Rule 3341-3-20 | Thesis/dissertation- graduate.
(A) Policy statement and purpose
This policy describes thesis/dissertation policies and procedures.
(B) Policy
(1) Thesis/dissertation
A thesis is required under plan i for the degrees of master of arts, master of education, master of fine arts, master of food and nutrition, master of public administration, master of science, and master of science in criminal justice or master of technology management. A thesis may be required for the degree of master of music, depending on the field.
The thesis topic should arise out of the student's personal exploration in the field of study. The formal petition for approval of the thesis topic must clearly set forth the problem, the intended organization, and the methods of development of the thesis. After approval by the student's committee and graduate coordinator, the thesis topic must be filed with the student's department and the petition of topic approval submitted to the graduate college.
A preliminary draft of the completed thesis (defined as a manuscript that answers the stated problem) should be submitted to the thesis committee by the time a student files the application for graduation. The final draft of the thesis (defined as the thesis manuscript with content embodying all corrections requested by the committee) should be submitted to the thesis committee sufficiently prior to the date set for the final examination to allow for a rigorous and careful reading of the manuscript by the committee.
Doctoral students must submit a request for dissertation topic approval to the graduate college on the thesis/dissertation topic approval form. Approval of the topic by the graduate college admits the student to doctoral candidacy. To be eligible for candidacy, the student must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, have completed any foreign language requirements, where required, and have passed the preliminary examinations.
The results of the final examination (e.g., dissertation defense) for the doctoral degree must be received in the graduate college by the published deadlines each semester. The graduate college expects that the official university copy of the submitted manuscript will be error-free and ready for publication on "OhioLINK." Students who upload manuscripts that are not error-free are in danger of a delayed graduation date.
The graduate council approved the implementation of electronic submission of theses and dissertations beginning with Fall 2005 for all graduate programs. With the exception of theses written in the MFA program in creative writing, paper copies are no longer accepted by the graduate college.
(2) The thesis/dissertation committee
You and your department's graduate coordinator should work together to select an advisor (also called "major professor") and a thesis or dissertation committee. If you are a doctoral student, the graduate college will appoint an additional member to your committee to represent the graduate faculty. This representative, commonly referred to as the graduate faculty representative (GFR), will be from a department other than that of your field of study. The responsibility of the GFR is to provide an external, objective evaluation of the dissertation and to verify that graduate standards have been met. You may elect to have a faculty member from a different academic area on your committee, but s/he is considered an additional "regular" member not the GFR. The minimum size for a thesis committee is two (the advisor and one additional member), and for a dissertation committee, four (the advisor, two additional members, and the GFR).
Last updated March 2, 2023 at 11:25 AM
Supplemental Information
Amplifies: 3345
Prior Effective Dates: 3/24/2015