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What is the difference between a thesis and a project?

A research paper on any topic is a thesis.  “Research” includes the use of interviews, surveys, online sources, and archival collections as well as traditional book-based work. 

If you wish to engage in creative, alternative work, that’s a project.  Examples of projects include writing a children’s story, composing original music, and filming a documentary.  Projects must include a small research component, such as a review of material on how to write children’s stories or a section explaining the historical background and purpose of the documentary.  Thus, the distinction between a thesis and a project does not imply that a project includes no research.  Rather, it means that the research is only the background for, or supplementary to, the creative or alternative activity that forms the bulk of the project.

How do I get started with my thesis or project?

While you are taking your eighth and last MALS course, you should make an appointment to see the MALS director to discuss your ideas for a thesis or project.

How do I identify a thesis or project advisor?

If you know whom you'd like to ask to serve as your advisor, you're welcome to talk with that person directly.  Otherwise, the MALS director will help you to identify appropriate faculty.  Please note that thesis advisors must be fulltime UD faculty; UD regulations do not permit adjunct or retired faculty to serve as thesis advisors.  If you would like to work with an adjunct or retired faculty member, please ask the MALS director about the possibility of appointing co-advisors, one of whom must be a fulltime UD faculty member. The restriction on adjunct and retired faculty does not apply to projects.

What is the role of the advisor?

The advisor helps you to limit your topic and to refine your proposal.  He or she also provides suggestions, guidance, and feedback as needed.  Although there is no single model for student-advisor interaction, it is a good idea to touch base with the advisor periodically rather than doing a whole semester's work before discussing it with the advisor.

In your last semester, you should submit your finished work to the advisor at least a month, and preferably six weeks, before the due date.  The advisor may require revisions before approving the work.  There is no hard-and-fast rule about whether the work goes first to the advisor and then to the second reader, or to both at the same time.  The advisor is solely responsible for assigning a grade to the work.

How do I identify a second reader?

When a faculty member has agreed to serve as the thesis/project advisor, you should work with that person to identify a second reader.  Ideally, the second reader should be able to fill in areas of expertise that differ from those of the advisor.  As an example, a student who is writing about the effect of Saturday morning cartoons on the behavior of children might want to work with someone who specializes in mass communication and someone else who knows about child psychology.

What is the role of the second reader?

The second reader should offer advice, suggest sources, and provide other help in the areas of the work that fall within his or her expertise.  Like the advisor, the second reader must approve both the proposal and the finished work.  There is no hard-and-fast rule about whether the work goes first to the advisor and then to the second reader, or to both at the same time.  The second reader may and should require any revisions he/she deems necessary.  If differences of opinion arise between the director and second reader, those should be resolved by the two faculty members, not by the student.

How do I officially begin the thesis or project process?

The first step is to write a thesis or project proposal.  After being approved by both the thesis/project advisor and the second reader, the proposal should be sent to the MALS director as an e-mail attachment with copies to the advisor and second reader.  No hard-copy signatures are necessary.  The MALS director will forward it to the Advisory Committee, which normally responds within a week.  As soon as the proposal is approved, you're ready to start your work.

Does my proposal have to be approved before I sign up for thesis or project credit?

Students are encouraged to submit a thesis/project proposal during or shortly after their final MALS course.  If you take time to write the proposal during MALS869 or 879, you decrease your chances of finishing your work in the projected graduation term.

At the very latest, you must submit a proposal by the end of the seventh week of the first semester in which you register for MALS 869 or 879.

How do I register for credits while working on my thesis or project?

Students register for thesis (MALS869) or project (MALS879) credits in the same way you would for a course.  Before registering, it is essential to identify an advisor and to determine how many thesis or credits you wish to take each semester.

How many credits should I take each semester of thesis or project work?

You must take a total of six credits of MALS869 (thesis) or MALS879 (project). The number of credits you take each semester is up to you; you might for instance, take three credits one semester and three the next, or two credits per semester for three semesters, or four credits one semester and two another. You are required to be registered for credits each fall and spring semester until you graduate.You may sign up for MALS869 or 879 in winter or summer if you wish to do so, but it is not required. The decision about how many credits to take each semester should be based on the amount of time you propose to devote to the thesis or project that semester. You should also bear in mind that the semester in which you graduate is not a full semester of work on the thesis or project even in you are registered for MALS869 or 879 at that time. The completed work is due in mid-November in the fall semester and in mid-April in the spring semester, which means that the final draft has to reach the thesis/project advisor at least a month before that. 

What happens if I complete the six credits of MALS869 or 879 before completing the thesis or project?

Ideally, you should pace the credits of MALS869 or 879 in such a way that you finish the credits and the work in the same semester. If that does not work out, you must register for sustaining credit each semester until you graduate; this includes the graduation semester itself. Requests to register for sustaining credit should be sent to the MALS director, who will forward them to the Graduate Office.  Only the Graduate Office staff can register a student for sustaining credit.   Further information on sustaining credit may be found at http://www.udel.edu/gradoffice/polproc/index.html.

Where do I learn about deadlines for course registration, submission of thesis/projects etc?

Information on deadlines for course registration, submission of thesis/projects, etc. can be found on the calendar on the MALS homepage. Those dates can also be found at http://www.udel.edu/registrar/cal/main.html

Where do I find guidelines for the structure and formatting of the thesis or project?

Your advisor will help you to select a style guide that is appropriate for the kind of work you are doing.  The most common examples include the Modern Language Association Style Manual, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, and the Chicago Manual of Style.  This style guide will help you with such things as footnotes and the Works Cited page.

Regardless of whether you are doing a thesis or a project, you should consult the UD Graduate Office's Thesis and Dissertation Manual, available at http://www.udel.edu/gradoffice/polproc/index.html.  It is not a good idea to print out the whole thing, as much of it pertains to doctoral dissertations and to the requirements of scientific research.  The sections you'll probably need are Chapter 3, How to Arrange the Paper's Sections; Chapter 4, What Are the Formatting Requirements; Chapter 5, Sample Pages; Chapter 7, How the Writing Center Can Be of Help; Chapter 11, Frequently Asked Questions; and Chapter 12, Guidelines for Dissertations/Theses in Digital Format as Required by Proquest.  Please note that some of the sample pages in Chapter 5 are meant for doctoral dissertations, not theses.  Check the heading at the top of each page to see what pertains to you.  If you are doing a project rather than a thesis, check the sample title and signature pages. Your signature page should include lines for the signatures of the advisor and the MALS director only.

Where can I get help in figuring out the style sheet, the formatting requirements, and the use of pdf?

Chapter 7 of the UD Graduate Office's Thesis and Dissertation Manual tells you what services the UD Writing Center offers.

Theses -- not projects -- must be submitted to the Graduate Office as a pdf file.  You should write your thesis in Word or Word Perfect and then transfer it to pdf.  If you do not know how to do this or do not have the necessary software, please get in touch with Maryanne Brown-Mackay in the MALS office, and she'll help you with it.  You are also welcome to consult the staff at any of the UD's many computing sites, such as 002 Smith Hall.  Before seeking help from Maryanne or a computer staffer, be sure to send your paper to yourself as an e-mail attachment. The person who works with you will need it in that form, not in hard copy.

Is it possible to use interviews or surveys in my research?

Any form of research, including interviews and surveys, is acceptable in both theses and projects. If you propose to use interviews or surveys, it is necessary to get approval from the UD Human Subjects Review Board. 

If I have chosen to write a thesis, how do I submit it?

Please consult the Graduate Office's Thesis and Dissertation Manual for details. As that manual indicates, theses are submitted online as a pdf file; only signature pages and abstracts are submitted to the Graduate Office in hard copy.  If you have a problem with pdf, please consult Maryanne Brown-Mackay in the MALS office for help.

The dean requires a hard copy of the entire thesis as well as the signature pages and abstracts mentioned on the Graduate Office website.  That copy will be returned to the student after the dean signs off on it, and we ask students to donate it to the MALS office so that we can provide models for other students to consult.

Please be aware that you cannot hand in a thesis to the thesis director and have it passed along the signature chain.  Unless special arrangements are made in unusual circumstances, you are expected to hand-deliver the material to the Dean’s Office, pick it up from there, and bring it to the Graduate Office for review.  You should make an appointment with the Graduate Office staff for this purpose. They become busy as the submission deadline approaches, so the earlier you can schedule your appointment, the better.

All students are asked to submit a short description of your work to the MALS office to be placed on the MALS website.

If I have chosen to do a project, how do I submit it?

Projects are due to the MALS office on the same day as theses are due to the Graduate Office in a given semester. Those dates are posted on the MALS website calendar. Students must produce three copies of the project or, in mixed-media projects, the written portion thereof: one on 25% bond paper for Archives, and the others on regular paper for the project director and the MALS office. 

A single copy of the project should be sent to the MALS director as an e-mail attachment.  Like the pdf files in which theses are submitted, these online versions of student work will be made available on the MALS website.

If a project has a non-print component, such as music or film, three copies should be submitted on CD, DVD, or whatever other format is appropriate. One of these is for Archives, one for the project director, and the third for the MALS office.

All students are asked to submit a short description of your work to the MALS office to be placed on the MALS website.

How are theses and projects graded?

As students complete credits of MALS869 (thesis) or 879 (project), the advisor should assign a grade of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory.  These are temporary grades, and when you complete the work, they will be replaced by the regular letter grade the advisor assigns to the project or thesis.  Thus, if you took two credits of MALS879 per semester for three semesters, the grades of S or U in all three semesters would be replaced by the letter grade finally assigned to your work.

How do I initiate the process to graduate in a particular semester?

As you approach the semester in which you plan to graduate, you should consult the Graduate Office's "Step by Step Guide to Graduation" at http://www.udel.edu/gradoffice//polproc/index.html Among other things, this website includes a link to the Application to Graduate Form http://www.udel.edu/gradoffice/polproc/index.html that you are required to submit. The deadlines for submitting the Application to Graduate Form are September 15 for December degree conferral, December 15 for Winter degree conferral, February 15 for May degree conferral, and May 15 for August degree conferral.