Department of Anthropology
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Master's Thesis
During the first semester of the first year, each MS student should meet with faculty members to select a primary advisor. Early in the second semester, the student should select the remaining members of the advisory committee and have a first committee meeting. In order to select a committee, a student must articulate an idea for a Master’s thesis and begin to develop it in consultation with the primary advisor. The theoretical basis and research design for the project should be further developed with the committee during the first meeting. This meeting should take place no later than the end of the second month of the second semester. A two-page prospectus for the thesis must be submitted to and approved by the committee by the end of the second semester.
In consultation with the committee, this prospectus will be expanded into a thesis proposal. Once the proposal is accepted by the student's committee, the student proceeds toward the completion of the thesis, which may account for up to 9 credit hours of thesis research. The student must be aware of, and comply with, the various format requirements and deadlines for the Master's Thesis and Final Examination as laid out by the Graduate School.
In order to facilitate the exchange of ideas among the graduate students and faculty in anthropology, as well as to assist Master’s students in developing their proposals for their theses, all first year students are required to present their Master’s topic during an informal working group meeting of the Anthropology section faculty and graduate students. Presentation dates for individual students will be scheduled in consultation with the section chair at the beginning of the second semester. The meeting is intended to assist the student in further developing the theoretical basis and research design for the MS project.
At the completion of the Master’s thesis, all students are required to make a formal presentation of findings and discussion of the Master’s thesis process to the section. The presentation should include frank discussion of the problems encountered during the research process, what the student might have done differently in hindsight, and what the student might do given the opportunity for further work on this topic. This presentation functions as the public portion of the thesis defense, and is followed by a closed door examination meeting of the student and committee.
This department must report the result of a "final examination" for the MS candidate to the Graduate School. For the MS student in anthropology, the final examination will consist of the closed-door oral examination in defense of the thesis.