M.A. in Interdisciplinary Humanities
Thesis & Major Essay Procedures and Guidelines

Completion of a thesis is the culmination of satisfactory work in ENG/HIST/PHIL 610, 611, and 612.

ENGLISH or HISTORY or PHILOSOPHY 610 

Research Design/Bibliography

Semester hours:  3

This course is an integral part of the thesis/major paper in that it begins with a review of specific literature related to the student's research topic and ends with a specific research proposal. Once the student’s area of specific interest has become clear (usually after the completion of a number of courses), s/he begins discussions with a potential research advisor. Decisions about research advisor and thesis/major paper topic need to be ratified by the director, based on the advice of the relevant discipline co-ordinator. A simple registration form will be completed and signed once the decision is made. When the research advisor agrees that the student is ready, s/he enrolls in the Research Design/Bibliography course for his/her discipline on a directed studies basis. This is a course of reading and study which leads to the development of both a significant bibliographical essay and a thesis/major paper proposal. The latter includes at least the following: major question(s) to be addressed; significance of the issue(s); methodologies to be used; theories to be addressed and primary sources to be examined. The Research Advisor and the discipline co-ordinator will notify the director upon their approval of the thesis/major paper proposal. Approval of research proposal is needed in order to enroll in ENG/HIST/PHIL 611 or 612.

ENGLISH or HISTORY or PHILOSOPHY 611/612

Thesis

Semester hours:

3, 3 (registration may be consecutive or concurrent) 

Pre-requisites:

Recommendation of supervisor upon successful completion of ENGL or HIST or PHIL 610.

Description

Under the direction of an approved supervisor, the student is required to research, formulate, write, edit and defend a thesis of approximately 20,000 to 30,000 words.

Process

These courses are a continuation of ENGL/HIST/PHIL 610 and involve writing a draft of the thesis, making revisions to the draft, submitting a penultimate draft for the oral defence, defending the thesis, and submitting the final draft for credit. Students should register for 611 and 612 (registration can be consecutive or concurrent) on the recommendation of the approved supervisor upon successful completion of ENGL/HIST/PHIL 610.

Researching, formulating and writing a thesis of approximately 20,000 to 30,000 words (any deviation from this standard must be approved by the supervisor) written in a discipline-specific style and format is required. Important keys to success for most projects are regular meetings with the thesis advisor coupled with a steady progress of research and writing. Any written work must be submitted to the supervisor at least 5 days ahead of the scheduled meeting - in order to give the advisor sufficient time to prepare a thoughtful response. If a chapter has not been completed as scheduled, students are encouraged to submit even a few pages of writing or ideas. At the appropriate time, the thesis advisor, in consultation with the student, may call on the services of the Second Reader to review and respond to individual chapters.

Completion of Draft Copy:

A complete draft copy (Introduction, Conclusion, Table of Contents, Bibliography or Works Cited and an abstract of no more than 350 words) is required. The Thesis Advisor and the Second Reader review the draft thesis and respond with comments in a timely manner. Based on the critique, the student will make appropriate revisions.

Oral Examination (see deadlines below):

Four copies of the revised thesis are submitted to the MAIH Director. One copy will go to the thesis advisor, one copy to the Second Reader, and two copies will be on display for faculty members and students to review. Unless sufficient expertise is available within the university faculty, the thesis will be forwarded for assessment to an External Examiner, an expert in the field outside the university faculty, who will be approved by the Director normally based on consensus of the student, thesis advisor and discipline co-ordinator. A date for the Oral Thesis Defence will be set by the office of the director. The Examination Committee will consist of the thesis advisor, the Second Reader, the External Examiner and any other attending MAIH faculty members. The Chair (to be appointed by the office of the Graduate Dean) of the Examination Committee will convene the meeting and distribute to each member of the Examination Committee a Thesis Evaluation Form as well as a copy of the Examination Programme (prepared by the Program Director's office and submitted to the Graduate Dean). The Programme will include: the name of the candidate; names of all committee members; thesis title; and an abstract (not to exceed 350 words). After being introduced by the Chair, the student will proceed with a 15 to 20 minute presentation of the thesis. Students are encouraged to use visual aids, such as overheads or PowerPoint slides. Students should be prepared to answer any questions from the Examination Committee. Typically, there are two rounds of questioning begun by the External Examiner and followed by the Second Reader, the Director, and the Advisor. If time permits, the audience will be invited to question the student. The time allotted for thesis defence is to be no more than 2 hours. The Chair should ensure that: 1) no examiner should take more than one half hour for each round; 2) that no examiner will pursue relentlessly a single line of questioning when it is obvious that the candidate does have a satisfactory answer. At the Master’s level, students are not expected to be an authority on the thesis topic. Students should feel free to admit that they do not know the answer and they can either ask for an explanation from the questioner or promise to do further research on the question.

Thesis Evaluation:

After the Oral Examination the student and the audience will be asked to leave the room so that the Examination Committee may discuss the written submission and oral defence and assign a grade. The written thesis will be judged on the following criteria: (1) The thesis is expected to demonstrate originality. For example, it may investigate an important new problem or formulate an old problem in a novel way. It may offer significant new insights about or a new synthesis of issues already examined by other researchers. It may involve substantial replication and extension of some important prior research. A candidate may have developed new techniques or new conceptual models for investigating some issues; (2) The thesis must be based on appropriate and sound methodology; (3) The standard of expression and presentation of the thesis is expected to be of a high order, commensurate with advanced standards of scholarship. The Oral Thesis Defence will be evaluated based on the following criteria: (1) Knowledge and understanding of literature directly relevant to the thesis; (2) Awareness and understanding of literature in areas related to the thesis; (3) Ability to make a clear and concise presentation of the thesis; (4) Ability to form articulate responses to examiners’ questions.

Submission of Final Copy:

Once the Thesis Committee has finished its deliberations, the candidate will be asked to return to the room where the Chair will explain the evaluation of the committee. The Examination Committee will assign a letter grade and will recommend one of the following:


(1) The thesis is accepted as defended;

(2) The thesis is accepted subject to minor corrections made to the satisfaction of the Thesis Advisor and Second Reader;

(3) The thesis is accepted subject to major revisions made to the satisfaction of the Examination Committee;

(4) The thesis, in its present form, is not accepted and further research is required. The revised thesis should be resubmitted to the Examination Committee and another Thesis Defence Meeting scheduled;

(5) The thesis is not accepted and is not of sufficient merit to warrant resubmission.


The final grade for ENG/HIST/PHIL 611 and 612 will not be submitted until all of the recommendations of the Thesis Committee have been satisfied as noted by signatures on Title Page of Thesis; failure to complete in a timely manner will result in the submission of an “F” unless the student is “continuously enrolled” (see below).

Continuation Fees

The student must maintain active registration until all requirements are completed for graduation, including all post-thesis responsibilities (above). Students will register for Continuous Status Registration every Fall, Spring, and Summer semester in which classes are not taken, apart from the summer following the qualifying year(s) or the first summer following the registration for Thesis I or II. To avoid paying Continuous Status Registration for the current semester, the student must submit the bound and unbound copies of the thesis by the add-drop deadline. After this date, the student must register for Continuous Status Registration, but will be eligible for partial refund if the copies are submitted early in that semester. 

For more detailed information on Thesis Continuation Status Registration please refer to "New Policies" on the website.

Thesis and Binding process for MAIH Students:

The student is responsible for the cost of binding.  The binding is $46 (fall 2009 price) in addition to the cost of copying the thesis (student’s responsibility).

Hardbound Thesis Requirements:

  • hard binding (Heritage Buckram or equivalent)
  • navy blue
  • gold lettering
  • full title on front cover
  • Spine - shortened title and your initial & last name, degree & year (vertical)
  • STITCHED - not glued

The MAIH program requires 3 bound copies, 1 unbound, and 1 electronic copyto be delivered to the Faculty of Graduate Studies Office ( Diane Beaton, Room 125 CanIL Building). 

The Graduate Studies Office then distributes the copies to the supervisor, program/department library copy and the TWU library while the unbound copy is sent to the National Library of Canada and ProQuest (for microfiche).

The electronic copy remains on file and may be added to the TWU electronic library when established or the program/department electronic website (if desired).

The forms are as follows:

1) National Library of Canada - non-exclusive license

2) ProQuest Subject Code Form - for cataloguing purposes

3) Thesis Waiver form - for TWU internal use

4) Supervisor evaluation form - for FGS internal use

5) Completion Verification form - to inform Registrar's Office student has completed all course work and requirements for MA

6) Graduation application - to trigger either participation in grad ceremony or application to have diploma prepared and sent

Where research involves human participants there is also a REB (Research Ethics Board) form to be completed.

The post-thesis defence process is as follows:

  • Student makes recommended revisions as per supervisory committee recommendations
  • Student submits revised copy to supervisor for approval
  • Supervisor contacts FGS* office, either by phone or email, to confirm revisions are acceptable
  • Student can then pick up title pages from FGS office
  • Student can either print off copies of revised thesis and deliver with the title pages to the bookbinders, or
  • Student can order copies online from the bookbinders and make arrangements to mail or courier the title pages to be added at time of binding
  • Student can either pick up completed bound thesis or request bookbinder to send them to either student's address or FGS office
  • Student arranges to deliver completed forms to FGS
  • FGS office sends "Notice of Completion" to Registrar's Office who are responsible to enter grade on transcript and send diploma

Although it appears there are a number of steps they are not difficult or complicated.  However, they must be completed so we have a method and procedure to ensure the all the requirements are met to satisfy the Registrar's Office regarding the final process of theses. (There have been situations when the student defends the thesis and does not complete all the work to ensure submission of the grade.  That means that the thesis supervisor does not receive their stipend and the student needs to pay continuation fees.)

*FGS = Faculty of Grad Studies, i.e. Diane Beaton’s office, room 125 in the CanIL Building

ENGLISH or HISTORY or PHILOSOPHY 613

Major Essay

Semester hours: 3

Pre-requisites: 

Recommendation of supervisor upon successful completion of ENGL or HIST or PHIL 610.

Description

A major essay / research project leading to the completion of a 10-15,000 word paper under the direction of a supervisor approved by the program director.

Course Objectives:

To provide the opportunity for the student to grow in and to demonstrate significant graduate level competence in research and writing. 
- to develop a solid level of expertise in research in the discipline
- to develop a level of specialized knowledge of the selected topic
- to learn to work with an academic supervisor, including formulating appropriate responses to questions posed and suggestions give

Process and requirements:

- Upon successful completion of ENGL/HIST/PHIL 610 (as noted above), the student may register for the course.
- On the advice of the stream co-ordinator, the program director will appoint a research supervisor (normally the student’s advisor in ENGL/HIST/PHIL 610). 
- The research advisor determines when the paper (written in discipline-specific style and format) is ready to be submitted to a second reader, usually a faculty member in the department chosen in consultation between the student, research supervisor and stream co-ordinator.
- Upon completion of any necessary revisions as requested by the second reader, the research supervisor determines the final grade in consultation with the second reader. 
- One (1) corrected copy of the major research paper is submitted to the office of the MAIH program director.