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Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences

Humanities

Digressions Magazine

Digressions is the student-run literary magazine sponsored by the Division of Humanities. Students are encouraged to submit original works of poetry, short fiction, artwork and photography for consideration in the magazine, which is published yearly in the winter semester.

Master of Arts in Writing

Master's Thesis Guidelines

The M.A. in Writing Thesis
As the culmination of the student’s work in the Master of Arts in Writing program, the successful thesis represents the student’s skill in shaping a substantial body of research toward a clear purpose or achieving excellence in a creative writing form. Completing the thesis demonstrates that the student can work both independently and in response to feedback, which is required of a professional writer.

Thesis Credits
 The successful thesis process generally takes two semesters and is the equivalent of 6 credits. Students must complete at least 18 credits before beginning thesis work. Students should register for WRIT 6000 Master's Thesis beginning in the semester that they intend to begin their thesis work; thesis-proposal approval should occur during the first semester of thesis work. Once students begin taking thesis credits, they must continue to register for 3 thesis credits (WRIT 6000) each semester until the thesis has been defended. The thesis process generally takes two semesters (minimum of 6 credits of WRIT 6000), but students may repeat WRIT 6000 a maximum of four times (12 credits maximum).

Page Length
The thesis text, not including bibliography, should be at least 50 typed, double-spaced pages in length. Students wishing to request an exception to the 50-page text requirement must do so during the proposal stage; such an exception would need to be part of the approved proposal.

Phase One: Selecting a Committee and Writing a Proposal

Advising Committee
For guidance throughout the research and writing process, the student selects two members of an advising committee, one of whom will serve as the thesis adviser. The thesis adviser must be a full-time member of NSU’s M.A. in Writing graduate faculty; the second faculty member may be any full-time faculty member in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. Ideally, the thesis advisor should have expertise in the relevant field. The adviser meets regularly with the student to set goals, review drafts, and ensure progress. Both committee members give feedback on the proposal and the final draft and evaluate the Thesis Defense.

Writing a Proposal
After selecting a committee, the student writes a one-two page proposal that describes the thesis project and submits it to his or her committee for approval. The topic might be in an area with which the student has some familiarity from a previous paper or study. However, the thesis scope should represent a significantly more ambitious and developed approach than earlier work.

The thesis proposal may take one of the following forms:

Argumentative: delineates topic area, clarifies need for the study, and advances a tentative thesis.

Creative Portfolio: identifies genre and anticipates nature and direction of the completed work; presents a professional “pitch” (Who is the main character? What does he/she want? Who/what prevents that from happening? What does he/she do to resolve the issue?).

Professional Portfolio: defines project scope, clarifies the professional purpose.

Under consultation with the committee, the proposal is revised to ensure feasibility, clear focus, and potential for development.

When the proposal has been approved by the committee members, the student and committee members sign the Thesis Proposal Approval Form. The student then submits the Thesis Proposal Approval Form to the director of the Division of Humanities for review and approval.

Final proposal approval must be confirmed by May 1 to finish in the Fall Semester and by October 1 to finish in the Winter Semester.

Phase Two: Planning and Writing

Planning
Formulating plans for gathering data, organizing, re-organizing, and conceiving of an overall design to the thesis characterizes this phase. The student should meet with his or her thesis advisor regularly and be prepared to submit relevant documents showing consistent progress of the following:

Argumentative Article: outline of major premises and supports, planned methods, research directions, proposed works cited, annotated bibliography;

Creative Portfolio: Extended Fiction (novel, novella, or memoir)—chapter outline; Short Fiction (story/story collection)—narrative summaries, character sketches, statements of thematic unity;Poetry—draft verses, plans for unifying themes, imagery, or forms; stated vision for progression of chapbook.

Professional Portfolio: Social Science Research—survey/questionnaire designs, descriptions of target audience, distribution plans, data measurements and assessments; graphics or graphics plans;Science—experimental design and practical timetable, test parameters, list of methods and materials, quantitative measures and tools of assessment; Business/Technical Projects—feasibility studies, working budgets, marketing plans, short- and long-term financials; Grant Applications—purpose statements, demographics, assessments, timetables, proposed budgets and materials.

Writing
The student’s thesis should ultimately convey original concepts of value, weight, and/or significance to the field.

Revision is finished when additional changes mean minimal improvement. In the latter stages of writing, spot revisions or line edits should strive to make the writing clear, readable, and grammatically correct. Documentation should be accurate and conform to the most recent updates of documentation style required of the discipline.

The Final Thesis
Prior to the defense, the student should submit final copies of the project to each committee member and the division director.

Final copies of the thesis are due by November 1 in the Fall Semester and by March 1 in the Winter Semester.

Phase Three: Thesis Defense

After the student has submitted final copies of the thesis, he or she may then schedule a Thesis Defense. The thesis defense must take place during the student’s final semester of the program. The defense will be before the graduate faculty and an audience of other students and invited guests. During the event, the student summarizes the scope of the project and presents his or her major findings. If appropriate, the student may give a reading. The student and the thesis advisor should discuss appropriate presentation of the project prior to the defense. After the student presents his or her work, the thesis committee members ask the student questions about the work. The student’s presentation of the project and answers to these questions will comprise the overall assessment of the thesis project. After the committee finishes asking questions, audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions of the student.

After the Thesis Defense, the committee members will assess all parts of the project and decide whether or not to recommend approval of the thesis. If approval is recommended, they will complete the signature page, for final approval by the division director. The student will then submit one copy of the final thesis to the Division of Humanities, to be bound and become part of the Division of Humanities thesis archive. This copy must adhere to the Thesis Format and Style Guidelines.

Thesis Defenses should take place during November 1–7 in the Fall Semester and April 1-7 in the Winter Semester.

Important Deadlines:

 

Fall Semester

Winter Semester

Final Thesis Proposal Approval

May 1

October 1

Final Copies of Thesis Due

October 1

March 1

Final Defenses Scheduled

November 1–7

April 1-7