GUIDELINES FOR GRADUATE THESIS Business and Management Department, Walker School of Business, Webster Vienna

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1 GUIDELINES FOR GRADUATE THESIS Business and Management Department, Walker School of Business, Webster Vienna This document is a departmental supplement to the Graduate Thesis Requirement prepared by St. Louis (STL) available at or to be picked from the office of Graduate Advisor. To students Writing a graduate thesis is one of the most rewarding academic experiences but at the same time it falls into the category of being one of the most stressful as well. This document will guide you through the process in terms of formal procedures, as well as provide you with helpful hints. It is of utmost importance that you follow the information closely and well ahead of your intention to register a thesis as your degree requirement. Please note that at Webster you can register only for two consecutive academic terms to write your thesis, i.e. for 6 credit hours. What requirements do I need to fulfill in order to consider writing a graduate thesis? - you cannot be on academic or disciplinary probation, no C or F on academic record - all core course requirements have to be completed prior to registering for thesis - if your degree does not require graduate level statistics or any other research methods course, you are strongly advised to take at least one of these courses offered either in B&M or in the IR department 1

2 What university support is available? When contemplating a graduate thesis, it is crucial to be familiar with all necessary research tools. For that purpose, it is paramount that you schedule a research consultation with the librarian to learn what kinds of sources and resources are available on your subject, both electronically and physically. The library also offers useful materials on research methodology and academic writing. Throughout the process, make sure to use the Writing Center and the Quant Center for help with all aspects of the process. The Webster-Wide librarians and Writing Center also offer support for you by means of their respective websites. What is the timeline? You will need to find a thesis supervisor. Approximately two terms before you intend to register for thesis credit hours, you need to start approaching relevant instructors (more on that below) with your ideas about a thesis topic. From as early on as possible you should listen closely to suggestions about possible research topics in your courses. Instructors often mention that certain issues are worth considering in more depth, certain areas have not been researched sufficiently, or some studies can be replicated for a new region, circumstances, and the like. Listen up for interesting ideas from the first day of classes onwards! As soon as you have found an instructor willing to supervise your thesis and a second reader (committee members), you must fill out the Thesis Declaration of Intent form (it is a part of the STL document linked above). This form confirms that your committee members approve the topic of your thesis and the supervisor commits to supervising your thesis on the selected topic. Submit this form for approval to the Department Head. Once the Department Head s approval is granted, you must write a formal thesis proposal (Thesis Proposal form) which will be resubmitted to the Department Head for final approval. Without this final approval you cannot continue the process your thesis credits will not be registered. Next you will work out the timeline for meetings and the submission of your work in progress with your supervisor. The first draft must be submitted to your supervisor in week 3 of the second term of your thesis period. You will receive feedback in a timely fashion ensuring that 2

3 you have sufficient time to incorporate it into the final version and the public defense. The final version is due in week 6 of the second term to both committee members. As a final step, you will be asked to publicly defend your thesis in front of an academic committee in week 8. At this public defense you will give a short presentation of your main findings (30 minutes), followed by individual assessment and questions by the committee members. You may be also asked to answer several questions from any member of the academic audience present. This second part of the public defense will last a maximum of 30 minutes. Upon completion, the committee will announce the final verdict and signs the Thesis Approval form, if approved. The committee includes your supervisor and the reader, the academic director, and the department head. A minimum of three people must sit on the committee. You need to provide one printed copy of the final version of your thesis to the committee. In the case that you are not able to defend your thesis in week 8 of the second term, one of two things may happen: 1. If your supervisor decides not to recommend the public defense in week 8 or if members of the committee believe that the thesis can be of sufficient academic value if more time is granted, a new deadline will be defined by the supervisor and you will receive an incomplete grade. You will also be scheduled for a new public defense within the next calendar year. If you do not finish within one calendar year from the last day of the term in which you were scheduled to defend, the incomplete grade turns into no credit grade equivalent to a failing grade. 2. In the less likely scenario that neither your supervisor nor the committee members believe your thesis can be defended even if more time is allotted, you will receive no credit. After your defense, you will need to provide a bound copy of your thesis. You may want to give one to your supervisor and the reader as a courtesy. 3

4 What forms do I need to submit? THESIS DECLARATION OF INTENT FORM please use the form found in the STL guidelines linked above. Please secure two signatures of approval from your future thesis supervisor and a reader. Submit to the graduate the Department Head for approval. THESIS PROPOSAL FORM in addition to filling out the Thesis Declaration of Intent, you need to write a proper academic proposal for the thesis. This includes but is not limited to: - Problem statement - Research objective and research questions - Research hypotheses (both null and alternative) - Research methodology - Bibliography and preliminary literature review - Outline of the body - Primary and secondary data sources - an approval from IRB on the involvement of human subjects, if used The expected length of the proposal is 10,000 words and all of the above parts have to be addressed. Submit this form and your proposal to the Department Head for approval. Once approved, you will be allowed to register. It is your responsibility to submit the proposal early enough so as not to jeopardize the registration process. The latest possible submission of proposals to be considered is one week before the official start of a term. Which instructors can you approach? You can talk to as many instructors as you wish in order to discuss your ideas. However, you can have only one supervisor and that has to be a full-time research faculty member or an adjunct faculty member with active research agenda. Please check our website for the full list of current faculty members. You can approach any Webster faculty with the expertise in the field in which you are planning to write a thesis and ask whether they are willing to act as your reader or discuss options with your supervisor. 4

5 What is the format? The format is explained in the Graduate Thesis Requirements STL document (linked above). It contains samples of title pages, abstract pages, and the like. As with any academic writing, your thesis has to follow one of the recognized style standards (preferably APA) including citation! For a quick guide through citation styles please visit The length of the thesis is not a measure of the quality, but in the Business and Management Department we expect an average work to have approximately 20,000 thousand words, excluding appendices, notes and references. Master thesis students must use the Webster library database. What if I experience difficulties during the process? As discussed before, the thesis writing is difficult. This is mostly because one cannot predict the vagaries of the research journey: the data may not be available or turns out incomplete; the results are not supporting the hypothesis you tested; further literature review shows that somebody else has already had the same idea, or you simply get stuck. Things like that are not bad luck, but a normal part of academic research. For that reason, you really need to establish a strong communication with your supervisor and take such communication seriously! That means that you regularly inform him or her about your progress or the lack thereof. You submit the parts you agreed on in a timely fashion. In case your supervisor does not hear from you, or if you do not submit the parts, draft or the final version as agreed, please note that the supervisor is at liberty to terminate the supervision. As all cooperative undertakings, social (communication) skills and reliability are essential to success. We wish you all the best in your research efforts! If you would like to discuss this document or any related issue, please contact your academic advisor. You can rely on our honest commitment to your academic success! Approved by Academic Director Dr. Regina Kecht November 22, 2013 Effective: Spring 1,