UNIVERSITY
SENATE
UNIVERSITY
AT
Introduced by: Graduate
Academic Council
Date:
PROPOSAL
TO AMEND UNIVERSITY POLICIES PERTAINING TO THE OVERSIGHT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
LEADING TO THESES AND DISSERTATIONS
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
1.
That the University Senate approves the attached proposal
attending to the oversight of graduate student research leading to the
preparation of theses or dissertations as detailed in specific policies
pertaining to (1) masters theses and (2) admission to doctoral candidacy, as
approved by the Graduate Academic Council
2.
That this proposal be forwarded to the President for
approval.
PROPOSAL TO
AMEND UNIVERSITY POLICIES PERTAINING TO THE OVERSIGHT OF GRADUATE STUDENT
RESEARCH LEADING TO THESES AND DISSERTATIONS
Consistent with federal and state
regulations, the University at
GENERAL REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE MASTER'S THESIS
A thesis is the culmination of a
program of advanced study leading to a master's degree and, as such, must
attest to the attainment of a basic understanding of scholarly investigation
and reporting in an academic or professional field.
Responsibility for the evaluation
and acceptance of a thesis rests with the major department.
Regulations governing the
preparation and submission of a master's thesis follow. Detailed procedures and
the Subject Approval Form required preliminary to registration for work on a
thesis or in a research course requiring the writing of a thesis are available
in the Office of Graduate Studies. These should be obtained by the students
(and advisors) at the beginning of the planning for the research and writing of
a thesis.
Permission
to undertake a thesis is at the direction of the student's major department.
Masters thesis research involving
human subjects, animals, or biohazardous materials
must be approved in advance by the applicable University compliance
committee(s): Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and
Use Committee (IACUC), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) or an IRB, IACUC,
or IBC that has been designated by the University (as demonstrated by an
approval letter, or written acknowledgment by the student and advisor that such
research must be approved in advance by the committee(s) and that engaging in
such research without such approval would constitute misconduct.
After
the subject and scope of the research have been determined, students formally
apply for approval of the project. The student submits the Application for
Approval of Subject of Thesis for the Master’s Degree for this purpose to the
advisor and upon her/his approval to Office of Graduate Studies for final
approval.
Unless
there is some reason to suggest a reconsideration, the Office of Graduate
Studies files one copy of the approval in the student's folder and returns two
copies to the advisor, one copy for the advisor's file and one to be returned
to the student along with the set of directions;
Students
include the research course or master's thesis course in their registered
program for the session. Students in the sciences register for appropriate
research courses (e.g., Atm 699, Bio 699, Chm 699T). Students in other
fields register their thesis effort and credits under a standard, departmental
listing such as Fre 699, Tch
699, His 699, Cll 699. The
student registers in the research 'course' or thesis 'course' for an
appropriate number of credits for the session in question. If the work is to be
spread out over two or more sessions, the student reregisters for the same
course in each of the following sessions;
The
student should be guided by the directions to students for format, style,
paper, margins, and general procedures in writing and submitting the thesis.
Directions for the preparation of a thesis are obtained from the Office of
Graduate Studies;
The
student submits unbound two final copies of the thesis and two final copies of
an abstract to the advisor. The copies of the thesis submitted to the Office of
Graduate Studies must be in the following physical mode:
A
printed original without errors or
corrections, on 100 percent non-recycled cotton or rag bond paper, and a
printed copy, without errors or
corrections, on 25 percent non-recycled cotton or rag bond paper;
The
department chair notifies the student and the Dean of Graduate Studies as to
the official evaluation of the thesis;
Upon
final acceptance of a thesis, the student makes a prepayment of charges to the
University Library to cover the costs of binding and gives the receipt to the
department chair.
Students
may request permission of their department and of the Dean of Graduate Studies
to arrange for publication of their thesis. In such cases the publication must
state on the title page, or in the foreword, or in a footnote in the case of
publication in a journal, that the publication has been presented in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree at the University at
The
department chair or dean of the college or school transmits the thesis to the
Dean of Graduate Studies with a) the statement of acceptance signed by the
readers, and b) a receipt from the student for the prepayment of binding
charges;
Unless
copies of the thesis are unacceptable to the Dean of Graduate Studies (in which
case the dean notifies the student and the department), the dean authorizes the
Registrar to assign the appropriate grade and credits to the student's record.
Subsequently the dean transmits the thesis to the University Library for
binding, distribution, and filing (ordinarily after the degree has been
conferred);
Theses
which have been approved should be transmitted to the Dean of Graduate Studies
by May 1 for degrees to be conferred in May, by December 1 for degrees to be
conferred in December, and by August 1 for degrees to be conferred in August.
Admission to Candidacy
Admission to doctoral candidacy
means that, in the judgment of the faculty, the doctoral student has an
adequate knowledge of the field and the specialty,
knows how to use the academic resources, has potential to do original research
and complete the dissertation. The qualifying procedures include the following:
passing all requisite departmental/program
comprehensive/qualifying exam(s)
satisfying University resident study requirements
achieving a satisfactory academic record: at least a B (3.0) average
in all resident graduate courses applicable to the degree
satisfying the research tool requirements
certification
that dissertation research involving human subjects, animal subjects, or biohazardous materials has been approved by the applicable
University compliance committee(s): Institutional Review Board (IRB),
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Institutional Biosafety
Committee (IBC) or an IRB, IACUC, or IBC that has been designated by the
University) as demonstrated by an
approval letter, or written acknowledgement by the student and advisor
that such research must be approved in advance by the IRB, IACUC, or IBC and
that engaging in such research without approval would constitute misconduct
satisfying all other program
specific candidacy requirements.
Admission to candidacy is not
automatic, and a graduate student becomes a candidate for a doctoral degree
only with the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies on behalf of the
Graduate Academic Council, acting upon the recommendation of the program
faculty and/or the dean of the school or college directing the program.
Students in doctoral programs should be admitted to candidacy at least one session (exclusive of a summer session) before the acceptance of their dissertation and the completion of all requirements of the degree.