Thesis and Dissertation

All students completing a thesis or dissertation must complete a prospectus that is approved by the Research Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School prior to beginning research.

Deadline: Graduate School approval must be obtained no later than the semester prior to the semester in which a student intends to graduate. A student cannot enroll in 5993/6993 until their prospectus has been approved.

If IRB approval is needed, this should be obtained prior to submission to the Graduate School.

Resources:

• Prospectus Formatting & Submission Guide [Word]
• Prospectus Cover Sheet [PDF]

TWU offers various resources to assist you with your writing and research:

• The Write Site offers peer-led tutoring in online and in-person formats
• The CRDA can assist with proposal development, data collection, pre-analysis, analysis as well as the presentation of findings
• Subject Librarians can help you research more efficiently and effectively
• The library also offers physical copies and digital access to the most common style guide manuals through their Writing & Citing LibGuide.

For extra style guide assistance, please refer to the Graduate School Resource Guide for your selected style guide:

• ACS 3
• AMA 11
• APA 7
• ASA 6
• Chicago 17
• MLA 9

The TWU Graduate School has compiled a list of video tutorials focusing on the most common errors. Topics range from Table of Contents, List of Tables/Figures, and more! Video tutorials can be accessed at the Graduate School’s YouTube channel.

Each video contains captions, but if more support is needed, please contact the Graduate School for assistance.

The responsibilities of the Research Committee include:

• guiding the student during the major study,
• evaluating the student’s total progress and achievement, and
• maintaining high standards of scholarship.

To request a thesis/dissertation workshop or presentation, please complete our Request Form. If we are not available to give your class a presentation, feel free to peruse or present this PowerPoint for Thesis and Dissertation students that goes over all the basics of the Review Process, key resources, and common errors.

For more Faculty information, please review the Graduate Faculty page.

It is the student’s responsibility for meeting graduation deadlines set by the Graduate School, but also any deadlines set by the academic program. Students need to defend their document two weeks prior to the submission deadline.

Students will submit their thesis/dissertation to the ETD/Vireo system. We have created a playlist called Using Vireo where we go over how to upload your submission step by step, and also cover the features of Vireo that you will need to know for the Review Process, such as accessing feedback and uploading corrections.

Documents to Submit:

• Certificate of Completion for Thesis & Dissertation [PDF]
• Thesis and Dissertation Fee Sheet [PDF]
• IRB File Close Letter (If applicable)
• Author/Journal Agreement (If applicable)
• Co-Author Release (If applicable)
• For Doctoral students only:
• Survey of Earned Doctorates
• CV