Psychology Masters Thesis Process

The Masters Thesis

The thesis is normally the culmination of a candidate's research; submission of the thesis represents the completion of the final requirement for the degree being sought.

Since the thesis is normally the culmination of the student's work on a particular degree, the writing typically begins when all coursework has been completed. In consultation with the primary supervisor, the student decides on a general topic and undertakes appropriate research. When a draft of reasonable completeness has been finished and approved by the primary supervisor, the thesis is submitted for examination.

For a higher degree, the examination will usually include an oral defense. A thesis defense, also known as "defending one's thesis," oral defense, viva voce, and various other names, is a type of final examination for a master's candidate. The purpose of the thesis defense is to test the candidate's knowledge of his or her subject area and thinking in related areas and to test the candidate's knowledge of and ability to explain his or her theses.

The examining committee consists of professors from the university, including the candidate's primary supervisor and members of his or her advisory committee, as well as professors from other departments and, sometimes, an external examiner. Each committee member will have been given a copy of the thesis prior to the defense and will come prepared to ask questions about the thesis itself and the subject matter.

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Masters Thesis Process

1. NOTE regarding Deadlines: Students are responsible for continually checking and complying with deadlines for the thesis process, which are posted online for CHSS, the Graduate School Website, and the SHSU Academic Calendar.
2. First, identify a Thesis Chair who has Graduate Faculty status and agrees to supervise your thesis research.
3. Determine a topic and discuss possible thesis committee members with Thesis Chair
4. After selecting and inviting committee members, submit these two forms:
   1. Submit the CHSS  Appointment of Thesis Committee Form to your program’s Graduate Coordinator/Advisor for processing
   2. Email the Thesis and Dissertation Initiation Sheet to the Graduate School thegraduateschool@shsu.edu 
5. After submitting the above forms, students should provide their Thesis Chair with a proposed timeline for completing their thesis, which should contain the official deadlines noted above, and schedule a meeting with their Thesis Chair to discuss their proposed timeline.
6. You are required to enroll in a minimum of 6 hours of thesis (PSYC 6098 and PSYC 6099) and may need to re-enroll in PSYC 6099 until the thesis is completed (continuous enrollment required). Prior to enrolling in these courses, you must complete and submit a Change of Major Form to your Graduate Program Coordinator/Advisor in order to switch from the non-thesis to the thesis concentration for your degree.  This form must be processed before these thesis courses will be eligible for financial aid.
7. In consultation with your Thesis Chair, prepare a prospectus and proposal document:
   1. A prospectus is an extended abstract of the proposed thesis that consists of a two-page summary of the literature review, rationale, methods, and proposed data analysis.
   2. A full proposal document generally consists of the first three chapters of the thesis, including the introduction, literature review, and method with proposed data analysis. Consult with your Thesis Chair and the Program Handbook for further guidance.
   3. Use the most current version of the APA style manual
   4. Exchange multiple drafts of your prospectus/proposal with your Chair, who will inform you when it’s time to schedule the proposal meeting with your thesis committee
8. Submit the prospectus/proposal to the thesis committee a minimum of one week prior to the scheduled date of the proposal meeting.
9. Oral proposal meeting:
   1. Discuss with Thesis Chair the expectations regarding this meeting, which can range from 60-90 minutes. A common approach is for the student to present their proposal in PowerPoint format anywhere from 15-30 minutes, followed by questions from the committee.
10. Upon committee approval, you must complete and obtain signatures on the CHSS Thesis/Dissertation Prospectus Form and email it along with the prospectus or proposal to the Program’s Graduate Coordinator/Advisor.
11. If necessary for your study, obtain approval from the appropriate research ethics SHSU office:
    1. If you are collecting data from human subjects for your project, in consultation with your Thesis Chair, complete and submit the SHSU IRB Application to obtain approval prior to data collection. 
    2. If you are using animals in your research, in consultation with your Thesis Chair, complete and submit the SHSU IACUC Application to obtain approval prior to beginning your project. 
12. After receiving approval, launch study:
    1. Collect data
    2. Clean data and run analyses
13. Write the remaining chapters of your thesis (i.e., updated Method section, Results section, and Discussion section) – continue exchanging drafts with your Chair.
14. After receiving approval from your Chair, schedule a defense meeting with your Committee: 
    1. Submit a draft of your thesis to the Committee two weeks prior to your defense meeting
15. Public Defense Announcement:
    1. A public defense announcement should be completed two weeks prior to the defense. Email the form to thegraduateschool@shsu.edu. If applicable, please attach your college/department (internal) defense announcement for verification purposes. MA students will post the announcement on the psychmasters listserv.
16. Final oral defense (must be at least six weeks prior to graduation)
    1. Typically, a 20-30 minute presentation, followed by questions and discussion
    2. If you pass the defense… Congratulations!
       1. Make necessary revisions and return the revised thesis to your Chair
       2. Complete and obtain signatures from Chair and committee members on the CHSS Thesis Defense Form and email it along with a copy of your final thesis document to the program’s Graduate Coordinator/Advisor.
       3. Complete and submit the Graduate School’s Thesis Route Sheet. This is the only acceptable form for Graduate School. After completing all shaded areas (some have a drop-down, while others require typing), submit the form for approval.
    3. If you fail the defense…
       1. Address issues in consultation with Thesis Chair; when ready, schedule a retake of the oral examination
       2. If fail twice, the student must petition the Dean of CHSS to request permission to defend a third time; 
       3. If not granted permission, the student is dismissed from the program
17. The Graduate School has special procedures for the final steps of completing a thesis. Below are a few to consider but for the most up-to-date information, go to the Graduate School Theses and Dissertations Website. 
    1. Embargo Requests: Graduate students seeking a one-year, two-year, or permanent embargo must submit an Embargo Request Form by the deadline. Students must be approved for an embargo by the Dean of The Graduate School. Email the form to thegraduateschool@shsu.edu. Note to Faculty and Graduate Students: Faculty can submit an embargo request form on behalf of a student by filling out the applicable fields on the form. Please be aware that failure to submit an embargo request by the deadline is ultimately the graduate student’s responsibility. An Embargo allows a thesis/dissertation to be withheld from being published digitally via SHSU’s institutional repository either temporarily or permanently providing students an opportunity to have their research published in an academic journal, as a novel or to acquire a patent. Students must submit all requirements listed in this section regardless of an embargo approval.
    2. Final Draft Review: The final draft review should be submitted to the Thesis/Dissertation Specialist at tgsthesis@shsu.edu after revising all format issues included in the 1st review checklist as well as all approved edits by committee members. The document should be completed in its entirety and submitted to the Thesis/Dissertation Specialist at tgsthesis@shsu.edu after revising all format issues included in the draft review checklist as well as all approved edits by committee members. Final drafts should be submitted after successfully defending your thesis/dissertation. Make all necessary changes to your document before submitting it for final review. THIS IS THE FINAL SUBMISSION OF YOUR DOCUMENT. THOROUGHLY PROOFREAD YOUR FINAL DRAFT FOR GRAMMER AND FORMATTING ISSUES. Once your final draft has been approved, it cannot be changed.
    3. Vireo and Embargo Submission: The Thesis/Dissertation Specialist will email a final pdf version of your approved thesis/dissertation document to submit through Vireo (No additional edits can be made to your approved document). Follow the instructions, fill in all sections correctly and upload the approved pdf file. If a graduate student was granted a one-year or two-year embargo, fill in all sections that apply. Graduate students who have been approved for a permanent embargo do not submit their final document through Vireo; students should follow the Permanent Embargo Instructions to submit their document to the Newton Gresham Library. Note: It is important that embargo requests and Vireo submissions be completed in a timely manner. Failure to do so will delay final route sheet approvals which need to be confirmed by the Registrar for commencement purposes.

Shelley A. Riggs, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

CHSS 380

(936)294-1178

sxr142@shsu.edu

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