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The M.A. Thesis
By the beginning of the third semester, in consultation with the student's M.A. committee, the student chooses a thesis topic and writes a thesis prospectus. The prospectus must be defended by the end of the student's third semester, so as to allow a four-month time period between the acceptance of the prospectus and the defense of the thesis.
The thesis for the M.A. in Comparative Literature is between 20,000 and 25,000 words. Theses must include bibliographies of all works read in conjunction with the research undertaken for the thesis. After the thesis has been completed and submitted to all committee members, the student undergoes an oral examination in the form of a thesis defense.
Thesis Defense
The thesis defense is open to the public and two hours in length. It must be announced at least two weeks in advance to all members of the Comparative Literature faculty and graduate program. Questions at the thesis defense may also address the scope of the student's entire course of study for the M.A. Immediately after the defense, the M.A. committee decides whether the student has submitted an acceptable thesis and defended it adequately, thus fulfilling the final requirements for the M.A. in Comparative Literature. The decision is based on both the written thesis and the oral defense. The examiners choose from two possible outcomes: pass or fail. The recommendation of all but one member of the M.A. committee is required for the student to be eligible for receiving the M.A. The decision of the committee is made known immediately after the committee has conferred.
In the event of a negative decision by the committee, the M.A. committee consults with the Graduate Program Director during the week following the thesis defense. The Graduate Program Director thereupon informs the student either that permission to resubmit the thesis and to have a second and final defense has been granted or that termination of graduate studies will be recommended.
Tips for Working on the M.A. Thesis
The thesis is the culmination of your M.A. studies, and the months you spend on it can be the best of times or the worst of times, if not both. You should have the satisfaction of drawing on much that you have been learning in the past semesters, and of finding or refining your scholarly voice and entering fully into the debates in your field; at the same time, you face the challenges of managing a scale of work than anything you have likely experienced before.
How can you best structure your days, weeks, and semesters to keep yourself working productively at a pace suited to the length of the project, neither burning out nor letting the project extend into an indefinite horizon? Individual projects and schedules vary greatly, but a few basic guidelines can help make this the best of times for you, yielding an excellent written product within the time – and the funding – available.
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Break it down. The best way to write a thesis (and, generally, a book as well) is one chapter at a time. You often will write chapters in the order in which they will appear in the finished manuscript, but this is not always the case. Usually the introduction and conclusion are best written at the end.
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Pace yourself.
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Make a plan.
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Meet regularly with your committee. Your Chair and other committee members are there for you, but it is your responsibility to take the initiative to meet with them.
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Share your work. Participate in writing groups and share your work with peers. The Program has funding to assist in conference expenses.