

Where is a specific dissertation of thesis located?

To locate a specific dissertation or thesis it is necessary to have its call number. Use Libraries Search for the author or title of the item, just as you would for any other book. Depending on date of acceptance and cataloging, a typical call number for such materials should look something like one of the following:

Dissertations: Plan"A" Theses MnU-D or 378.7M66 MnU-M or 378.7M66 78-342 ODR7617 83-67 OL6156 Libraries Search will also tell the library location (MLAC, Health Science Library, Magrath or another St. Paul campus library, Science and Engineering, Business Reference, Wilson Annex or Wilson Library). Those doctoral dissertations still in Wilson Library (which in all cases should be 1980 or later and will have "MnU-D" numbers) are located in the central section of the third floor. Those master's theses in Wilson (which in all cases will be 1997 or later and will have "MnU-M" numbers) are also located in the central section of the third floor. Both dissertations and theses circulate and can be checked out, like any other books, at the Wilson Circulation desk on the first floor.

How can dissertations and theses accepted by a specific department be located?

Wilson Library contains a series of bound and loose-leaf notebooks, arranged by department and within each department by date, listing dissertations and theses. Information given for each entry includes name of author, title, and date (but not call number, which must be looked up individually). These notebooks are no longer current, but they do cover listings by department from the nineteenth century up to approximately 1992. Many pre-1940 U of M dissertations and pre-1925 U of M master's theses are not cataloged (and exist only as archival copies). Such dissertations can be identified only with these volumes. The books and notebooks are shelved in the general collection under these call numbers: Wilson Ref LD3337 .A5 and Wilson Ref quarto LD3337 .U9x. Major departments of individual degree candidates are also listed under their names in the GRADUATE SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT programs of the U of M, available in University Archives and (for recent years) also in Wilson stacks (LD3361 .U55x).

• << Previous: Dictionaries and encyclopedias
• Next: E-books >>

Harvard University Theses, Dissertations, and Prize Papers

The Harvard University Archives ’ collection of theses, dissertations, and prize papers document the wide range of academic research undertaken by Harvard students over the course of the University’s history.

Beyond their value as pieces of original research, these collections document the history of American higher education, chronicling both the growth of Harvard as a major research institution as well as the development of numerous academic fields. They are also an important source of biographical information, offering insight into the academic careers of the authors.

Spanning from the ‘theses and quaestiones’ of the 17th and 18th centuries to the current yearly output of student research, they include both the first Harvard Ph.D. dissertation (by William Byerly, Ph.D . 1873) and the dissertation of the first woman to earn a doctorate from Harvard ( Lorna Myrtle Hodgkinson , Ed.D. 1922).

Other highlights include:

• The collection of Mathematical theses, 1782-1839
• The 1895 Ph.D. dissertation of W.E.B. Du Bois, The suppression of the African slave trade in the United States, 1638-1871
• Ph.D. dissertations of astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (Ph.D. 1925) and physicist John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (Ph.D. 1922)
• Undergraduate honors theses of novelist John Updike (A.B. 1954), filmmaker Terrence Malick (A.B. 1966),  and U.S. poet laureate Tracy Smith (A.B. 1994)
• Undergraduate prize papers and dissertations of philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson (A.B. 1821), George Santayana (Ph.D. 1889), and W.V. Quine (Ph.D. 1932)
• Undergraduate honors theses of U.S. President John F. Kennedy (A.B. 1940) and Chief Justice John Roberts (A.B. 1976)

What does a prize-winning thesis look like?

If you're a Harvard undergraduate writing your own thesis, it can be helpful to review recent prize-winning theses. The Harvard University Archives has made available for digital lending all of the Thomas Hoopes Prize winners from the 2019-2021 academic years.

Accessing These Materials

How to access materials at the Harvard University Archives

How to find and request dissertations, in person or virtually

How to find and request undergraduate honors theses

How to find and request Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize papers

How to find and request Bowdoin Prize papers

• email: Email
• Phone number 617-495-2461

Related Collections

Harvard faculty personal and professional archives, harvard student life collections: arts, sports, politics and social life, access materials at the harvard university archives.

• Privacy Policy

Home » Thesis – Structure, Example and Writing Guide

Thesis – Structure, Example and Writing Guide

Table of contents.

Definition:

Thesis is a scholarly document that presents a student’s original research and findings on a particular topic or question. It is usually written as a requirement for a graduate degree program and is intended to demonstrate the student’s mastery of the subject matter and their ability to conduct independent research.

History of Thesis

The concept of a thesis can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was used as a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a particular subject. However, the modern form of the thesis as a scholarly document used to earn a degree is a relatively recent development.

The origin of the modern thesis can be traced back to medieval universities in Europe. During this time, students were required to present a “disputation” in which they would defend a particular thesis in front of their peers and faculty members. These disputations served as a way to demonstrate the student’s mastery of the subject matter and were often the final requirement for earning a degree.

In the 17th century, the concept of the thesis was formalized further with the creation of the modern research university. Students were now required to complete a research project and present their findings in a written document, which would serve as the basis for their degree.

The modern thesis as we know it today has evolved over time, with different disciplines and institutions adopting their own standards and formats. However, the basic elements of a thesis – original research, a clear research question, a thorough review of the literature, and a well-argued conclusion – remain the same.

Structure of Thesis

The structure of a thesis may vary slightly depending on the specific requirements of the institution, department, or field of study, but generally, it follows a specific format.

Here’s a breakdown of the structure of a thesis:

This is the first page of the thesis that includes the title of the thesis, the name of the author, the name of the institution, the department, the date, and any other relevant information required by the institution.

This is a brief summary of the thesis that provides an overview of the research question, methodology, findings, and conclusions.

This page provides a list of all the chapters and sections in the thesis and their page numbers.

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the research question, the context of the research, and the purpose of the study. The introduction should also outline the methodology and the scope of the research.

Literature Review

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the relevant literature on the research topic. It should demonstrate the gap in the existing knowledge and justify the need for the research.

Methodology

This chapter provides a detailed description of the research methods used to gather and analyze data. It should explain the research design, the sampling method, data collection techniques, and data analysis procedures.

This chapter presents the findings of the research. It should include tables, graphs, and charts to illustrate the results.

This chapter interprets the results and relates them to the research question. It should explain the significance of the findings and their implications for the research topic.

This chapter summarizes the key findings and the main conclusions of the research. It should also provide recommendations for future research.

This section provides a list of all the sources cited in the thesis. The citation style may vary depending on the requirements of the institution or the field of study.

This section includes any additional material that supports the research, such as raw data, survey questionnaires, or other relevant documents.

How to write Thesis

Here are some steps to help you write a thesis:

• Choose a Topic: The first step in writing a thesis is to choose a topic that interests you and is relevant to your field of study. You should also consider the scope of the topic and the availability of resources for research.
• Develop a Research Question: Once you have chosen a topic, you need to develop a research question that you will answer in your thesis. The research question should be specific, clear, and feasible.
• Conduct a Literature Review: Before you start your research, you need to conduct a literature review to identify the existing knowledge and gaps in the field. This will help you refine your research question and develop a research methodology.
• Develop a Research Methodology: Once you have refined your research question, you need to develop a research methodology that includes the research design, data collection methods, and data analysis procedures.
• Collect and Analyze Data: After developing your research methodology, you need to collect and analyze data. This may involve conducting surveys, interviews, experiments, or analyzing existing data.
• Write the Thesis: Once you have analyzed the data, you need to write the thesis. The thesis should follow a specific structure that includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion, and references.
• Edit and Proofread: After completing the thesis, you need to edit and proofread it carefully. You should also have someone else review it to ensure that it is clear, concise, and free of errors.
• Submit the Thesis: Finally, you need to submit the thesis to your academic advisor or committee for review and evaluation.

Example of Thesis

Example of Thesis template for Students:

Title of Thesis

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

Chapter 4: Results

Chapter 5: Discussion

Chapter 6: Conclusion

References:

Appendices:

Note: That’s just a basic template, but it should give you an idea of the structure and content that a typical thesis might include. Be sure to consult with your department or supervisor for any specific formatting requirements they may have. Good luck with your thesis!

Application of Thesis

Thesis is an important academic document that serves several purposes. Here are some of the applications of thesis:

• Academic Requirement: A thesis is a requirement for many academic programs, especially at the graduate level. It is an essential component of the evaluation process and demonstrates the student’s ability to conduct original research and contribute to the knowledge in their field.
• Career Advancement: A thesis can also help in career advancement. Employers often value candidates who have completed a thesis as it demonstrates their research skills, critical thinking abilities, and their dedication to their field of study.
• Publication : A thesis can serve as a basis for future publications in academic journals, books, or conference proceedings. It provides the researcher with an opportunity to present their research to a wider audience and contribute to the body of knowledge in their field.
• Personal Development: Writing a thesis is a challenging task that requires time, dedication, and perseverance. It provides the student with an opportunity to develop critical thinking, research, and writing skills that are essential for their personal and professional development.
• Impact on Society: The findings of a thesis can have an impact on society by addressing important issues, providing insights into complex problems, and contributing to the development of policies and practices.

Purpose of Thesis

The purpose of a thesis is to present original research findings in a clear and organized manner. It is a formal document that demonstrates a student’s ability to conduct independent research and contribute to the knowledge in their field of study. The primary purposes of a thesis are:

• To Contribute to Knowledge: The main purpose of a thesis is to contribute to the knowledge in a particular field of study. By conducting original research and presenting their findings, the student adds new insights and perspectives to the existing body of knowledge.
• To Demonstrate Research Skills: A thesis is an opportunity for the student to demonstrate their research skills. This includes the ability to formulate a research question, design a research methodology, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
• To Develop Critical Thinking: Writing a thesis requires critical thinking and analysis. The student must evaluate existing literature and identify gaps in the field, as well as develop and defend their own ideas.
• To Provide Evidence of Competence : A thesis provides evidence of the student’s competence in their field of study. It demonstrates their ability to apply theoretical concepts to real-world problems, and their ability to communicate their ideas effectively.
• To Facilitate Career Advancement : Completing a thesis can help the student advance their career by demonstrating their research skills and dedication to their field of study. It can also provide a basis for future publications, presentations, or research projects.

When to Write Thesis

The timing for writing a thesis depends on the specific requirements of the academic program or institution. In most cases, the opportunity to write a thesis is typically offered at the graduate level, but there may be exceptions.

Generally, students should plan to write their thesis during the final year of their graduate program. This allows sufficient time for conducting research, analyzing data, and writing the thesis. It is important to start planning the thesis early and to identify a research topic and research advisor as soon as possible.

In some cases, students may be able to write a thesis as part of an undergraduate program or as an independent research project outside of an academic program. In such cases, it is important to consult with faculty advisors or mentors to ensure that the research is appropriately designed and executed.

It is important to note that the process of writing a thesis can be time-consuming and requires a significant amount of effort and dedication. It is important to plan accordingly and to allocate sufficient time for conducting research, analyzing data, and writing the thesis.

Characteristics of Thesis

The characteristics of a thesis vary depending on the specific academic program or institution. However, some general characteristics of a thesis include:

• Originality : A thesis should present original research findings or insights. It should demonstrate the student’s ability to conduct independent research and contribute to the knowledge in their field of study.
• Clarity : A thesis should be clear and concise. It should present the research question, methodology, findings, and conclusions in a logical and organized manner. It should also be well-written, with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Research-Based: A thesis should be based on rigorous research, which involves collecting and analyzing data from various sources. The research should be well-designed, with appropriate research methods and techniques.
• Evidence-Based : A thesis should be based on evidence, which means that all claims made in the thesis should be supported by data or literature. The evidence should be properly cited using appropriate citation styles.
• Critical Thinking: A thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to critically analyze and evaluate information. It should present the student’s own ideas and arguments, and engage with existing literature in the field.
• Academic Style : A thesis should adhere to the conventions of academic writing. It should be well-structured, with clear headings and subheadings, and should use appropriate academic language.

Advantages of Thesis

There are several advantages to writing a thesis, including:

• Development of Research Skills: Writing a thesis requires extensive research and analytical skills. It helps to develop the student’s research skills, including the ability to formulate research questions, design and execute research methodologies, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
• Contribution to Knowledge: Writing a thesis provides an opportunity for the student to contribute to the knowledge in their field of study. By conducting original research, they can add new insights and perspectives to the existing body of knowledge.
• Preparation for Future Research: Completing a thesis prepares the student for future research projects. It provides them with the necessary skills to design and execute research methodologies, analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
• Career Advancement: Writing a thesis can help to advance the student’s career. It demonstrates their research skills and dedication to their field of study, and provides a basis for future publications, presentations, or research projects.
• Personal Growth: Completing a thesis can be a challenging and rewarding experience. It requires dedication, hard work, and perseverance. It can help the student to develop self-confidence, independence, and a sense of accomplishment.

Limitations of Thesis

There are also some limitations to writing a thesis, including:

• Time and Resources: Writing a thesis requires a significant amount of time and resources. It can be a time-consuming and expensive process, as it may involve conducting original research, analyzing data, and producing a lengthy document.
• Narrow Focus: A thesis is typically focused on a specific research question or topic, which may limit the student’s exposure to other areas within their field of study.
• Limited Audience: A thesis is usually only read by a small number of people, such as the student’s thesis advisor and committee members. This limits the potential impact of the research findings.
• Lack of Real-World Application : Some thesis topics may be highly theoretical or academic in nature, which may limit their practical application in the real world.
• Pressure and Stress : Writing a thesis can be a stressful and pressure-filled experience, as it may involve meeting strict deadlines, conducting original research, and producing a high-quality document.
• Potential for Isolation: Writing a thesis can be a solitary experience, as the student may spend a significant amount of time working independently on their research and writing.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

You may also like

Research Problem – Examples, Types and Guide

Research Findings – Types Examples and Writing...

Assignment – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Purpose of Research – Objectives and Applications

Data Interpretation – Process, Methods and...

Scope of the Research – Writing Guide and...

How to write a PhD thesis: a step-by-step guide

A draft isn’t a perfect, finished product; it is your opportunity to start getting words down on paper, writes Kelly Louise Preece

Kelly Louise Preece

• More on this topic

Created in partnership with

You may also like

Popular resources

.css-1txxx8u{overflow:hidden;max-height:81px;text-indent:0px;} How to develop a researcher mindset as a PhD student

Formative, summative or diagnostic assessment a guide, emotions and learning: what role do emotions play in how and why students learn, how to assess and enhance students’ ai literacy, how hard can it be testing ai detection tools.

Congratulations; you’ve finished your research! Time to write your PhD thesis. This resource will take you through an eight-step plan for drafting your chapters and your thesis as a whole. 

Organise your material

Before you start, it’s important to get organised. Take a step back and look at the data you have, then reorganise your research. Which parts of it are central to your thesis and which bits need putting to one side? Label and organise everything using logical folders – make it easy for yourself! Academic and blogger Pat Thomson calls this  “Clean up to get clearer” . Thomson suggests these questions to ask yourself before you start writing:

• What data do you have? You might find it useful to write out a list of types of data (your supervisor will find this list useful too.) This list is also an audit document that can go in your thesis. Do you have any for the “cutting room floor”? Take a deep breath and put it in a separate non-thesis file. You can easily retrieve it if it turns out you need it.
• What do you have already written? What chunks of material have you written so far that could form the basis of pieces of the thesis text? They will most likely need to be revised but they are useful starting points. Do you have any holding text? That is material you already know has to be rewritten but contains information that will be the basis of a new piece of text.
• What have you read and what do you still need to read? Are there new texts that you need to consult now after your analysis? What readings can you now put to one side, knowing that they aren’t useful for this thesis – although they might be useful at another time?
• What goes with what? Can you create chunks or themes of materials that are going to form the basis of some chunks of your text, perhaps even chapters?

Once you have assessed and sorted what you have collected and generated you will be in much better shape to approach the big task of composing the dissertation. 

Decide on a key message

A key message is a summary of new information communicated in your thesis. You should have started to map this out already in the section on argument and contribution – an overarching argument with building blocks that you will flesh out in individual chapters.

You have already mapped your argument visually, now you need to begin writing it in prose. Following another of Pat Thomson’s exercises, write a “tiny text” thesis abstract. This doesn’t have to be elegant, or indeed the finished product, but it will help you articulate the argument you want your thesis to make. You create a tiny text using a five-paragraph structure:

• The first sentence addresses the broad context. This locates the study in a policy, practice or research field.
• The second sentence establishes a problem related to the broad context you have set out. It often starts with “But”, “Yet” or “However”.
• The third sentence says what specific research has been done. This often starts with “This research” or “I report…”
• The fourth sentence reports the results. Don’t try to be too tricky here, just start with something like: “This study shows,” or “Analysis of the data suggests that…”
• The fifth and final sentence addresses the “So What?” question and makes clear the claim to contribution.

Here’s an example that Thomson provides:

Secondary school arts are in trouble, as the fall in enrolments in arts subjects dramatically attests. However, there is patchy evidence about the benefits of studying arts subjects at school and this makes it hard to argue why the drop in arts enrolments matters. This thesis reports on research which attempts to provide some answers to this problem – a longitudinal study which followed two groups of senior secondary students, one group enrolled in arts subjects and the other not, for three years. The results of the study demonstrate the benefits of young people’s engagement in arts activities, both in and out of school, as well as the connections between the two. The study not only adds to what is known about the benefits of both formal and informal arts education but also provides robust evidence for policymakers and practitioners arguing for the benefits of the arts. You can  find out more about tiny texts and thesis abstracts on Thomson’s blog.

• Writing tips for higher education professionals
• Resource collection on academic writing
• What is your academic writing temperament?

Write a plan

You might not be a planner when it comes to writing. You might prefer to sit, type and think through ideas as you go. That’s OK. Everybody works differently. But one of the benefits of planning your writing is that your plan can help you when you get stuck. It can help with writer’s block (more on this shortly!) but also maintain clarity of intention and purpose in your writing.

You can do this by creating a  thesis skeleton or storyboard , planning the order of your chapters, thinking of potential titles (which may change at a later stage), noting down what each chapter/section will cover and considering how many words you will dedicate to each chapter (make sure the total doesn’t exceed the maximum word limit allowed).

Use your plan to help prompt your writing when you get stuck and to develop clarity in your writing.

Some starting points include:

• This chapter will argue that…
• This section illustrates that…
• This paragraph provides evidence that…

Of course, we wish it werethat easy. But you need to approach your first draft as exactly that: a draft. It isn’t a perfect, finished product; it is your opportunity to start getting words down on paper. Start with whichever chapter you feel you want to write first; you don’t necessarily have to write the introduction first. Depending on your research, you may find it easier to begin with your empirical/data chapters.

Vitae advocates for the “three draft approach” to help with this and to stop you from focusing on finding exactly the right word or transition as part of your first draft.

This resource originally appeared on Researcher Development .

Kelly Louse Preece is head of educator development at the University of Exeter.

If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter .

How to develop a researcher mindset as a PhD student

A diy guide to starting your own journal, contextual learning: linking learning to the real world, what does a university faculty senate do, hybrid learning through podcasts: a practical approach, how exactly does research get funded.

Register for free

and unlock a host of features on the THE site

Open Access Theses and Dissertations

Thursday, April 18, 8:20am (EDT): Searching is temporarily offline. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to bring searching back up as quickly as possible.

Advanced research and scholarship. Theses and dissertations, free to find, free to use.

Advanced search options

Browse by author name (“Author name starts with…”).

Find ETDs with:

Written in any language English Portuguese French German Spanish Swedish Lithuanian Dutch Italian Chinese Finnish Greek Published in any country US or Canada Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile China Colombia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland Italy Japan Latvia Lithuania Malaysia Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway Peru Portugal Russia Singapore South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand UK US Earliest date Latest date

Sorted by Relevance Author University Date

Only ETDs with Creative Commons licenses

Results per page: 30 60 100

October 3, 2022. OATD is dealing with a number of misbehaved crawlers and robots, and is currently taking some steps to minimize their impact on the system. This may require you to click through some security screen. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

Recent Additions

See all of this week’s new additions.

About OATD.org

OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions . OATD currently indexes 6,912,508 theses and dissertations.

About OATD (our FAQ) .

Visual OATD.org

We’re happy to present several data visualizations to give an overall sense of the OATD.org collection by county of publication, language, and field of study.

You may also want to consult these sites to search for other theses:

• Google Scholar
• NDLTD , the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. NDLTD provides information and a search engine for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), whether they are open access or not.
• Proquest Theses and Dissertations (PQDT), a database of dissertations and theses, whether they were published electronically or in print, and mostly available for purchase. Access to PQDT may be limited; consult your local library for access information.

• Open Scholarship

Open Access Theses

I have benefited greatly from being able to share my PhD dissertation as an open access publication – it has meant that more people have read and engaged with the research I spent so many years working on. I was glad to know there was an option to move to a Creative Commons license, so that it was clear to people what they can do with the work. Dr Lauren Gawne, PhD Graduate (School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne, 2013)

Today, public access to graduate research theses is a common and valuable aspect of the open scholarship landscape. This is usually made possible by depositing the thesis in an institutional repository after final submission. To meet the best practices of open access , graduates may be encouraged to apply a Creative Commons licence to their thesis.

For candidates undertaking creative work as part of their thesis, or whose thesis includes Non-Traditional Research Outputs (NTROs) , other copyright and intellectual property considerations will apply, and full open access may not be possible. The advice on this page primarily concerns traditional text-based research theses.

Benefits of making theses open access

Until your thesis has been made open access, it is an untapped resource of original research. A thesis under embargo cannot be downloaded or read, significantly limiting the potential impact your research can have.

By making your thesis freely available to the public, you help to advance scholarly discourse in your field. You also make it available to other researchers, students, policy makers, and practitioners, all of whom could build on your research in significant and meaningful ways.

For University of Melbourne graduates, your thesis being open access in Minerva Access results in it being discoverable through Google, Google Scholar, the National Library of Australia’s Trove database, and other platforms.

Making your thesis open access means it can easily be provided as an example of your work and expertise in your chosen discipline, helping to raise your researcher profile. It can also help to build your impact narrative, spark conversations, and lead to exciting collaborations, both within and beyond the academy. Once open, your thesis can also start gathering views, downloads, shares, and citations – none of which are likely if your thesis remains inaccessible to most potential readers.

Researchers in low- and middle-income countries often face significant barriers when it comes to accessing research. Making theses open access increases the amount of high-quality research available to researchers of the Global South, whose institutions may struggle to afford expensive journal descriptions or costly books ( Tennant et al., 2016 ).

Open access theses at the University of Melbourne

The University’s institutional repository, Minerva Access , provides free public access to theses completed at the University of Melbourne.

Open access is required for University of Melbourne PhD, Doctorate, and Masters Research theses in all but exceptional cases. It may also be required, or encouraged, for Honours and Masters Coursework theses, depending on the school or faculty. When required and approved, temporary embargoes and ongoing access restrictions are possible.

For more information, see the FAQ and deposit advice below, or visit the Graduate Research Hub’s “My thesis in the library” page. Current graduate researchers may also wish to join one of the “Open Access and Your Thesis” webinars, which run twice each year as part of our Researcher@Library program .

Browse open access theses in Minerva Access

Publishing after your thesis is open access

Historically, publishers would not consider submissions that had been adapted from theses available online, just as, historically, many publishers would not accept submissions that had been shared as preprints . Today, however, it is increasingly rare for publishers to reject work for appearing in earlier forms as online theses or preprints, whether the submission is for a journal article, book chapter, or monograph.

That is, most publishers today do not consider theses available online as prior publications for the purposes of publishing. They are typically treated in a similar way to preprints: they are regarded as early versions of a work shared online prior to submission to a publisher.

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) states that online theses should not be considered prior publications that would prevent submission to a publisher: “Where a thesis (or chapter) contains otherwise unpublished work … it should not be considered prior publication. That is, it is acceptable for the work, or parts of the work … to be submitted … to a publisher for publication” ( COPE Best practice for theses publishing, 2017 ).

There do remain some publishers, journals, and individual editors who are resistant to publishing work previously available online as theses or preprints, so check websites for publisher policies prior to submission. It may be that an editor’s or journal’s resistance is out of step with their own publisher policies.

If an editor or publisher requests that a thesis be taken offline, embargoed, or placed under access restrictions for publishing reasons, graduate researchers must negotiate on the terms of publication. Any agreement entered into with a publisher must accommodate the University making the thesis publicly available in Minerva Access (see “Can I choose not to make my graduate research thesis open access?” in the FAQ below).

Deposit your thesis

Find out how to deposit your University of Melbourne thesis in Minerva Access.

Graduate Research Theses

PhD, Doctorate, and Masters Research candidates are required to submit a digital copy of their thesis to Minerva Access via the Thesis Examination System (TES). Detailed information is available on the "My thesis in the Library" page.

Honours and Masters Coursework Theses

Honours and Masters Coursework candidates are welcome to submit their completed thesis to the Minerva Access repository. This may be required by some schools or departments.

Most major scholarly journal publishers today have clear policies supporting the submission of articles derived from theses or dissertations that are publicly available. In doing so, they are following COPE best practice guidelines that recommend treating theses, like preprints, as not being prior publications for the purposes of publishing. The shift to accepting openly available theses as publications is ongoing, but in the University’s experience it is already very rare that an open access thesis is ultimately a barrier to publication.

Consider the following publisher policy examples:

Elsevier’s policy on prior publication confirms that they do not consider online publication of an academic thesis as prior publication. Like preprints, they are considered prior uses of a work that can be considered for publication. They note, however, that Lancet journals, Cell Press journals, and some society-owned journals have their own policies on prior publication that can be found on the journal homepages.

Likewise, Springer’s journal author FAQ states: “Springer will consider submissions containing material that has previously formed part of a PhD or other academic thesis including those that have been made publicly available according to the requirements of the institution awarding the qualification.” Other Springer Nature imprints have similar policies, confirming that theses are not considered prior (or duplicate) publication – see BMC , SpringerOpen , Palgrave , and Nature .

Sage’s prior publication guidelines follow COPE guidelines and states: “Excerpts or material from your dissertation that have not been through peer review will generally be eligible for publication.”

Taylor & Francis’s Editorial Policies state that the publisher supports “the need for authors to share early versions of their work.” Although the policy does not mention theses or dissertations specifically, preprints and other Author’s Original Manuscript versions can be shared anywhere, without embargo.

Although Wiley’s overarching policies do not mention theses, their Preprints Policy confirms that the publisher will consider submissions already available online as preprints, and allows submitted manuscripts to be shared to preprint servers at any time. Individual journals’ author guidelines often confirm that theses do not count as prior publications. For example, “Articles submitted to Journal of Anatomy are done so on the following conditions: that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis)” ( Journal of Anatomy Author Guidelines ).

Major academic book publishers differ in their approaches to publishing monographs based on theses, but most are happy to consider book proposals based on theses that are available online. Some publishers have strong statements clarifying that open access theses do not present barriers to publication, while others consider matters on a case-by-case basis.

Palgrave Macmillan, for example, provides the following advice on their Early Career Researcher Hub : “Palgrave Macmillan will consider submissions containing material that has previously formed part of a PhD or other academic thesis including those that have been made publicly available according to the requirements of the institution awarding the qualification. Prospective authors should bear in mind that every PhD thesis will need to undergo rigorous revision in order to be published as a monograph with our press.”

Likewise, Cambridge University Press considers theses and dissertations to be preprints, as covered by their Green Open Access Policy . If a monograph is based on a thesis, the policy supports that thesis being shared in full, at any time, under any licence (including a Creative Commons licence).

Some other major publishers, such as Routledge, do not have blanket statements of this kind, but consider requirements on a case-by-case basis. Such publishers will usually take into account university expectations around theses being made open access.

Be aware that some publishers who do not accept open-access theses for consideration as monographs may also ask the author to assign rights that the author does not have, such as requiring the author to assign exclusive rights for all time. Embargoes are only for a limited period, after which the University will exercise its right to make the thesis available; this right cannot be removed by the author and thus cannot be assigned in a publication contract. Some publishers go further, for example requiring that the material has not and never will be used for academic assessment, which means that they cannot consider material such as a thesis that was used in award of a degree.

Creative Commons licences make it clear to authors and readers how a work can be shared and used. University of Melbourne graduates can apply a Creative Commons licence to their thesis in Minerva Access using the following process:

• Choose a Creative Commons licence that would be suitable for your thesis. See “ Selecting a licence for your work ” on our Copyright website for guidance.
• Receive written permission from your thesis supervisor to apply the chosen Creative Commons licence.
• Email [email protected] to request your chosen Creative Commons licence be applied to your thesis, attaching the supervisor’s permission.

Note that if your thesis includes publications, you may be restricted in what licence can be applied. Consult your publishing agreement or your publisher’s website for more information. For further advice, contact the University’s Copyright Office .

At the University of Melbourne, it is a requirement of all PhD, Doctorate, and Masters Research candidates that their final thesis is made open access in Minerva Access, unless exceptional circumstances mean that an embargo or ongoing access restrictions are required.

This requirement is outlined in the Graduate Research Training Policy (MPF1321) and the Intellectual Property Policy (MPF1320) . The latter policy reads:

4.19. Student theses must be made openly available to the public through the University’s Institutional Digital Repository, unless otherwise agreed with the University (for example where an embargo has been approved by the University). The University is deemed to have been granted by the Student a non-exclusive, royalty free, world-wide and irrevocable licence to use and reproduce the Student theses for non-commercial educational, teaching and research purposes, including making the thesis available to the public through the University’s Institutional Repository.

Students must retain all necessary rights to enable the University to publish and share the thesis and not grant exclusive copyright licence to a thesis to any other person or organisation.

Likewise, our Principles for Open Access to Research Outputs at Melbourne states:

10. Graduate researchers are expected to make their research thesis publicly available via the University’s institutional repository unless otherwise agreed with the University, and to make their thesis available within the University via the repository in all but exceptional cases. Note that the University’s right to publish and share a thesis is irrevocable and cannot be overridden by a private publication agreement.

For information on how to apply a temporary embargo or formally request permanent access restrictions, see the FAQ item below and consult the “My thesis in the library” page.

If you are a University of Melbourne graduate researcher, you may apply a temporary embargo to your thesis or formally request permanent access restrictions when certain criteria are met. Embargoes and access restrictions can also be applied to portions of your thesis, whether this is through the redaction of third-party copyright material or through the embargo or restriction of certain chapters or appendices.

When summitting your final thesis in the Thesis Examination System (TES), you can request a two-year embargo, which will be granted if you meet the required criteria. This can be either an external embargo, where access is limited to interlibrary loans and University of Melbourne staff and students, or a full embargo, where the thesis not available by any means. Full embargo is only granted in highly exceptional circumstances. The two-year embargo period can be shortened, or extended to four years, with the support of your supervisor. Further information on embargoes and embargo criteria can be found on the “My thesis in the library” page.

As covered in the Graduate Research Training Policy (MPF1321) , ongoing restricted access arrangements must be approved by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate & International Research) in consultation with the relevant Dean. Further information, and the restricted access request form, can be found on the “My thesis in the library” page.

Note that applications to have embargoes extended purely for publishing reasons are only granted when extenuating circumstances apply. Requests for permanent access restrictions that are sought to comply with publisher contracts are never granted. In most cases, however, these are not required, as most publishers today understand the requirements for theses to be freely available in institutional repositories.

Yes. Any University of Melbourne graduate who opted to embargo their thesis can choose to release it from embargo early. To end an embargo before its original end date:

• Check to make sure that ending the embargo early would not conflict with any agreements made with third parties (for example, publishers).
• Receive written permission from your thesis supervisor to shorten the embargo period.
• Email [email protected] to request a change to embargo end date, attaching your supervisor’s permission.

When preparing a thesis with publications, candidates should follow the guidelines on the “Incorporating your published work in your thesis” and “Submitting my thesis” pages, as well as the “Preparation of Graduate Research Theses Rules.”

If your publication is still in review and has not yet been formally accepted for publication, you should include the submitted manuscript in your thesis.

Once accepted for publication, or published, you should use the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) – the final manuscript accepted for publication after peer review and revisions.

Final published versions can only be included when you have explicit permission to do so and when it does not conflict with your publishing agreement. Final PDFs can be always used for open access publications carrying Creative Commons licences.

It is important to check publisher policies to determine which version can be shared and whether an embargo is required. In the absence of policies pertaining specifically to inclusion in online theses, candidates should follow policies governing what can be shared in institutional repositories. These policies should be available on journal or publisher websites and may be referred to as open access policies, sharing policies, or self-archiving policies. For journal articles, the Sherpa Romeo deposit policy register can be used to determine sharing policies and embargo requirements.

Also note that some publishers offer specific permissions to include Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) or final published versions in theses. For example, the publisher Sage allows the final PDF of a candidate’s article to be included in their thesis and made available online. Their Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines states: “You may use the Final Published PDF (or Original Submission or Accepted Manuscript, if preferred) … in your dissertation or thesis, including where the dissertation or thesis will be posted in any electronic Institutional Repository or database.”

For more information, see the “My thesis in the library” page, along with the advice contained on the Copyright Office’s “Copyright and your thesis” page. The “Declaration for publication incorporated in a thesis” form can be found on the “Submitting my thesis” page.

Some theses contain information that cannot be made public, such as confidential or private data, or third-party copyright material where permission to publish has not been obtained. In these cases, it may be necessary to submit a redacted version of your thesis with third-party copyright content removed. You would then be submitting two copies:

• The original, examined thesis, which will be archived (not available for online public access).
• A redacted “public access” copy, with non-compliant material removed (ensure you maintain page number integrity).

Guidelines on how and when to seek permissions, recording copyright statuses, and redacting copyright material can be found on the “Copyright and your thesis” and the “My thesis in the library” pages. For more information, please consult the Copyright Office .

Further Support

For enquiries relating to open access and scholarly publishing, please contact your Faculty or Subject Liaison Librarians .

If you require assistance using Minerva Access, or have requests relating to existing Minerva Access thesis records, please email [email protected] .

Copyright enquiries should be directed to the Copyright Office at [email protected] .

For all other enquiries relating to thesis preparation and submission, please email your faculty or school’s graduate research contact .

Page last updated 1 February 2024.

Return to Open Scholarship

Institutional repository

Repositories hosted by institutions to collect the research outputs of that institution. They often collect a broad range of digital items including articles, papers, books, book chapters, reports, data, and creative outputs.

The University of Melbourne has two institutional repositories:  Minerva Access for research outputs, and Melbourne Figshare for research data, reports, supplementary research materials, and non-traditional research outputs (NTROs). You can find out more about Minerva Access and Melbourne Figshare on our Repository Open Access page .

Open access

Open access refers to the availability of research outputs via the internet, such that any user can find, freely access, read, and download the output without charge. Best practice in open access is to use open licences, such as Creative Commons licences, that permit users to copy, distribute, print, search, link, crawl, mine, and otherwise use and reuse the research output, as long as proper attribution is provided. Find out more on our What Is Open Access? page.

Creative Commons licences

Open licences that have become best practice in open access publishing. They are built using a combination of elements: BY (Attribution), SA (Share-Alike), NC (Non-Commercial), and ND (No Derivatives). All licences are detailed on the Creative Commons website .

The most open of the licences is the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. This licence allows authors to retain their copyright while granting others permission to distribute, use, adapt, remix, and build upon the material, so long as attribution is given to the creator. This is the preferred, and sometimes required, licence of the Australian Research Council (ARC) and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), as well as many international research funders.

The most restrictive is the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence. This licence does not allow for any commercial uses or the creation and sharing of any adaptations or derivative versions. It greatly restricts how others can use the work and, when adopted as part of an exclusive licence to publish with a publisher, can result in a significant loss of author rights.

In the context of open access publishing and sharing, embargoes are a restriction imposed by publishers on the public release of an output. Most scholarly publishers will allow the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) of a journal article or book chapter to be made open access in a repository after an embargo of between 12 and 36 months.

Staff at our institutional repository, Minerva Access , will determine and manage embargoes before making any version of a research output publicly available.

A version of an article or paper that is shared openly prior to formal peer review or publication. Preprints are typically shared on preprint servers, such as arXiv.org , bioRxiv , OSF Preprints , SSRN , or Zenodo .

Find out more on our Preprints page.

Submitted manuscript

The submitted manuscript is the version of a research output originally submitted to a venue, such as a journal or book publisher. This version typically undergoes editorial review and may subsequently be sent on for peer review.

In the past, submitted manuscripts were sometimes called preprints , although this term now has a different meaning: early versions of article or papers shared prior to peer review on preprint servers.

Find out more about article versions on the Minerva Access website .

Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) / Accepted version

The version of an article, paper, book, or book chapter that has been accepted for publication. It is the author’s final manuscript version after peer review and revisions, but prior to the publisher’s copyediting, typesetting, and formatting results in a proof.

Version of Record (VoR)

The final published version of a research output – usually the publisher’s final PDF.

Unless the work is published open access under a Creative Commons licence, this version cannot generally be shared or made open access in a repository.

Non-Traditional Research Output (NTRO)

A broad term encompassing research outputs that do not take the form of typical peer-reviewed scholarly publications (journal articles, books and book chapters, conference publications).

Non-Traditional Research Outputs (NTROs) include visual artworks, creative writing, films, performances, recordings, music composition, building and design projects, curated exhibitions, and portfolios. They may also be referred to as Artistic and Practice Based Research Outputs (APROs).

To be considered a research output for reporting purposes, an NTRO must meet the definition of research established in the Australian Research Council's  2018-19 ERA report :

Research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies, inventions and understandings. This could include synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it is new and creative.

University of Melbourne researchers can find out more about reporting their NTROs on our Research Gateway: Add Non-Traditional Research Outputs (NTROs) to Find an Expert .

What Is a Thesis?

Writing a thesis is often required in US university degree programs. But what exactly is a thesis? Do you know the difference between a thesis statement and a thesis project? Read on to learn more.

If you are considering studying in the US, you may have come across the term “thesis” in your research. Writing a thesis is an important part of completing your degree. Read our guide to find out what a thesis is in the US, the benefits of writing a thesis, and why colleges in the US value them.

In the US, students may use the term “thesis” to describe two distinct academic requirements:

Thesis statement—the focus of an academic paper. Papers with a clear thesis statement are typically required in liberal arts classes, such as literature or history, and can vary in length and citation style.

Final thesis—a longer academic paper required to complete a degree program. These often require months (or even years) of research and may be defended in front of a university committee.

Let us take a closer look at both meanings.

What Is a Thesis Statement?

A thesis statement is one to three sentences in the introduction of an academic essay outlining what the reader can expect. It is an argument, or claim, that will be defended through your research. A strong thesis statement identifies the topic to be discussed, summarizes the main arguments, and persuades your audience to continue reading.

Typically, a good thesis statement consists of two components:

Topic—tells the reader what your essay is about.

Argument about the topic—explains your logical claims and ideas about the topic.

Start of Sticky Service Ad

What Are the Different Types of Thesis Statements?

The thesis statement you write may vary depending on the type of academic paper you are writing.

Argumentative—presents a topic which is debatable and reasons supporting the topic.

Analytical—presents a claim and explains how it is supported.

Expository—presents a topic and explains what the reader will learn in your paper.

How to Write a Good Thesis

When looking at how to write a thesis statement, it is important to understand the meaning of a thesis. A thesis identifies a question on a topic that relates to your degree program, which you then have to answer with a sensible argument, using credible research and findings. 

Here are some tips you can use when you are writing a thesis:

Research and identify your thesis topic —To write a good thesis, consider what your thesis is going to be about. Are there any areas in your field that you would like to explore further?   Research is an important foundation to your thesis. Give yourself enough time to conduct enough research to support your central argument. (Professors and advisors can help you with time management and making a research plan.) Collecting evidence to support your claims and reading a wide range of sources on the topic can help you build a sound foundation for your thesis.

Work on a strong thesis statement —A good thesis needs a strong opening statement. Your thesis statement gives those who are reading and grading your work a summary of what will be discussed, why your claim is important, and persuades them to read more.  Consider the following scenario: If someone asked, “what is a thesis statement?” and you showed them your paper, would they be able to identify the thesis right away? You always want to be as clear and convincing as possible when putting together your central argument.  

Put all your information together —Once you have built a strong thesis statement, organize all your research and supporting information. Analyze your data and identify whether it is relevant to your research topic. A thesis should be persuasive. Acknowledge that there could be multiple sides to your argument, while also keeping your thesis specific, comprehensive, and decisive. 

Build a solid structure —It is important that the flow of your thesis is logical and straightforward. Make an outline to organize your ideas and provide a roadmap before you start writing. 

Review and take your time to edit —Take time to edit your thesis. As you revise, reevaluate your points, see where you can strengthen your arguments, and fill in any gaps.

Include citations —Citing your sources provides credibility – and also ensures you won’t plagiarize another scholar’s work.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help —You can speak to your professor, an advisor, or a classmate for guidance on how to write a thesis statement, the structure of your thesis, or any other sections you want to clarify. They can provide valuable feedback to improve your project.

Some important questions to ask yourself during the thesis writing process are:

What is a thesis and why am I writing it?

Will the reader understand my thesis statement meaning and intention?

Have I answered the question my thesis is based on?

Do I have a strong thesis statement? 

Does my thesis add value to my field?

Remember: Your professors and advisors want you to succeed. Speak to your Shorelight advisor if you’re struggling with writing a thesis paper or final thesis – our academic counselors are here to help!

Which Subjects Require a Thesis Statement in Academic Papers?

Many college professors assign academic papers for students to explore subject topics further — this information can be found on your course syllabus , giving you plenty of time to prepare! In almost every undergraduate-level subject you study, you may be required to develop thesis statements for your academic papers. Writing a thesis statement paper helps improve your critical thinking skills, as it requires you to identify and analyze multiple sources of information to form strong arguments — a useful skill in both the classroom and the workplace. 

How Is a Thesis Statement Graded?

Your thesis statement will be evaluated based on how well you have used research to support your argument, and how effectively you have communicated your ideas (e.g., whether your paper is well written, clear, and specific). How your thesis statement is evaluated will vary depending on your subject area and the university, but your course syllabus should include detailed grading requirements. 

What Is a Final Thesis or Dissertation?

A final thesis, sometimes known as a dissertation, is a compilation of research on a specific topic. Typically, a thesis or dissertation is required to complete a master’s degree in the US. While it is not common, you may be expected to write a thesis to complete your bachelor’s degree. For example, in some liberal arts colleges, writing a thesis is a degree requirement, a way to showcase what you have learned over your program of study, and may even add to the body of research in your specialization. A final thesis or dissertation is significantly longer than a thesis statement, and may take months or even years to complete.

What Are the Main Components of a Final Thesis or Dissertation?

Generally, a final thesis consists of five major sections.

Introduction —The introduction of your thesis explains the topic and central argument to the reader at a high level. The introduction should go over why you chose the topic, and act as a summary of what you will be covering in the pages to follow.

Literature Review —This section includes research papers, studies, and articles related to your topic area. You also are expected to identify gaps and weaknesses in existing research, which helps you build counterarguments and develop a strong claim.

Methodology —This section explains the methods and data used to conduct your research.

Results —The results section presents the findings of your study.

Discussion and Conclusion —This section summarizes why and how you conducted your research, the results of your research, and presents conclusions based on the results.

What Is a Citation in a Thesis?

When writing either a shorter academic paper with a thesis statement or a final thesis, you are required to include your research sources. Throughout your work, when you directly quote another text or paraphrase ideas, you must cite the source. There are two types of citations:

In-text citation —this reference is included in the text at the point of mention, such as an on-page footnote or parenthetical citation.

End-of-paper citation —also known as endnotes, these are references included at the end of your paper or dissertation.

How Long Does it Take to Complete a Thesis?

A final thesis to earn a master’s degree requires you to be familiar with previous work in the field and demonstrate your capability of carrying out independent research. From conducting in-depth research to listening to feedback from professors, completing a thesis can be a major commitment.

Many universities in the US may require you to dedicate a semester or longer to complete your research. You will have to work with a faculty committee member to ensure your research and writing is on track. As you compare different graduate programs, you can get a better sense of each program’s dissertation requirements (looking at time, research, and more) and which best align with your academic and professional plans .  

How Is a Thesis Graded?

Generally, a master’s thesis or dissertation in the US is not graded, but you will have to defend it, or present your research and findings before a university committee. For example, at American University , a thesis is evaluated based on how students demonstrate their capacity to conduct independent research. However, the evaluation of your thesis may vary depending on the university and your subject area. 

So, once you have completed your thesis, the next important step is to prepare well for your thesis defense.  

What Is a Thesis Defense?

If you are pursuing a master’s degree, you are required to meet with a thesis committee upon completion of your thesis to defend what you worked on. At this stage, you will have already worked closely with faculty advisors and received ongoing evaluations. A thesis defense can take many forms, from presenting in front of a panel and taking questions and answers to a more informal discussion with select faculty and advisors. Your individual program will have a clear and established process regarding this important final task required for your degree.

End of Sticky Service Ad

Are a Thesis and a Dissertation the Same?

The terms thesis and dissertation may be used interchangeably. While they are similar in terms of the structure, in the US, there are differences between a thesis and a dissertation.

Type of degree

Generally required to complete a master’s degree

Dissertation

Required at the doctoral level

Will vary by program, but expect at least 60–80 pages plus the bibliography

At least double the length of a thesis or more

Proves how well you understood what you learned during your graduate program

Contribution of a new study or knowledge to your field

Is Writing a Thesis Mandatory?

Whether writing a thesis is required or not depends upon the program you choose to study. For example, if you are pursuing a liberal arts degree consisting of a wide variety of majors, including literature, history, and philosophy, writing a thesis can help you make connections across subjects. 

Some universities and colleges in the US may offer both a thesis and a non-thesis option. For example, if you are a student who is interested in taking more classes to learn about your subject, you could choose the non-thesis option. So, instead of writing a thesis, you could either work on a research project or complete supervised fieldwork.

Whether you are writing a shorter paper with a thesis statement for a single class or working on a longer final thesis for your degree, making an argument and supporting that argument with established research gives you a skillset that is versatile and applicable to many fields. While conducting research for the thesis, you will refer to multiple sources, analyze information, and learn how to form strong arguments that will set you up for success wherever you go.

Discover how Shorelight can help you find your ideal US university >

Services that set you up for success

• ― Detailed school information
• ― School match and compare
• ― Events calendar
• ― Advisory services
• ― Connect with students
• ― Comprehensive application review
• ― Localized entry requirements
• ― Rapid admissions turnaround
• ― Transfer services
• ― Timeline management
• ― Dedicated visa app guidance
• ― Visa interview preparation
• ― Pre-arrival checklist
• ― University-specific preparation
• ― International-friendly add-ons
• ― Airport pickup
• ― Dorm setup and bedding
• ― Campus orientation
• ― Cultural group outings
• ― Student advising
• ― Needs assessment and testing
• ― Transfer placement
• ― Academic counseling
• ― Customized English courses
• ― Virtual study programs
• ― Career preparation
• ― Upskill development
• ― Resume and cover letter prep
• ― Professional networking
• ― OPT placement

School of Environment, Society & Sustainability

College of social & behavioral science, main navigation, envst 4800 internship/envst 5000 research/envst 4999 honors thesis requirement, spring 2024 course applications due january 1, 2024 by 5pm, summer 2024 course applications due may 6th, 2024 by 5pm, fall 2024 course applications due august 12, by 5pm, spring 2025 course application due – december 30th by 5pm, summer 2025 course application due – may 5th by 5pm, late applications are not accepted.

If after reviewing this information you still have questions on how to count an Internship, Research or Honors Thesis towards the ENVST major, please contact  Ally Marringa .

• PREREQUISITES FOR ENROLLMENT:
• ENVST 4800 Internship:
• ENVST 5000 Research:
• ENVST 4999 Honors Thesis:
• FAQ's 

Step 1  – ENVST Core Courses are required prerequisites in order to be approved and enroll in the ENVST Internship (ENVST 4800), Research (ENVST 5000) and Honors Thesis (ENVST 4999) courses. The ENVST core classes include: ENVST 2050, ENVST 2051, ENV 2100 (previously ENVST 2100), ENVST/GEOG 3210, ENVST 3364, ENVST 3365 and either POLS 3390 OR POLS 5322.

Step 2 – Find and secure an Internship, Research or Honors Thesis. The ENVST Program does not place students in opportunities, but see the relevant “ENVST 4800 Internship”, “ENVST 5000 Research”, and/or “ENVST 4999 Honors Thesis” tabs on this page for resources and criteria for approval.

Step 3 – Once you secure an Internship, Research, or Honors Thesis experience, you can Apply for ENVST Internship/Research/Thesis Credit . This application is required in order to get a permission code to register for the relevant course by the deadlines posted at the top of this page.

Step 4 – Once your ENVST Internship/Research/Thesis Credit Application is approved, you will be sent an add code and directions for enrollment.

For more information and resources on each option (ENVST 4800 Internship, ENVST 5000 Research and ENVST 4999 Honors Thesis), please select the appropriate tab. If you have additional questions after reviewing, please contact our ENVST Internship & Research Coordinator, Ally Marringa.

Credit Hours:

3 credits total of ENVST 4800, 5000 OR 4999 are required to fulfill the ENVST Major requirement. Below is a credit breakdown of how many hours you would be working at your internship or research experience per credit hour.

· 1 credit hour = 3 hours effort (45 total hours)

· 2 credit hours = 6 hours effort (90 total hours)

· 3 credit hours = 9 hours effort (135 total hours)

In order to enroll in this class, see the “Prerequisites for Enrollment” tab. The ENVST Internship/Research/Thesis Credit Application is required by the above posted deadlines.

Criteria for Internship Approval :

• Your internship must be environmentally-focused (internships can be broad but must be focused on an environmental issue)
• Whether paid or unpaid, your experience should provide you with the opportunity to apply theoretical and empirically based ideas from your coursework to a real-world setting
• Internships should offer the opportunity to develop marketable, professional skills
• Internships that primarily consist of physical labor, photocopying, filing, or similar work will not be considered

Resources for the Internship Search :

• Start researching potential agencies and organizations at least two months prior to planned internship semester. Watch for posted internship announcements or contact agencies of interest directly.
• The Hinckley Institute is another resource for finding an internship. They have their own deadlines and application process, but if you pursue this option and secure an environmentally-related internship through them, the same prerequisites, application and deadline applies for it to count for the ENVST major. Once secured, submit the ENVST Internship/Research/Thesis Credit Application. This is required and must be completed by the above posted deadline.
• We also recommend connecting with the U Career Success for additional help with your application materials, interview skills and assistance with the search process.
• Need more help getting started with application materials, support with the search and funding options? As a declared ENVST major, use the professional development tool pages in the ENVST Advising Hub in Canvas!

Criteria for Approval:

• Your research must be environmentally-focused (it does not need to be an ENVST professor, but does need to be a professor at the U whose project is environmentally-focused)
• Draft a research proposal with the help of a faculty member. We suggest formatting your proposal based on the instructions given by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) . Submission of a proposal to the UROP is not required.

Resources for the Research Search:

• Find a faculty mentor to join an undergraduate research project. Consider professors you’ve had in class before, or talk with your advisor about research topics you are interested in. Write an introductory email to a faculty member conducting research in an area of interest including a brief (1-2 sentences each) description about why you are interested in conducting, background of relevant coursework, questions you hope to address and/or skills you hope to gain via research. Politely inquire if any opportunities exist. 
• View past examples of student research in ENVST
• The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) . Submission of a proposal to the UROP is optional, and they hold different deadlines than ENVST 
• Apply for the travel and/or small grants funds through the Office of Undergraduate Research to support research efforts (as needed)
• If applicable, apply for Undergraduate Research Scholar Designation (URSD) . This expectation applies only to students who have conducted two semesters of research
• The Wilkes Center also offers funding support, awards and events centered on environmentally focused research

An Honors Thesis is required for all ENVST HBS OR HBA Honors Students, and not an option for students not admitted to the Honors College.

• Your research must be environmentally-focused (it does not need to be an ENVST professor, but does need to be a professor at the U and your thesis topic must be focused on the environment and sustainability)

Resources for Developing an Honors Thesis:

• Meet with the Faculty Honors Advisor in ENVST, Dr. Tim Collins , to discuss your thesis topic and potential thesis faculty advisor
• Explore suggested timelines and see suggestions for developing your thesis on the Honors College Thesis Website
• View Examples of Previous Honors Theses

Why is an Internship, Research or Thesis this required?

Since the ENVST major was established, this requirement has been part of the curriculum. Over and over again we have seen proof that these experiences help our students get jobs and connections in the field, help in building resumes, and allow students to apply their academics and interests to experience outside the classroom.

What is an internship vs research vs an honors thesis?

An Internship is a temporary experience where you can work with an organization in order to learn about how that organization works, and focus on a particular project or tasks in order to gain skills in the field.

Research can take many forms – you could be in a lab looking at samples, conducting interviews to collect data from individual perspectives, or helping analyzing numerical data from surveys. Research typically focuses on a particular question or problem that the investigators want to know more about. Students typically join a research project that a faculty member is already running, and will mentor and teach you skills on research techniques.

An Honors Thesis is required of students completing an Honors Degree. It is an in-depth independent study approved by your major’s department, where you work closely with a faculty mentor throughout the semester on research a particular topic. Thesis can range depending on your interest, so for examples we recommend visiting the “ENVST 4999 Honors Thesis” tab.

Can I do an internship or research before this requirement?

Of course! The more experience you have, the better – and we want you to maximize your experiences in college! However, you will not be able to do it for the major requirement until the relevant major perquisites are completed (see course prerequisites at the “Prerequisites for Enrollment” tab on this website). You can do an internship or research without registering for credit beforehand, but if you’d like academic credit, connect with your academic advisor for options.

Can I count an internship or research experience I did previously towards this requirement?

Unfortunately we cannot count a previous experience towards this requirement, as the ENVST course needs to be taken at the same time you’re doing your internship, research, or honors thesis. However, more experience is always helpful for a stronger resume!

Can my internship or research be paid?

We’d love if you found an opportunity that is paid!

Can I count one internship or research experience towards both of my majors?

No, the University does not allow 1 internship or research project to count for multiple academic programs in the same semester. It is also considered plagiarism to count the same internship hours for 2 different courses.

Can I use an internship or research course during Learning Abroad for this requirement?

The U of U needs supervision over this requirement and we need to ensure it meets our requirement for the major, so it is not a transfer course we will accept for the major.

Can I do more than 3 credits?

Yes, students can complete up to 6 credits total, though only 3 are needed for the major. The amount of hours is determined by how many hours you are working at your internship or research. See the Credit Hours Chart on the “Prerequisites for Enrollment tab”

I’m enrolling in a course, but is it actually a course?

ENVST 4800 does have required course assignments throughout the semester to ensure your experience is going well while completing your internship hours, and for professional development. The ENVST 5000 and ENVST 4999 course grades are determined by your faculty mentor.

Was one of your questions not answered? Contact Ally Marringa, the ENVST Internship & Research Coordinator for your specific questions and more details.

• Student Resources

Engineering Design Innovation at the SEGAL DESIGN INSTITUTE, McCORMICK SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

• Inside Our Program

EDI Thesis Projects: Class of ‘24

Edi's 2024 graduating class.

A computer workstation in a bag. An app that encourages users to wear their retainer. A tool to forge connections between divers and the marine world.

Those are just three of the final Thesis projects presented by students graduating from Northwestern's Master of Science in Engineering Design Innovation (EDI) program in March.

During the 2-quarter Thesis Studio, EDI students apply lessons learned in the 18-month program to a topic of their choosing. The cohort meets weekly with Thesis Studio leads Jim Wicks and Amy Schwartz, and small groups collaborate regularly with industry mentors who offer advice and feedback on their individual topics and projects.  

Learn more about each Thesis project from the Class of 2024 below.  

Amanda Acquaire - common  

The Surgeon General's 2023 announcement of a loneliness epidemic highlighted a critical societal issue with a wide reach. Contemporary lifestyle often impedes human connection, particularly during mealtimes. common addresses this by serving as a neighborhood dining hall for urban-dwelling adults who otherwise lack access to low-effort, variable, healthy, communal dining.  

Corinne Brady - Spark  

As students navigate the transition from high school to the next chapter of their lives, they frequently encounter feelings of uncertainty and a lack of confidence in their decision-making abilities. Spark provides a comprehensive solution designed to equip schools with necessary tools to host a family career night. This initiative aims to foster a collaborative environment where parents and students can come together and have career conversations earlier. The goal is to create a supportive community that empowers students to confidently navigate their futures, equipped with a clearer understanding of the vast career possibilities that await. Spark is dedicated to transforming apprehension into action, curiosity into careers, and conversations into connections.

Ana Carvallo - Bit  

What has bad lungs and an empty wallet? A smoker. What has bad lungs, an empty wallet, and can no longer depend on the coping mechanisms and systems of support they are accustomed to? A smoker who has just decided to quit.  

Bit is a modular cessation support tool designed to help people manage cravings, regulate complex emotions, and navigate redefining social relationships as they transition away from smoking. By treating addiction as a holistic physiological and socio-emotional problem, Bit targets more than just chemical dependency and helps users achieve sustained, long-term cessation by promoting healthy habits. Starting with a base unit, users can choose from a variety of customizable module bits that target their specific needs. From a calming distraction during a stressful commute to a grounding tether during social gatherings, users carry with them the support they need. Bit by bit, anyone can quit.

Yaritza Chavez - Spork  

Spork is a planning and scheduling app tailored for the neurodivergent experience. Beyond traditional tools, Spork is a personal planner that breaks down tasks into manageable chunks and adapts schedules based on users' energy levels, allowing seamless task swapping in real-time. Spork encourages users to explore what their brain needs to succeed so neurodivergent students can feel empowered to achieve their goals with confidence.

Emmie Fister - Dot  

Dot is a women's health tracking app tailored for individuals with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Dot simplifies symptom, cycle, and lifestyle factor tracking, providing personalized insights for better health understanding and management. With customizable tracking and a supportive community, Dot is the perfect companion to empower women on their journey toward optimized health and well-being with PCOS.

Patrick Giavelli - SHELLTR  

In Chicago, SHELLTR emerges as an answer to experiencing homelessness, blending dignity with practicality. These mobile shelters are more than a place to sleep; they're a private, secure space that stands up to the city's challenging weather, offering warmth in winter and coolness in summer. Each shelter is lockable, ensuring personal safety and privacy, and comes with electricity access for charging devices, an essential need for seeking opportunities in today's digital age. 

SHELLTR reflects a community's commitment to empathy and support, providing a stable stepping stone for those in need. It's a testament to the belief that everyone deserves a safe space, marking a significant step forward in caring for Chicago's most vulnerable.

Sounak (Pablo) Gupta - Muse Studio  

Muse Studio is a dynamic mobile application crafted for aspiring and semi-professional content creators that eliminates the time-consuming search for the perfect music with a music generator powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Say goodbye to the frustrations of settling for low-quality free music with swift and affordable customized soundtracks tailored to the specific needs of each video. Perfect for creators on the move, Muse Studio emulates traditional video editing excellence while distinguishing itself with innovative AI music production tools — ensuring your stories are vividly brought to life with the depth and emotion they deserve.

Lucas Iezzi - TrekTech  

Where are you the most productive? For many, the answer is their desk, but what if the answer could be anywhere. TrekTech ’s computer workstation in a bag provides all of the productivity boosts you get from your desk, and it can be carried wherever you want to go. With a built-in power supply, docking station, speakers, and a 20-inch monitor with ergonomic positioning, this all-in-one backpack is the perfect computer accessory for any environment. Just place the bag on a table and transform any space into your remote office.

Sahibzada Mayed - KaleidoKin  

In a world that is continually redefining traditional norms and boundaries, the socialization of gender and the development of children's identities have become focal points of interest, concern, and transformation. During their formative years, a child’s experiences of gender are significantly impacted by how family structures, relationship dynamics, and social spheres of influence converge.

Many parents are increasingly seeking guidance on how to foster an environment that encourages individuality and self-expression in their children, especially under the age of 12. At KaleidoKin , we offer immersive experiences designed to empower parents to foster open, supportive conversations around gender identity and fluidity. Through expert facilitation, supportive discussions, and personalized resources, parents can cultivate an environment where their children feel seen, heard, and supported in expressing their true selves.

Sue (Seungyeon) Kim - AlignGuard  

Do you find yourself often forgetting to wear your retainer, or have you lost the motivation to keep up with the routine? AlignGuard is designed to address those challenges head-on, offering a comprehensive solution for anyone wearing a retainer.

This app not only helps users adhere to their retainer wear schedule but also boosts their commitment through a variety of motivational reinforcements. By integrating reminders, progress tracking, and rewards for consistency, AlignGuard ensures you stay on track with your orthodontic care. With AlignGuard , you can safeguard against teeth relapse and maintain that perfect smile effortlessly. Say goodbye to the hassle and hello to confidence with your smile's best companion.  

Jingdian Li - Subaqueous Serenity  

Subaqueous Serenity designs integrated product solutions for novice divers to overcome emotional stress, ensure safety through enhanced communication, simplify navigation, and foster connection with the marine world.  

Lindsay Lipschultz - RemindRx  

Students, shift workers, hybrid workers, and others with irregular schedules who need to take medication throughout their day often struggle remembering to bring their medication and when to take it while on-the-go. The RemindRx is a smart container for pills that alerts users to bring their medication when leaving home and when it is time to take the medication. The container senses whether it is empty or filled and determines its location utilizing a connection to a smartphone to inform the discreet reminders and alerts it sends to the user.

Mikayla Mai - ShareMate  

Are you seeking new friends who share your hobbies or skills? Come to ShareMate , where you can connect, share, and make friends. This social app empowers users to forge meaningful connections through shared learning experiences and the enhancement of soft skills. ShareMate introduces a unique platform that combines the pursuit of social connectivity with the enrichment of skill development for youth in today's busy society.

Macie Mancini - EarthStick  

EarthStick is a portable charging kit that consists of a battery with compatible solar, wind, and hydropower generators. With its compact setup and relatively small size, it can be carried from site to site. It can be set up to accommodate a variety of climatic conditions and environments, powering off-grid adventures anywhere you go.  

Adannia (Ada) Michaels Shapiro - InSync  

InSync is a financial companion seeking to bridge the gap between caregivers and care recipients, empowering them to navigate money matters with confidence. It understands the delicate balance between independence and assistance, offering a platform where managing money day to day becomes a collaborative journey. Through comprehensive financial monitoring and a focus on privacy, caregivers can gain peace of mind while empowering care recipients to control their own financial narrative. InSync is not just a financial tool — it's a way to encourage compassion, connection, and the commitment to preserving dignity in caregiving.

Kallie Mingay - Green Scene  

Green Scene is a research aid to help theatrical set designers and technical directors make more sustainable material choices for productions. The tool suggests swaps of commonly-used, high-impact materials based on comparable performance, availability, and affordability from nearby vendors. Green Scene allows artists to spend more time bringing to life their vision while creating a space for positive change in a time- and cash-strapped industry.  

Ritika Ramesh - Modefy  

Every wardrobe tells a story of change, filled with moments of uncertainty and the all-too-common worry, "What should I wear today?" Modefy steps in right when you're navigating life's big shifts — like starting a new job, moving to a different city, or exploring a new phase in your personal style. More than just an app, Modefy acts as your style companion, guiding you through the maze of your closet with smart, easy-to-answer questions and engaging style scenarios. This friendly guide helps you understand what you have, suggests new ways to style your existing pieces, and curbs the urge to buy more. With Modefy , you'll discover your unique style DNA, making your wardrobe a true reflection of you. It's all about matching your external style to your evolving life, ensuring every choice you make is with confidence. Modefy isn't just organizing your clothes; it's about discovering and embracing your style journey, with a trusty companion by your side every step of the way.

David Schatz-Mizrahi - Grate Mate  

Tailgating should be all about enjoying quality time with friends and family, not feeling burdened with worries or stress. Grate Mate was created with this in mind, offering a simple, safe, and convenient way to deal with hot charcoal so tailgaters can focus on what really matters. The disposable two-part system features a durable pan that fits onto a grill's bottom grate and a secure dome cover with a locking mechanism to safely contain hot coals. After grilling, tailgaters simply lock the dome onto the pan and set the Grate Mate aside, allowing them to pack up their grill and enjoy the event worry-free.

Sherry Xu - Caravan: Create your Ultimate Road Trip  

Embark on epic road trips with Caravan , the ultimate app for group travel in multiple vehicles. It bridges distances between cars, synchronizing routes, and sharing memories in real-time. With Caravan , every participant stays in the loop, ensuring seamless coordination and communication. Capture every moment, share every laugh, and navigate every turn together. Get ready to make every mile count with Caravan , where every journey becomes a shared story.

ShaoBo Zhang - envelope  

Envelope offers a redesign and development of a user's email interface. Envelope leverages AI and dynamic database software to create a more fluid and predictive email inbox experience.  

REQUEST INFO

Request your program and application guide.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Developing Strong Thesis Statements

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

The thesis statement or main claim must be debatable

An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.

Example of a non-debatable thesis statement:

This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution implies that something is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, all studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is unambiguously good.

Example of a debatable thesis statement:

This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money. Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution.

Another example of a debatable thesis statement:

In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy.

The thesis needs to be narrow

Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right.

Example of a thesis that is too broad:

There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use (which might include alcohol and cigarettes), or all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths (and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence)? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate.

Example of a narrow or focused thesis:

In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic.

We could narrow each debatable thesis from the previous examples in the following way:

Narrowed debatable thesis 1:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution.

Narrowed debatable thesis 2:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti-pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus.

Qualifiers such as " typically ," " generally ," " usually ," or " on average " also help to limit the scope of your claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the rule.

Types of claims

Claims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about how you want to approach your topic, or, in other words, what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of your broader topic.

Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Example:

Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. Example:

Claims about value: These are claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something. Example:

Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Example:

Which type of claim is right for your argument? Which type of thesis or claim you use for your argument will depend on your position and knowledge of the topic, your audience, and the context of your paper. You might want to think about where you imagine your audience to be on this topic and pinpoint where you think the biggest difference in viewpoints might be. Even if you start with one type of claim you probably will be using several within the paper. Regardless of the type of claim you choose to utilize it is key to identify the controversy or debate you are addressing and to define your position early on in the paper.

A FRAMEWORK FOR ACHIEVING THE FOUR STUDENT WELLNESS OUTCOMES USING COLLECTIVE SYSTEM DESIGN

In response to the evolving demands of todays competition, there is a growing expectation for enhanced services to industry and academic enterprises. This thesis explores the application of System Engineering methodologies as a strategic approach to securing success with both industrial and academic enterprises. Industry faces issues with the absence of a positive tone, inefficiencies and delays in delivery, and customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, academia faces several challenges including lack of communication between departments, how to allocate institutional resources to simplify student experience, reduce complexity in students college experience, and lack of students motivation. These issues for students lead to poor academic performance, financial struggles, and possibly mental health problems. There is a recognized need for a systematic approach to ensure student success at universities. A fundamental approach emerges in the form of Collective System Design (CSD) to find ways to address the above- mentioned challenges. Collective System Design is explored for ad- dressing the challenges faced by academic organizations and industrial processes. Collective System Design aims to improve the long-term viability of an enterprise by fostering sustainability and success. This thesis further investigates the Collective System Design Language, offering a communication tool for design and an approach to assess effectiveness before implementation. This thesis highlights two case studies: Shuttleworth (manufacturing industry) and the Purdue University Fort Wayne Student Success Standard Process Lifecycle. The impact of solving these problems can be measured through several key indicators: Shuttleworth (Manufacturing Industry). • Reduction in Lead Time • In on-time Delivery • Enhanced Customer Satisfaction and improvement in product quality. Purdue University Fort Wayne. • Improvement in Student Experience and Quality of Life. • Achievement of Student Wellness Functional Requirements and improvements in student retention and four and five year graduation rates. Achievement of Student Success Functional Requirements and improvements in student retention and four and five year graduation rates. There are three main objectives of this thesis: (1) Apply and contrast the application of Collective System Design principles across a manufacturing industrial client and a service enterprise, namely higher education (2) Offer a systematic approach for manufacturing to improve on-time delivery, enhance customer satisfaction, create positive tone by using the principles of Collective System Design, and (3) For academia, develop a System Design Decomposition to define the functions of the university to foster student wellness according to four viewpoints: academic, financial, career, and living wellness. The objective is to incorporate the development of a System Design Decomposition that provides methodology to ensure that student wellness outcomes consider the four viewpoints of wellness (Academic, Financial, Career, and Living). The Student Success Standard Process Lifecycle defines standard processes in all process steps that will facilitate the desired student experience and four wellness outcomes. The lifecycle consists of Student Success States where the lifecycle begins from S0 (learning about university) to S7 (Supportive alumni) and defines standard process steps in each state. Each standard process step seeks to achieve the Functional Requirements from the four wellness viewpoints (academic, financial, career, and living) in Student Success Standard Process Lifecycle. The Collective System Design Decomposition methodology will serve as a structured approach to defining desired student wellness outcomes within a Rapid Design Process, which takes place in the first session focusing on defining outcomes. By leveraging this framework of four wellness viewpoints, the thesis aims to address issues with defining the outcomes for academic, financial, career, and living wellness viewpoints. Each wellness viewpoint has specific Functional Requirements (outcomes) that need to be defined and achieved by Student Success Standard Process Lifecycle and Rapid Design Process, to ultimately enhance student success and well-being at Purdue Fort Wayne University.

Degree Type

• Master of Science
• Electrical and Computer Engineering

Campus location

Advisor/supervisor/committee chair, additional committee member 2, additional committee member 3, usage metrics.

• Systems engineering

The goal of the Master of Science (MS) program in Biomedical Engineering (BME) is to prepare students for careers in industry, business, academia and research lab environments by offering a flexible program of coursework and mentoring that enables students to engage in creative and independent research on a cutting-edge research topic. The program is designed to prepare students for leadership positions in biomedical research, education, and entrepreneurship, and for success in a global environment. Graduates will have diverse career opportunities in academia, industries, and businesses working to improve human health and well-being through scientific and technological innovations.

The BME Department offers various financial assistance options to master’s students that include graduate fellowships along with research and teaching assistantships.

The MS degree can typically be completed in 1.5 to 2.5 years. Students complete the core curriculum and elective courses, and undertake thesis research or a termination project.

Admission Requirements

The primary criteria for admission include an academic record of excellence, the appropriate knowledge base to permit enrollment in the core courses, and an interest in contributing to the field. All admitted students should complete the core coursework, although some students may substitute equivalent courses if appropriately justified; permission will be granted by the director of graduate studies on a case-by-case basis. Prospective graduate students should visit the Graduate School website to apply online.

The application package for graduate admission includes official transcript(s), test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), at least two letters of recommendation, a résumé, and a one-page statement indicating why the applicant wishes to pursue the MS in Biomedical Engineering at Binghamton University. International students should also provide proof of English proficiency (such as TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic, or Duolingo English Test scores) and immigration and financial documentation. See the Graduate School website for more information about the additional requirements for international students.

Applications are considered for both spring and fall semesters and are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Recommended submission dates for fall semester admission: Apply before January 15 for funding consideration or by April 1 for regular admission. Recommended submission dates for spring semester admission: Apply before October 15 for funding consideration or by November 15 for regular admission.

Graduate students who are well-qualified may receive assistantships, such as teaching assistantships (TA), research project assistantships (RPA), or graduate assistantships (GA). Funding decisions are decided among the admitted pool of applicants in the spring semester for fall admissions and as needed for spring admissions. Domestic and international MS students are considered for funding.

Program Requirements

Students may choose to pursue the MS with the Thesis option or with the termination project option. Both options require a series of core courses designed to provide all BME graduate students with a common knowledge base which includes: principles of biomedical engineering, physiological and cellular systems, mathematical analysis, statistics and experimental design. A core course can be substituted by a BME elective if appropriately justified by the student’s academic background. Such requests will be evaluated by the student’s guidance committee and the director of graduate studies.

To complete the MS in Biomedical Engineering, students must maintain at least a B average in all graduate coursework.

MS with Thesis Option

Students pursuing the MS in Biomedical Engineering, Thesis Option, must complete 30 credits of coursework, including:

Core Courses (12 credits)

• BME 533 - Human Physiology
• BME 572 - Expermntal Design & Stat Anyls
• BME 590 - Grad Seminar in Biomedical Eng
• BME 682 - Emerging Methods & App in BME
• BME 690 - Adv Grad Sem & Writing in BME

Graded Elective Courses (12 credits)

Master’s thesis with oral defense (6 credits).

• BME 599 - Thesis

MS with Termination Project Option

Students pursuing the MS in Biomedical Engineering, Termination Project Option, must complete 30 credits of coursework, including:

Graded Elective Courses (15 credits)

Master’s termination project (3 credits).

• BME 598 - Project

Elective Courses

The BME director of graduate studies generates a list of approved electives every semester and this list is voted on and approved by the BME faculty. Elective courses are aimed at preparing students for careers in research, industry, or government, and at providing students with an introduction to the broader aspects of biomedical engineering. Students can take elective courses from either BME or other disciplines in engineering or science, if approved by the student’s guidance committee and the director of graduate studies. Up to two of the electives, or eight out of the 30 required total credits, can be outside of engineering.

The Biomedical Engineering MS program has been designed to be relatively flexible, allowing students to orient their research in an area of interest as they progress in their training and to select elective coursework from a wide variety of courses available in BME or other graduate programs. To provide such flexibility and at the same time ensure adequate monitoring of progress, students go through a sequence of evaluations. For the MS thesis students, this includes the identification of a primary research advisor early in the program to help guide them up to and through the MS thesis defense. The timing and content of all evaluations are described in the departmental Graduate Program Handbook.

Residency Requirement

All MS students are required to have a minimum of 24 graded credit hours from Binghamton University.

Additional Information about the Program

For more information on the Biomedical Engineering MS program, please refer to the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Programs website . To apply to the Biomedical Engineering MS program, please visit the University Graduate Admissions website .

Faculty Mentors and Competitive Thesis Grants

In addition to being encouraged to apply for Thesis Grant Funding (which takes place during the semester one is enrolled in the HC 3900 course), The Honors College aims to provide high level mentorship and mentor support.  If you are an HC3900 student and seek information about Thesis Grants, please contact Dr. Susan Lynne Beckwith

Faculty Mentors listed in the following fields of study are not all inclusive to those available to our students.  You can find mentors in a variety of departments throughout Oakland University.  Mentors regularly conduct research and are always pursuing their passion for discovery.  Not all research is science related so please feel free to discuss your options with an Honors College Counselor.

The key areas The Honors College aims to provide their students are as follows:

• Undergraduate research and advanced creative activities
• Graduate School and career strategies
• Leadership development in research, service and team building

As an undergraduate researcher, you are afforded assistance from the Michigan Center for Undergraduate Research (MCUR) .  For more information on MCUR, please browse the link provided and or email:  [email protected].

Amy Banes-Berceli [email protected] Hypertension and the renal and vascular complications of diabetes

Fabia Battistuzzi [email protected] When and how species have evolved and investigate the connections between their genetic innovations and variations in environmental conditions

Rasul Chaudhry [email protected] Embryonic stem cell development and differentiation - osteogenesis and neurogenesis; Tissue engineering; Regulation of gene expression; Metabolic pathways of hazardous chemicals; Environmental biotechnology and toxicology

Elizabeth Delorme-Axford [email protected] Molecular mechanisms regulating cellular autophagy

Vandre' Figueiredo [email protected]

Mary Jamieson [email protected] The effects of global environmental change on species interactions and biological diversity

Lan Jiang [email protected]  The regulation of tracheal gene expression and how tracheal-expressed genes control the complex cellular behaviors that result in the formation of a continuous tubular network

Shailesh Lal [email protected] A multidisciplinary approach in genomics, genetics and bioinformatics to study fundamental processes that impact gene expression in plants from a genome-wide perspective

Gerald Madlambayan [email protected] Define the integrated roles of different stem and progenitor cell populations in cancer initiation, progression and relapse

Raffel Thomas [email protected] Understand how parasites influence the ecology and evolution of their hosts, and how ecological and anthropogenic factors affect parasite-host dynamics

Mi Hye Song [email protected] The molecular and genetic mechanisms of centrosome assembly by applying biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, proteomics and quantitative imaging to the study of centrosome biology in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans model

Scott Tiegs [email protected] Use field-based experimental and observational approaches — usually in aquatic ecosystems — with the aim of better understanding how human activities impact aquatic ecosystems

Luis Villa-diaz [email protected] The self-renewal properties of hPSCs, which are influenced by the microenvironment in which they are cultured, in particular the extracellular matrix (ECM)

Satish Walia [email protected] Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and biodegradation of xenobiotics such as polychlorinated biphenyl, nitrotoluenes, and the mutagenic properties of their biodegradation products

Douglas Wendell [email protected] Develop molecular markers for rapid-cycling Brassica rapa

Randal Westrick [email protected] Understanding and preventing the development of pathologic intravascular blood clot formation

Ferman Chavez [email protected] Develop small molecule models for the active sites of these enzymes which will help to understand the role of various metals in this family and help to probe the mechanisms involved for these enzymes

Roman Dembinski [email protected] The synthesis of analogs of natural products, particularly coordination complexes of nucleosides and nucleotides

Michael Sevilla [email protected] The chemistry of free radical species produced by the high energy irradiation of DNA by gamma irradiation and ion beams

Evan Trivedi [email protected] Light activation and near infrared light

Sumit Dinda [email protected] Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences

Constance Burke [email protected] Physician Assistant Science

Christina Lim [email protected] Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences

Sara Rivard [email protected] Radiologic Technology

Elena Borrelli [email protected] Physician Assistant Science

Christopher Davis [email protected] Physician Assistant Science

Dale Telgenhoff [email protected] Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences

William Van Dyke [email protected] Radiologic Technology

Stephanie Mabry [email protected] Medical Laboratory Science

Erin Meyers [email protected] Digital or “new” media technologies, most notably the Internet, and  the audiences who engage with them

Hoda Abdel-Aty-Zohdy [email protected] Bio-technology with bio-inspired intelligent signal perception and processing (ISPP)

Jai Li [email protected] Statistical signal processing for biomedical imaging and communications, computer graphics, pattern recognition and algorithms

Subramaniam Ganesan [email protected] Divisible load scheduling; c ondition based maintenance for military and manufacturing;  real time DSP/m ulti-core systems for specific applications; agent based health monitoring

Khalid Mahmood [email protected] Open source speech and Video API in android platform; programming and GUI design

Gautam Singh [email protected] Information system modeling, management and efficient data retrieval; temporal database design for applications in manufacturing and process monitoring

Xia Wang [email protected] Fuel cell and battery modeling and testing, biomass pellets optimization, turbulent boundary layers with separation, forced convection turbulent boundary layers

Peng Zhao [email protected] Combustion and reacting flows, internal combustion engines, energy conversion, environmental science

Richard Olawoyin [email protected] Human Health Exposure Risk Assessment, NanoEHS (nanotechnology), Fire Protection Engineering, Global Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Hazard Management in Nuclear Safety

Myung Choi [email protected] Regulation of local and whole body lipid metabolism in sedentary overweight and obese humans before and after exercise training and nutritional intervention

Frank Giblin [email protected] The possible role of oxidative and free radical processes in the formation of nuclear cataract, resulting in blindness, along with the unusually active antioxidant mechanisms present in the epithelium of the lens that help to keep the tissue transparent

Dao-Qi Zhang [email protected] The regulation of dopamine release in the vertebrate retina, a simple and accessible model of the CNS

Jennifer Lucarelli [email protected] Prevention and improvement of chronic diseases in children, adolescents and adults in community-based settings

Melissa Reznar [email protected] Behavioral nutrition, lifestyle interventions food environment, college health

Physical Therapy

Sara Arena [email protected] Cardiopulmonary, blood pressure, health promotion and wellness, home care

Deborah Doherty [email protected] Oncology rehabilitation; Cultural competency

Melodie Kondratek [email protected] Orthopedics: intervention techniques for spinal conditions; Pediatrics: the use of orthopedic manual therapy techniques in the treatment of children

Kristine Thompson [email protected] Professional issues, professional development

Ilias Cholis [email protected] Theoretical high-energy astrophysics and on astroparticle physics with a significant focus on indirect dark matter searches. Many questions in these fields are at the intersection of astrophysics, cosmology and particle physics.

Brad Roth [email protected] Biological physics and computational physics: Electrical stimulation of cardiac tissue

Steffan Puwal [email protected] Biophysical methods in heart defibrillation

Yang Xia [email protected] Multidisciplinary microscopic imaging study of articular cartilage

Mark Manning [email protected] Social psychological examinations of race, racism and health behavior, and their downstream effect on racial health disparities. e xamine the interaction between psychological stress, anxiety, and health

Michele Purdie [email protected] Predictors and consequences of sexual assault perpetration and victimization, with a particular emphasis on childhood trauma, substance use, and emotion regulation

Todd Shackelford [email protected] Human sexual psychology and behavior with special focus on sexual conflict between men and women

Kanako Taku [email protected] The construct of posttraumatic growth (PTG), personal growth experienced as a result of the struggle with major life crises or traumatic events

Jennifer Vonk [email protected] Cognitive continuities and discontinuities between humans and both closely and distantly related species

Lisa Welling [email protected] Hormonal and psychological sources of individual differences in human mate preferences and behavior

Virgil Zeigler-Hill [email protected] Self-esteem, narcissism, cognitive representations of the self, and interpersonal relationships

Jon Carroll [email protected] Cultural transmission, social interaction and integration, political and economic organization, social science applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and computer modeling and simulation, archaeology of the Eastern Woodlands of North America

Suzanne Spencer-Wood [email protected] Feminist theory in anthropology and archaeology, nonlinear systems theory, archaeological theory and method, feminist historical archaeology, historical archaeology of class, ethnicity, market access and settlement, industrial archaeology and cultural resource management

The Honors College