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A thesis proposal provides an outline of a plan, and you should consider the questions below in developing it. You don’t need to provide every detail, but you need to show your committee you have a plan that can succeed in the time you have to complete your project.

• What research question(s) will your thesis provide the answer(s) to?��
• �³����is it interesting? How does your investigation fit into existing research?��
  What gap will it fill or how will it contribute to furthering understanding of a larger question in a specific area?
• How will you investigate your question?��
• What are your hypotheses?
• Which theoretical and methodological approaches will you adopt?��
• What kind of data will you collect? How much data do you need to adequately test your hypotheses and answer your research question?
• What is the timeline you propose for the phases of the process? (this will help you stay on track!) Don’t forget these parts:
  • review of literature, contextualization
  • data collection, both preparation (e.g., design of experiment(s), surveys, questionnaires, or other methodology) and actual collection of the data
  • analysis and write-up of results
  • response to committee feedback and revision

Remember that your proposal is short (2 pages), so you can’t give in-depth answers to these questions. Your focus should be on demonstrating that you have a feasible plan.

Your defense is the culminating moment of the thesis process and is your opportunity to shine!��

You will prepare a short presentation summarizing the question(s) you investigated, explaining how you conducted your investigation, showing your analysis of the data in relation to your original hypotheses, and pointing out any new questions your investigation may have raised.��

You’ll have the full attention of your committee and will have the chance to answer their questions and get their feedback on any aspects of the thesis that require revision before you submit the final version.��

Thesis length varies quite a bit, depending on the project and the subfield. Some theses require the presentation of lots of transcribed data or data that requires interlinear glossing, which can increase the overall length. Other theses summarize quantitative data efficiently in a few figures and compact statistical analysis.��

A very general guideline might be that an MA thesis in Linguistics is typically longer than a term paper but less than 50 pages or so. But you will have to discuss this question with your advisor (or prospective advisor) to get a better sense of what is appropriate for your particular project.

The MA degree page��provides full degree requirements and a detailed timeline with specific steps for all MA students. Note these additional details for MA students who choose to write a thesis:

• MA thesis students register for 4-6 MA thesis credit hours, which count as elective credits toward the MA degree.
• The oral thesis defense counts as the final exam required for the degree.��

Fall Y1 –��

• Get involved in a lab (or labs) to learn about research people are engaged in. Many advisors have questions and/or data waiting for someone to take them on — this is a great way to identify good thesis questions.
• Start talking to a potential advisor about ideas — advisors are experienced at helping you “right-size” a question.��

Spring Y1 –��

• Submit your proposal (2 pages + timeline, approved by your advisor and one other committee member) & thesis agreement form to the department by April 1.��
• Your advisor can help you identify a second faculty member (for proposal approval) and a third member for the defense.
• Make sure you discuss a summer plan with your advisor before the end of the semester.

Summer Y1 –

• Get started! The summer is a great time to read relevant work, build an experiment, finalize IRB approval (if needed), collect and annotate data, etc.

Fall Y2 –��

• Continue data analysis, begin writing, etc.

Spring Y2 –��

• Continue writing your thesis. Your advisor might want to see it section by section along the way, but they will want to see a full draft by around early March.
• Check in with the rest of your committee before the last minute and find a defense date that works for everyone.��
• At least two weeks before your defense date, submit the final exam form and give a full defense draft to your committee. You may or may not get feedback on the draft before the defense. If you want feedback, send it to them earlier!
• Defend before the early-April Grad School deadline; submit the final version by mid-April Grad School deadline. The defense and submission deadlines are generally only one week apart, and your committee may request revisions. An earlier defense date will leave time (and energy) for revisions before you file.

** See the MA degree page��for full degree requirements and a detailed timeline with specific steps for thesis plan students