Thesis

To form your thesis advisory committee, work with your thesis advisor to form your thesis advisory committee. Your committee must have at least three members, including your advisor, and two members from your department. In place of one of the members from your department, a faculty member from a different department (who has the applicable knowledge and/or expertise) may serve on the committee if your advisor approves. Once the committee is formed, complete and submit the digital Thesis Committee Selection form. The form will automatically route to your advisor, committee members, and depatment head for approvals before being received by TDS for Graduate School approval. When your committee is approved by the Dean of the Graduate School, you and your advisor will receive an email advising you of the approval and providing you and your advisor with a copy of the approved committee form. At this point, you may move forward in the thesis process.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Thesis Committee Selection Form

Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guide

Thesis and Dissertation Submission Guide

University Procedure 11.99.99.R0.06 Master's and Specialist Thesis and Advisory Committee

University Procedure 11.99.99.R0.09 Course Requirements for the Master's and Specialist Degrees

Work with your committee to prepare your proposal for defense. The proposal defense process is determined by each department.  Make all changes recommended by your committee. In addition, make sure your proposal follows the formatting requirements as shown and described in the Graduate School's thesis/dissertation template and the Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guide.

Regarding data collection:

If, with your advisor's guidance, your study is determined not to require IRB, IACUC, or IBC approval, you may, with your advisor's permission, begin data collection. However, you must first complete all required research compliance training through CITI. You do not need Graduate School proposal approval to begin data collection.

If, with your advisor's guidance, your study is determined to require IRB, IACUC, or IBC approval, do not begin data collection until you and your advisor receive an approval letter from the appropriate research compliance reviewing body. Again, you do not need Graduate School's proposal approval to begin data collection.

If you are unsure about whether or not your study requires approval from IRB, IACUC, or IBC, please check with your advisor. You may also want to review the research compliance websites noted below.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Thesis and Dissertation Template

Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guide

Zoom Etiquette (for students and faculty)

How to Conduct a Defense via Zoom (for faculty/advisors)

Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) Training 

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) 

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

After successfully defending your proposal, make all changes suggested by your committee.  Once all changes have been made to your proposal document, with your advisor's permission, complete and submit the Thesis Proposal Submission Form with all required documents. The submitted form will route automatically to your advisor, committee members, the department head, and college dean before being received by TDS in the Graduate School. Documents to include with your proposal submission are as follows.

• Thesis proposal document in Word format(or PDF if using LaTex)
• iThenticate similarity report
• CITI training reports (RCR plus additional as required by the Office of Sponsored Programs' Research Compliance division)
• IRB, IACUC, IBC approval letter*

*If your study requires research compliance committee approval, your advisor will receive the an approval letter from the applicable research compliance committee. Provide a copy of this approval letter with your proposal submission.

An email to your LeoMail email will be sent to you by TDS confirming receipt and verifying whether your submission is complete, Proposals submitted past the deadline will be processed for the following semester. Please see the Graduate School's Thesis and Dissertation Submission Guide for assistance when preparing to submit your proposal documents. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to ensure all materials are received by the appropriate deadline. 

You must receive proposal approval from TDS at least one semester prior to the semester in which you plan to graduate. You cannot defend your final thesis in the same semester in which you receive proposal approval from TDS.

The TDS Review:

TDS conducts a one-time review of your proposal document. It is reviewed for conformity to the Graduate School's thesis/dissertation template and to the Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guide. With the help of your advisor, you will be responsible for adherence to your chosen style guide (APA, MLA, Turabian, etc.). Once the format review is complete, you and your advisor will receive an approval email from TDS containing a Reviewer's Checklist with formatting corrections to make and to apply when drafting your final document.  Please keep a copy of all emails concerning your submission and the related approval for your records. 

RELEVANT LINKS:

Thesis and Dissertation Template 

Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guide

Thesis Proposal Submission Form

iThenticate 

Deadlines for Submission

Following thesis proposal approval, continue to collect data, analyze data, and write your final thesis chapters. Make sure you remain in contact with your advisor regarding your progress on your thesis. Also, be aware of the deadlines that are relevant to you and your plan for graduation.

Once you and your advisor feel you are ready, work with your committee to schedule a date, time, and location or mode (e.g., Zoom) to hold the final thesis defense. When a date and time is set, complete and submit the digital Notification Form for the Thesis Defense.  This form must be be received by TDS at least one week prior to the defense date, so begin this process at least 2 weeks before your defense date. Submitting the form lets us know you intend to graduate and tells us to watch for your final submission.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Notification Form for the Thesis Defense

Zoom Etiquette (for students and faculty)

How to Conduct a Defense via Zoom (for faculty/advisors)

Deadlines for Submission

At least one semester after receiving Graduate School approval of your proposal document, and after successfully defending your final thesis, with approval of your advisor and committee, you will move forward in the thesis process.  Complete and submit the digital Final Thesis Submission Form with all required attachments. The submitted form will route automatically to your advisor, committee members, the department head, and college dean before being received by TDS in the Graduate School. Documents to include with your final thesis submission are as follows.

• Final thesis document in Word format(or PDF if using LaTex)
• iThenticate similarity report

An email to your LeoMail email will be sent to you by TDS confirming receipt and verifying whether your submission is complete, Final thesis documents submitted past the deadline will be processed for the following semester. Please see the Graduate School's Thesis and Dissertation Submission Guide for assistance when preparing to submit your final thesis documents. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to ensure all materials are received by the appropriate deadline. 

The TDS Review:

TDS will conduct reviews of your final document until your document conforms to the Graduate School's thesis/dissertation template and to the Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guide.  Keep in mind that theses that do not follow the thesis/dissertation template and the Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guide will require additional revisions and, therefore, may take longer to receive approval. If the needed revisions are not made in a timely manner, your graduation eligibility may be impacted.

When your final document receives Graduate School approval, you and your advisor will receive an approval email from TDS and a Reviewer's Checklist with final corrections to make to your document before finalizing.  Please keep a copy of all emails concerning your submission and the related approval for your records. 

After approval, TDS will provide you emails with instructions for uploading your approved thesis to ProQuest. Make sure you follow the instructions exactly to ensure your thesis is processed successfully. At this time you will need to pay the ProQuest fees and any remaining Graduate student fees.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Final Thesis Submission Form

Thesis and Dissertation Formatting Guide

Thesis and Dissertation Submission Guide

iThenticate

Deadlines for Submission

The graduation application opens in myLeo at the start of the semester. After submitting your application, the Graduate School will be in communication with you throughout the semester regarding your graduation eligibility. Uploading to ProQuest and paying all student fees are required before you can be cleared for graduation. The Graduate School charges a thesis/dissertation processing fee of $63. ProQuest fees include $75 copyright fee and $30 for one copy of the thesis to go to the advisor. You may purchase additional copies at your own cost.

Make sure these steps are completed prior to the graduation ceremony. After you receive confirmation from the Graduate School/TDS that all thesis-related requirements have been met, you are free to prepare for the graduation ceremony (assuming all program-related requirements have also been met). Make sure you are at the Field House at the required time and that you are wearing your graduation regalia.