The Savvy Scientist

The Savvy Scientist

Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

Thesis Title: Examples and Suggestions from a PhD Grad

Graphic of a researcher writing, perhaps a thesis title

When you’re faced with writing up a thesis, choosing a title can often fall to the bottom of the priority list. After all, it’s only a few words. How hard can it be?!

In the grand scheme of things I agree that picking your thesis title shouldn’t warrant that much thought, however my own choice is one of the few regrets I have from my PhD . I therefore think there is value in spending some time considering the options available.

In this post I’ll guide you through how to write your own thesis title and share real-world examples. Although my focus is on the PhD thesis, I’ve also included plenty of thesis title examples for bachelor’s and master’s research projects too.

Hopefully by the end of the post you’ll feel ready to start crafting your own!

Why your thesis title is at least somewhat important

It sounds obvious but your thesis title is the first, and often only, interaction people will have with your thesis. For instance, hiring managers for jobs that you may wish to apply for in the future. Therefore you want to give a good sense of what your research involved from the title.

Many people will list the title of their thesis on their CV, at least for a while after graduating. All of the example titles I’ve shared below came from my repository of academic CVs . I’d say roughly 30% of all the academics on that page list their thesis title, which includes academics all the way up to full professor.

Your thesis title could therefore feature on your CV for your whole career, so it is probably worth a bit of thought!

My suggestions for choosing a good thesis title

  • Make it descriptive of the research so it’s immediately obvious what it is about! Most universities will publish student theses online ( here’s mine! ) and they’re indexed so can be found via Google Scholar etc. Therefore give your thesis a descriptive title so that interested researchers can find it in the future.
  • Don’t get lost in the detail . You want a descriptive title but avoid overly lengthy descriptions of experiments. Unless a certain analytical technique etc was central to your research, I’d suggest by default* to avoid having it in your title. Including certain techniques will make your title, and therefore research, look overly dated, which isn’t ideal for potential job applications after you graduate.
  • The title should tie together the chapters of your thesis. A well-phrased title can do a good job of summarising the overall story of your thesis. Think about each of your research chapters and ensure that the title makes sense for each of them.
  • Be strategic . Certain parts of your work you want to emphasise? Consider making them more prominent in your title. For instance, if you know you want to pivot to a slightly different research area or career path after your PhD, there may be alternative phrasings which describe your work just as well but could be better understood by those in the field you’re moving into. I utilised this a bit in my own title which we’ll come onto shortly.
  • Do your own thing. Having just laid out some suggestions, do make sure you’re personally happy with the title. You get a lot of freedom to choose your title, so use it however you fancy. For example, I’ve known people to use puns in their title, so if that’s what you’re into don’t feel overly constrained.

*This doesn’t always hold true and certainly don’t take my advice if 1) listing something in your title could be a strategic move 2) you love the technique so much that you’re desperate to include it!

Thesis title examples

To help give you some ideas, here are some example thesis titles from Bachelors, Masters and PhD graduates. These all came from the academic CVs listed in my repository here .

Bachelor’s thesis title examples

Hysteresis and Avalanches Paul Jager , 2014 – Medical Imaging – DKFZ Head of ML Research Group –  direct link to Paul’s machine learning academic CV

The bioenergetics of a marine ciliate, Mesodinium rubrum Holly Moeller , 2008 – Ecology & Marine Biology – UC Santa Barbara Assistant Professor –  direct link to Holly’s marine biology academic CV

Functional syntactic analysis of prepositional and causal constructions for a grammatical parser of Russian Ekaterina Kochmar , 2008 – Computer Science – University of Bath Lecturer Assistant Prof –  direct link to Ekaterina’s computer science academic CV

Master’s thesis title examples

Creation of an autonomous impulse response measurement system for rooms and transducers with different methods Guy-Bart Stan , 2000 – Bioengineering – Imperial Professor –  direct link to Guy-Bart’s bioengineering academic CV

Segmentation of Nerve Bundles and Ganglia in Spine MRI using Particle Filters Adrian Vasile Dalca , 2012 – Machine Learning for healthcare – Harvard Assistant Professor & MIT Research Scientist –  direct link to Adrian’s machine learning academic CV

The detection of oil under ice by remote mode conversion of ultrasound Eric Yeatman , 1986 – Electronics – Imperial Professor and Head of Department –  direct link to Eric’s electronics academic CV

Ensemble-Based Learning for Morphological Analysis of German Ekaterina Kochmar , 2010 – Computer Science – University of Bath Lecturer Assistant Prof –  direct link to Ekaterina’s computer science academic CV

VARiD: A Variation Detection Framework for Color-Space and Letter-Space Platforms Adrian Vasile Dalca , 2010 – Machine Learning for healthcare – Harvard Assistant Professor & MIT Research Scientist –  direct link to Adrian’s machine learning academic CV

Identification of a Writer’s Native Language by Error Analysis Ekaterina Kochmar , 2011 – Computer Science – University of Bath Lecturer Assistant Prof –  direct link to Ekaterina’s computer science academic CV

On the economic optimality of marine reserves when fishing damages habitat Holly Moeller , 2010 – Ecology & Marine Biology – UC Santa Barbara Assistant Professor –  direct link to Holly’s marine biology academic CV

Sensitivity Studies for the Time-Dependent CP Violation Measurement in B 0 → K S K S K S at the Belle II-Experiment Paul Jager , 2016 – Medical Imaging – DKFZ Head of ML Research Group –  direct link to Paul’s machine learning academic CV

PhD thesis title examples

Spatio-temporal analysis of three-dimensional real-time ultrasound for quantification of ventricular function Esla Angelini  – Medicine – Imperial Senior Data Scientist –  direct link to Elsa’s medicine academic CV

The role and maintenance of diversity in a multi-partner mutualism: Trees and Ectomycorrhizal Fungi Holly Moeller , 2015 – Ecology & Marine Biology – UC Santa Barbara Assistant Professor –  direct link to Holly’s marine biology academic CV

Bayesian Gaussian processes for sequential prediction, optimisation and quadrature Michael Osborne , 2010 – Machine Learning – Oxford Full Professor –  direct link to Michael’s machine learning academic CV

Global analysis and synthesis of oscillations: a dissipativity approach Guy-Bart Stan , 2005 – Bioengineering – Imperial Professor –  direct link to Guy-Bart’s bioengineering academic CV

Coarse-grained modelling of DNA and DNA self-assembly Thomas Ouldridge , 2011– Bioengineering – Imperial College London Senior Lecturer / Associate Prof –  direct link to Thomas’ bioengineering academic CV

4D tomographic image reconstruction and parametric maps estimation: a model-based strategy for algorithm design using Bayesian inference in Probabilistic Graphical Models (PGM) Michele Scipioni , 2018– Biomedical Engineer – Harvard Postdoctoral Research Fellow –  direct link to Michele’s biomedical engineer academic CV

Error Detection in Content Word Combinations Ekaterina Kochmar , 2016 – Computer Science – University of Bath Lecturer Assistant Prof –  direct link to Ekaterina’s computer science academic CV

Genetic, Clinical and Population Priors for Brain Images Adrian Vasile Dalca , 2016 – Machine Learning for healthcare – Harvard Assistant Professor & MIT Research Scientist –  direct link to Adrian’s machine learning academic CV

Challenges and Opportunities of End-to-End Learning in Medical Image Classification Paul Jager , 2020 – Medical Imaging – DKFZ Head of ML Research Group –  direct link to Paul’s machine learning academic CV

K 2 NiF 4  materials as cathodes for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells Ainara Aguadero , 2006 – Materials Science – Imperial Reader –  direct link to Ainara’s materials science academic CV

Applications of surface plasmons – microscopy and spatial light modulation Eric Yeatman , 1989 – Electronics – Imperial Professor and Head of Department –  direct link to Eric’s electronics academic CV

Geometric Algorithms for Objects in Motion Sorelle Friedler , 2010 – Computer science – Haverford College Associate Professor –  direct link to Sorelle’s computer science academic CV .

Geometrical models, constraints design, information extraction for pathological and healthy medical image Esla Angelini  – Medicine – Imperial Senior Data Scientist –  direct link to Elsa’s medicine academic CV

Why I regret my own choice of PhD thesis title

I should say from the outset that I assembled my thesis in quite a short space of time compared to most people. So I didn’t really spend particularly long on any one section, including the title.

However, my main supervisor even spelled out for me that once the title was submitted to the university it would be permanent. In other words: think wisely about your title.

What I started with

Initially I drafted the title as something like: Three dimensional correlative imaging for cartilage regeneration . Which I thought was nice, catchy and descriptive.

I decided to go for “correlative imaging” because, not only did it describe the experiments well, but it also sounded kind of technical and fitting of a potential pivot into AI. I’m pleased with that bit of the title.

What I ended up with

Before submitting the title to the university (required ahead of the viva), I asked my supervisors for their thoughts.

One of my well intentioned supervisors suggested that, given that my project didn’t involve verifying regenerative quality, I probably shouldn’t state cartilage regeneration . Instead, they suggested, I should state what I was experimenting on (the materials) rather than the overall goal of the research (aid cartilage regeneration efforts).

With this advice I dialled back my choice of wording and the thesis title I went with was:

Three dimensional correlative imaging for measurement of strain in cartilage and cartilage replacement materials

Reading it back now I’m reminder about how less I like it than my initial idea!

I put up basically no resistance to the supervisor’s choice, even though the title sounds so much more boring in my opinion. I just didn’t think much of it at the time. Furthermore, most of my PhD was actually in a technique which is four dimensional (looking at a series of 3D scans over time, hence 4D) which would have sounded way more sciency and fitting of a PhD.

What I wish I’d gone with

If I had the choice again, I’d have gone with:

Four-dimensional correlative imaging for cartilage regeneration

Which, would you believe it, is exactly what it states on my CV…

Does the thesis title really matter?

In all honesty, your choice of thesis title isn’t that important. If you come to regret it, as I do, it’s not the end of the world. There are much more important things in life to worry about.

If you decide at a later stage that you don’t like it you can always describe it in a way that you prefer. For instance, in my CV I describe my PhD as I’d have liked the title to be. I make no claim that it’s actually the title so consider it a bit of creative license.

Given that as your career progresses you may not even refer back to your thesis much, it’s really not worth stressing over. However, if you’re yet to finalise your thesis title I do still think it is worth a bit of thought and hopefully this article has provided some insights into how to choose a good thesis title.

My advice for developing a thesis title

  • Draft the title early. Drafting it early can help give clarity for the overall message of your research. For instance, while you’re assembling the rest of your thesis you can check that the title encompasses the research chapters you’re included, and likewise that the research experiments you’re including fall within what the title describes. Drafting it early also gives more time you to think it over. As with everything: having a first draft is really important to iterate on.
  • Look at some example titles . Such as those featured above!
  • If you’re not sure about your title, ask a few other people what they think . But remember that you have the final say!

I hope this post has been useful for those of you are finalising your thesis and need to decide on a thesis title. If you’ve enjoyed this article and would like to hear about future content (and gain access to my free resource library!) you can subscribe for free here:

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Creative Writing, The University of Chicago

BA Major Thesis Overview

The thesis—typically in the form of a collection of short stories, poems, essays, or a novel excerpt—is a significant, polished, original creative work; the culmination of your study at the University of Chicago; and an opportunity to deepen your understanding of writing craft. Over the course of four quarters, in consultation with a faculty advisor and a writing and research advisor (WARA), students produce work informed by aesthetic, literary, and critical influences, as well as engage in coursework, sustained readings, and research.

Students work on their BA theses/projects throughout their fourth year. In Spring Quarter of the third year, students will be assigned a WARA who will mentor student reading and research throughout the thesis process. Students, in conversation with their WARAs, will complete a preliminary project proposal during the Spring Quarter of their third year. The preliminary proposal will then be submitted to the Student Affairs Administrator.

During the following Summer Quarter, students will craft a reading journal centered on a field list of readings. Chosen texts will be based upon work, conversations, etc., that students have begun with their WARAs. In Autumn Quarter of their fourth year, students and WARAs will work together to adapt the reading journal into an annotated bibliography, a focus reading list, and a reading and research summary (a summary of student writing plan and goals for the BA thesis/project).

In Winter Quarter, students will continue meeting with their WARA and must also enroll in the appropriate Thesis/Major Projects Workshop in their primary genre ( CRWR 29200  Thesis/Major Projects: Fiction,  CRWR 29300  Thesis/Major Projects: Poetry,  CRWR 29400  Thesis/Major Projects: Nonfiction, or CRWR 29500 Thesis/Major Projects: Fiction/Nonfiction). The Thesis/Major Projects Workshop is mandatory and only offered during Winter Quarter.

The instructor for the Thesis/Major Projects Workshop will also serve as the faculty advisor for the BA thesis. Students should be aware that because of very high demand, students will not necessarily get their first choice of faculty advisor. 

Students will work closely with their faculty advisor and peers in their Thesis/Major Projects Workshop and will receive course credit, as well as a final grade for the course. In consultation with their faculty advisor and WARA, students will revise and submit a near-final draft of the BA thesis by the end of the second week of Spring Quarter. Students will submit the final version of their BA thesis to their WARA, faculty advisor, Student Affairs Administrator, and the Director of Undergraduate Studies by the beginning of the fifth week of Spring Quarter. 

All creative writing majors are encouraged to take the thesis workshop and write a BA thesis. Students following the original Major in Creative Writing are required to complete both the thesis workshop and the BA thesis to graduate with the major. For students following the 2023-24 updated requirements the thesis and thesis workshop are encouraged but optional, although the thesis workshop and thesis are required for consideration for the designation of honors. To opt out of the thesis process please email the Director of Undergraduate studies.

Creative Writing BA Thesis Timeline 2023-24

THE YEAR AT A GLANCE

**If you plan to graduate early, please contact the Student Affairs Administrator or DUS as soon as possible**

Spring (Rising Majors): Setting Up Summer Reading

  • Tuesday, Week 5: WARA group meeting to discuss the preliminary BA proposal and general strategies for drawing up a summer reading list. This required information session will take place the same day as the group discussion with UChicago Library's  bibliographer for Literatures of Europe & the Americas  
  • Friday, Week 7: Preliminary BA proposals are due to the Student Affairs Administrator
  • Friday, Week 8: WARA groups will be finalized and confirmed. Your WARA will reach out to set up an individual meeting to discuss summer reading and research plans.
  • Weeks 8 and 9: Individual meetings with WARAs to finalize summer reading and research plans (specifically field and focus reading lists)

Autumn: Reading, Research, Planning

  • Week 0: Individual WARA and student check-ins regarding summer reading and research
  • Week 1 or 2: WARA group meetings
  • Week 4: Required Info Session for BA thesis writers
  • Deadline to apply to the Thesis/Major Projects Workshop
  • Submit annotated bibliography (composed of your field and focus reading lists ) to WARA
  • Friday, Week 9: Submit completed BA reading & research summary form to WARA

Winter: Writing & Editorial Process (continue reading and research)

  • Weeks 1-10: Work on projects in Thesis/Major Projects Workshops and continue supported reading; research with WARA groups
  • Weeks 1-10: Submit Research Background Electives Petition
  • Week 9/10: Submit Winter Thesis/Major Projects Workshop final to both your thesis advisor and WARA

Spring: Revising

  • Friday, Week 2: Submit a second full (semi-final) draft of thesis to WARA and faculty advisor
  • Monday, Week 5: Submit final draft of thesis to faculty advisors, WARA, and the Student Affairs Administrator
  • Family & friends welcome
  • Week 9: Students notified about Honors decisions

Program Honors and Eligibility

College Catalog on Program Honors: The faculty in the program will award program honors based on their assessment of BA theses and the assessment of WARAs. Students must complete all assignments set by WARAs to be considered for honors. To be eligible, students must have a major GPA of at least 3.6 and an overall GPA of at least 3.25. Honors will be awarded only to exceptional projects from a given cohort. 

Program Honors Criteria

1. GPA:  writer must have at least 3.6 major GPA & 3.25 cumulative GPA

2. Conception:  the BA project has emotional and intellectual resonance, and fulfills many of its artistic goals 

3.   Execution:  the BA project demonstrates strong technical knowledge, from its formal decisions to its execution of the fundamental mechanics of the genre:

            -BA project is developed through active writerly commitment

4. Revision:  writer is diligent throughout the revision process

5. Program Citizenship/Engagement:  the writer put in strong effort throughout the entirety of the BA writing and research process and worked well with both their faculty advisor and WARA:

-Submitted all BA assignments by their deadlines to WARAs

-Checked in with WARAs per pre-determined schedule

-Conscientious colleague in and out of the Thesis Workshop

6. Risk and ambition:  the BA project shows an impressive level of risk and ambition, whether through formal innovation or content

Assignment Checklist

  • Preliminary BA Project Proposal  
  • Summer Reading Journal (based on field reading list)  
  • Annotated Bibliography  
  • Focus Reading List  
  • Reading and Research Summary

Forms and Guidelines

MFA – Thesis

Thesis information.

The M.F.A. Creative Thesis is the capstone to your work in the M.F.A. program and it should represent your strongest creative work. As the program does not require students to declare a genre concentration, the thesis may be a work of any genre, including but not limited to essays, memoir, a novel, short stories, a novella, poetry, or a hybrid or mixed-form work.

The M.F.A. Creative Thesis should both thematically and stylistically extend and deepen the creative work written in previous M.A. and M.F.A.-level courses, and in the M.A. Creative Manuscript, through intensive revision of that work and through the writing of new work, such that it can form the basis of a book. The Creative Thesis should be a minimum of 80 pages or the equivalent of a complete book-length work. Upon graduation, you will have a significant body of polished creative work with which to seek literary representation, publication, or further study in a Ph.D. program.

In your final two semesters of M.F.A. study, you will complete the 6-credit Creative Thesis Seminar, an intensive independent study for which you will write and revise rigorously, and work closely with a faculty mentor, incorporating their feedback along with that of your second reader.

The M.F.A. Creative Thesis must be accompanied by a critical paper of 7 to 10 pages, analyzing comparable texts that exemplify the literary tradition from which your thesis springs. This paper may discuss the influence of analyzed works on the thesis, but will focus on a discussion of the craft evident in the creative works discussed.

To read the specific requirements for the M.F.A. Creative Thesis and to access the appropriate forms, please select the appropriate PDF link.

Tony Clark, MFA student in creative nonfiction

The MFA program is a life changing experience both inside and outside the classroom. My professors and peers have expanded my perspective on creative writing and provided opportunities for networking and professional development through sponsored trips, such as to the AWP Conference and the Chautauqua Writers’ Festival. It was a joy to build community with writers from all across the globe.

Tony Clark , MFA student in creative nonfiction

Thesis Guidelines

Syllabus Guidelines

Request Information

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Cost and Financial Aid

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  • The Arris  Akdeniz, Aziza Lucia ( University of Oregon , 2010-09 ) A collection of poems.
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Princeton Correspondents on Undergraduate Research

Writing a Creative Thesis: An Interview with Edric Huang ’18

thesis title about creative writing

A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed Kristin Hauge about her independent work in the Music Department to highlight creative independent work in the arts. This week, I got in touch with Edric Huang, a senior in the Anthropology Department with certificates in Urban Studies and Creative Writing. Unlike most students on campus, he will be writing two theses this year. One is the classic research-based thesis that seniors in the sciences and humanities are familiar with, but the second will be a collection of poems for his Creative Writing Certificate. If you are unfamiliar with the kind of work that goes into creative theses, here’s what Edric had to share about his personal experience:

What topics do you write about in your work?

I’ve been thinking a lot about superstitions and hauntings lately, especially the ones that come up in conversations with my mom. Sometimes, she’ll tell me about Chinese folk superstitions that she or our relatives believe in, and it amazes me how these superstitions create worlds around us all — how they protect us, create conflict, stimulate us to action. I also write poems based on my anthropological fieldwork this past summer when I visited a migrant reception center in Paris and studied the survival strategies of Sudanese refugees who had made it there. Patterns of migration inevitably weave together a lot of my poems, both from a personal lens and through my observations.

How do you go about doing research for your poetry?

In some ways, attentively living is research for my poems. By paying attention to minute details, or lingering a little longer and taking a photo of a particularly arresting image, I naturally make connections to other life experiences or other topics. I recently walked along an industrial street in Brooklyn, and the scene, which reminded me of the 1992 LA Riots, created a starting point. An image creates the language from which I can begin to write.

But research for poetry can take many forms. I look to answer several questions: How do other poets write about certain topics, and how does the form of poetry create a chance to speak about something and speak to someone? How do these other writers use the page? I’ve read a lot of Asian-American writers lately, trying to figure out how I can write my “Asian-Americanness” into my poems. When I draw inspiration from specific poets, songs, etc., I will mention at the beginning of the poem that I am writing “after” something. For example, I wrote a poem after listening to Jhene Aiko’s new album, and included some lyrics from her song into mine.

I also do research on the topics I want to write about, especially if I don’t already know much. I believe that as someone who wants to use poems to grapple with myself and the larger processes that affect or surround me, proper representation of certain themes, histories, etc. cannot be done without a genuine investment in this research process.

thesis title about creative writing

Are there any work habits you find to be helpful?

I tend to set limits on how much time I allow myself to spend on this research because I often get so engrossed with some topics that I forget that I still have a poem (and a second thesis…) to write. I also have been trying to free-write by just spewing out lines onto a Word document — with my computer screen dimmed out completely. I edit and judge a little too much, and I’ve come to recognize that there’s a time and place for critique, but it can’t come too early or I won’t get past the first five lines of a poem. When I do edit  my work, I try to keep my writing minimal; I want each word to have gravity and to say as much as possible about the poem. Writing is such an individual process, though, and I’m still trying to find the best practices for me.

What are your plans for your creative thesis?

The standard poetry thesis consists of 30-40 pages of poems, and I hope to use this not only as a way to grow personally and sort through a lot of my complicated emotions around these topics,  but also as a starting point. I’m not sure what I’m doing post-grad yet, but no matter what, I hope to continue writing, editing through this manuscript, and revisiting a lot of these topics that I’ve been thinking about for the past three years.

Whether you’re a poet or not, Edric’s experience shows how there are several ways of going about research. When it comes to inspiration, you could draw from your personal experiences, from previous works that have intrigued you, or even from pausing to take a closer look at your surroundings. The writing process too is not set in stone and can involve a little experimentation to figure out what works best for you. If you’re looking for more tips on research and writing, you can visit the McGraw Center or the Writing Center . Moreover, if you’re interested in finding out more about creative writing, you can speak with a Peer Arts Advisor or apply for a class through the Lewis Center !

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  • How to Write a Great Title

Title

Maximize search-ability and engage your readers from the very beginning

Your title is the first thing anyone who reads your article is going to see, and for many it will be where they stop reading. Learn how to write a title that helps readers find your article, draws your audience in and sets the stage for your research!

How your title impacts the success of your article

Researchers are busy and there will always be more articles to read than time to read them.  Good titles help readers find your research, and decide whether to keep reading. Search engines use titles to retrieve relevant articles based on users’ keyword searches. Once readers find your article, they’ll use the title as the first filter to decide whether your research is what they’re looking for. A strong and specific title is the first step toward citations, inclusion in meta-analyses, and influencing your field. 

thesis title about creative writing

What to include in a title

Include the most important information that will signal to your target audience that they should keep reading.

Key information about the study design

Important keywords

What you discovered

Writing tips

Getting the title right can be more difficult than it seems, and researchers refine their writing skills throughout their career. Some journals even help editors to re-write their titles during the publication process! 

thesis title about creative writing

  • Keep it concise and informative What’s appropriate for titles varies greatly across disciplines. Take a look at some articles published in your field, and check the journal guidelines for character limits. Aim for fewer than 12 words, and check for journal specific word limits.
  • Write for your audience Consider who your primary audience is: are they specialists in your specific field, are they cross-disciplinary, are they non-specialists?
  • Entice the reader Find a way to pique your readers’ interest, give them enough information to keep them reading.
  • Incorporate important keywords Consider what about your article will be most interesting to your audience: Most readers come to an article from a search engine, so take some time and include the important ones in your title!
  • Write in sentence case In scientific writing, titles are given in sentence case. Capitalize only the first word of the text, proper nouns, and genus names. See our examples below.

thesis title about creative writing

Don’t

  • Write your title as a question In most cases, you shouldn’t need to frame your title as a question. You have the answers, you know what you found. Writing your title as a question might draw your readers in, but it’s more likely to put them off.
  • Sensationalize your research Be honest with yourself about what you truly discovered. A sensationalized or dramatic title might make a few extra people read a bit further into your article, but you don’t want them disappointed when they get to the results.

Examples…

Format: Prevalence of [disease] in [population] in [location]

Example: Prevalence of tuberculosis in homeless women in San Francisco

Format: Risk factors for [condition] among [population] in [location]

Example: Risk factors for preterm births among low-income women in Mexico City

Format (systematic review/meta-analysis): Effectiveness of [treatment] for [disease] in [population] for [outcome] : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Example: Effectiveness of Hepatitis B treatment in HIV-infected adolescents in the prevention of liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Format (clinical trial): [Intervention] improved [symptoms] of [disease] in [population] : A randomized controlled clinical trial

Example: Using a sleep app lessened insomnia in post-menopausal women in southwest United States: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Format  (general molecular studies): Characterization/identification/evaluation of [molecule name] in/from [organism/tissue] (b y [specific biological methods] ) 

Example: Identification of putative Type-I sex pheromone biosynthesis-related genes expressed in the female pheromone gland of Streltzoviella insularis

Format  (general molecular studies): [specific methods/analysis] of organism/tissue reveal insights into [function/role] of [molecule name] in [biological process]  

Example: Transcriptome landscape of Rafflesia cantleyi floral buds reveals insights into the roles of transcription factors and phytohormones in flower development

Format  (software/method papers): [tool/method/software] for [what purpose] in [what research area]

Example: CRISPR-based tools for targeted transcriptional and epigenetic regulation in plants

Tip: How to edit your work

Editing is challenging, especially if you are acting as both a writer and an editor. Read our guidelines for advice on how to refine your work, including useful tips for setting your intentions, re-review, and consultation with colleagues.

  • How to Write an Abstract
  • How to Write Your Methods
  • How to Report Statistics
  • How to Write Discussions and Conclusions
  • How to Edit Your Work

The contents of the Peer Review Center are also available as a live, interactive training session, complete with slides, talking points, and activities. …

The contents of the Writing Center are also available as a live, interactive training session, complete with slides, talking points, and activities. …

There’s a lot to consider when deciding where to submit your work. Learn how to choose a journal that will help your study reach its audience, while reflecting your values as a researcher…

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Creative Writing Program

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To earn the MFA degree, we ask that students produce and shape a significant body of work, accompanied by an artist's statement.   While University of Wyoming graduate student forms employ the more conventional term "thesis," we encourage a language more suited to the ways in which writers actually discuss their own projects. By framing your work in these terms, we hope to encourage a more flexible, rangy, and expansive understanding of the writing goals you should set for your time in the program. To avoid confusion when it comes to university forms, we'll use the university's terminology for describing your committee ("thesis chair," etc), and we'll call the sum of your body of work and artist's statement "the thesis."

The Body of Work

In close consultation with the thesis chair (and typically with input from some or all other committee members), the student will assemble a body of work for presentation to the full committee. The body of work can include writing in various stages of progress and revision, although each piece should be far enough along that it has a genuine sense of necessity, shape, and promise. At least some portion of the body of work should be polished, finished writing. The body of work may include writing in more than one genre. A student might assemble a wide variety of pieces for the body of work, or might present a more singular manuscript (a novel, a nonfiction book project, etc). It is the responsibility of the thesis chair to approve the final body of work before it is sent to the full thesis committee prior to the student's defense.

The Artist's Statement

In the artist's statement, the student should both explain what decisions lay behind the assembling of the body of work, and bring the body of work into a coherent experience for the thesis committee. While the body of work need not be made up of thematically-linked pieces, the artist's statement should find a persuasive way to explain why these particular pieces were assembled together, and what they demonstrate about the writer's growth and/or goals for the work. The artist's statement should demonstrate the student's deep understanding of the genre(s) in which the student writes and the particular genre elements the student employs. It can include discussion of the writer's influences, process, aesthetic, and future goals for the material; it can express the questions the student wishes to ask through her/his creative work. The style, language, and form of the artist's statement is up to the student, but it should present a rich and articulate understanding of the body of work and act as a basis for the discussion at the student's defense. The artist's statement should be a minimum of 10 pages long.  It should be placed at the end of the defense draft, after the body of work, not before.

Here are some successful examples of artist's statements by previous MFA students.

Minimum Page Expectations (inclusive of artist's statement):

Prose thesis: 100 pages minimum, 150 pages maximum

Prose/poetry hybrids: 60 pages minimum, 150 pages maximum

In general, students should expect that they will produce a substantial amount of writing during their time in the program, and that not all of those creative efforts will be included in the final form of the body of work.

The Thesis Committee

The thesis committee is made up of a chair drawn from the Creative Writing faculty; a second reader typically drawn from the Creative Writing faculty (including adjuncts), and an “external member” (third reader) drawn from outside the Creative Writing Program. Sometimes a fourth, optional member is added to the committee when a special expertise is desired (in such cases, the fourth committee member may be a UW faculty member or someone from outside campus). Part-time writers in residence may also serve as fourth committee members.  Students are discouraged from using Creative Writing faculty members as fourth committee members, and should only expand the committee to four members if special expertise, or work with a part-time writer in residence, is particularly advantageous to the thesis project.  Thesis committee formation guidelines are set by Academic Affairs.

Eminent Writers in Residence may at times be available for thesis committee membership. Through a consortial agreement with Utah State University, members of their creative writing faculty may be able to join MFA thesis committees here.

Students may work with faculty both in their primary genre and outside of it. If a student wishes to present a thesis that includes writing in more than one genre, the committee should be composed so that expertise in each genre in represented.

Students should wait until April of their first year to approach faculty regarding thesis committee membership. Faculty members who are unfamiliar with a student's work may ask the student for a recent writing sample before making the decision to serve on that student's committee.  Chairs and second readers ideally are selected before the end of the second semester; external committee members are typically selected during the third semester.

The student will work most closely with the thesis chair to establish a thoughtful schedule for production and discussion of drafts and revisions, and for assembly of the body of work and artist's statement.  Second readers are often deeply involved in most stages of the student's work. The external member (and optional fourth reader) most typically join in discussion of the student's work very close to the end of the thesis process. The student can and should explicitly negotiate with each committee member the scope of their involvement in the thesis process. It is the student's responsibility to keep the committee apprised of their progress and to give reasonable notice of any change to the thesis schedule.

In the fourth, final semester, students should not ask MFA faculty members outside of their thesis committee to read their manuscript (in order to allow faculty members to give their undivided attention to their thesis students).

If a student wishes to change the membership of the thesis committee, they should consult with the MFA director regarding appropriate process.

Planning the Thesis Schedule

**Please note: This is the typical thesis schedule for full-time students. Part-time students will of necessity follow a different time-line.

Second Semester: During the second semester of study, plan to meet with the MFA director to discuss your preliminary plans for the body of work and to identify a possible thesis chair.  Faculty members can be approached beginning at the start of April, and not before, regarding thesis service. By the end of the second semester, you should have chosen a chair (and typically your second reader as well), worked out a brief description of your goals for the body of work, and designed a plan for writing and revision during the summer and into the second year.

Third Semester: Early in the third semester, you need to finalize the full membership of your thesis committee. The thesis chair should consult closely with the student in identifying potential thesis committee members. When the membership of the thesis committee is finalized, the information will be recorded in the MFA program's Record of Thesis Committee form and the Thesis Committee Assignment form for the University of Wyoming.  You should also meet with your thesis chair early in the third semester to discuss the summer's writing accomplishments and to plan for the second year. Students must also submit the university's Program of Study form by the end of the third semester.

Fourth Semester: During the fourth semester, the student is focused on revisions of materials assembled in the body of work and of the artist's statement. The student will consult with the thesis committee, particularly with the thesis chair, regarding preparations of materials for the defense (see "The Defense and Public Reading"). The student will follow university graduation processes regarding filing of forms, payment of graduation fees, and uploading of the thesis (see the Graduate Education page for details).

On rare occasions (see Good Standing ), a student may with permission of the MFA director and thesis chair extend the writing of the thesis beyond the fourth semester. If a student exceeds the original time-line given for the thesis, committee members have the right to step down from the committee.

The Defense and Public Reading

MFA degree candidates are required by UW to schedule and hold a defense and a public reading before graduation. The thesis chair, typically in consultation with other committee members, will determine when a student's body of work and artist's statement are ready to defend and will inform the student when to go forward with the scheduling of the defense. The defense will consist of an intensive discussion with the full thesis committee of the body of work and artist's statement; if the student is passed by the committee, the student will then give a public reading at a later time.

The program strongly encourages students to defend during the regular school year. Summer defenses are not necessarily possible, as faculty members are typically unavailable for thesis work during the summer months and cannot participate. If a student is not prepared to graduate by the end of the fourth semester, a return for a fall semester defense may be required. Students pursuing the ENR double major may sometimes extend into a fifth semester in order to satisfy requirements in both programs. MFA students in this situation are welcome to defend their thesis in the fourth semester and complete ENR coursework in the fifth semester, if at all possible.

The final version of the thesis is due to thesis committee members no later than three weeks before the defense. The defense takes between 1 and 2 hours; only the student and the thesis committee may be in attendance. The typical defense looks like this:

The student may give a brief introduction to the thesis.

Following the introduction, the committee intensively questions the candidate. While the questioning focuses on the artist's statement and body of work, the committee may also ask about material from the student's coursework, about genre and influences, and about the student's future plans for the work. This part of the exam is conducted as a rigorous conversation about matters of importance to the student, about strengths and weaknesses in the writing, and about future possibilities for the material.

Once the discussion is over, the student steps out, and the committee evaluates the student's performance, the body of work, and the artist's statement. The committee then tells the candidate of its decision. At this point, the committee may, and often does, ask for modifications of the written work before forms are officially filed.

If the committee deems the student's performance and/or materials to have failed the minimum expectations of the program, the committee can require the student to produce new or revised materials and to resubmit them for a new defense. The date of the new defense will be set only after approval by the thesis chair of the resubmitted materials.

After a successful defense, the candidate will work with the MFA/English graduate program coordinator to schedule a public reading before the end of the semester. The public reading will typically include several MFA degree candidates; MFA program members and the public will be invited, as required by UW. The program coordinator will handle the formal announcements of the readings. The program coordinator schedules these readings so as not to conflict with classes and other events, and has to balance many students’ needs; please be aware that special requests to change the reading schedule or pre-select the slate of readers may be very difficult for the coordinator to accommodate. We ask for your patience and understanding.

Uploading the MFA Thesis and Completing University Graduation Requirements

After successfully completing your defense, you must upload either your artist’s statement or your full thesis. UW uploading (“electronic publication” via Proquest) procedures are available on the Registrar’s Graduate Student Graduation page . If you wish, you can use the MFA-specific uploading format approved by the Registrar's Office and available on the MFA website's forms page (see the “thesis upload template”). This specially-designed format allows you to upload just your artist's statement (rather than uploading the full thesis manuscript). Many students prefer this option, since it allows them to keep the body of work from the public eye until ready for submission to magazines and presses.

As noted above, all UW graduate students must complete the required university forms and pay the required university fees in order to formally graduate. These forms and fees are required and processed by the Registrar's office, not the MFA program. We'll help you navigate the process as best we can, but students should keep track of all forms and fees themselves by communicating directly with the Registrar's office and by visiting the Registrar’s Graduate Student Graduation page for the most up-to-date graduation information. Students who do not intend to walk at graduation must still pay any required diploma and uploading fees and must meet all university deadlines.

Outstanding Thesis Awards

During thesis committee discussion following an MFA candidate's thesis defense, committee members should consider whether the thesis being defended merits nomination for a university thesis award.

thesis title about creative writing

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Completing a thesis is the capstone experience of the QMSS program. Students take this opportunity to apply the tools and methodologies developed through their coursework to questions of particular interest to them. The list of theses below demonstrates the broad array of substantive subject areas to which our graduates have applied their expertise.

The list is organized by the departmental affiliation of the faculty member who advised the thesis and the year in which it was completed. Though our program director has progressively advised more students we always encourage students to find additional advisors in our affiliate departments.

Business/Finance

  • Should Personalization Be Optional in Paid Streaming Platforms?: Investigating User Data as an Indirect Compensation for Paid Streaming Platforms (2022)
  • The Influence of Live Streaming Ecommerce on Customer Engagement on the Social Media Platforms (2022)
  • An overview of the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Small Businesses in the U.S (2022)
  • Exploring Key Predictors of Subsequent IPO Performance in the United States between 2016 -2021 (2022)
  • The relationship between executive incentives and corporate performance under the background of mixed reform—Based on the empirical analysis of A-share listed companies from 2016 to 2018 (2022)
  • How Sovereign Credit Rating Changes Impact Private Investment (2022)
  • Chinese Mutual Fund Manager Style Analysis Based on Natural Language Processing (2022)
  • The Influence of COVID-19 on Cryptocurrency Price (2022)
  • Does Weather matter on E-commerce? Weather and E-commerce consumer behavior of Americans in four U.S. cities (2021)
  • ModellingCFPB Consumer Complaint Topics Using Unsupervised Learning (2021)
  • Vote For The Environment: Quantitative characteristics of shareholder resolution votes on environmental issues (2021)
  • Social Capital’s Role in Accessing PPP Funds & the Evolving Nature of Online Lenders in the Small Business Ecosystem (2021)
  • Predicting stock returns with Twitter: A test of semi-strong form EMH (2017)
  • Who Receives Climate Finance and Why? A Quantitative Analysis of Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Funds Allocation during 2003-2013 (2014)
  • The American Dream—Deferred (2013)
  • Job Satisfaction and Employee Turnover Intention: What does Organizational Culture Have To Do With It? (2013)
  • What Factors Are Associated With Poor Households Engaging in Entrepreneurship? (2013)
  • Uncertainty in measuring Sustainable Development: An application for the Sustainability-adjusted HDI (2012)
  • Homeownership and Child Welfare in Unstable Times (2012)
  • On the Evaluation of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs (2012)
  • Financial Crisis and Bank Failure Prediction: Learning Lessons from the Great Recession (2011)
  • Starbucks and its Peers: Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Financial Performance (2011)
  • Statistical Arbitrage Strategies and Profit Potential in Commodity Futures Markets (2011)
  • An Approach to Lending with Heterogeneous Borrowers (2010)
  • Changes in Perceived Risk and Liquidity Shocks and Its Impact on Risk Premiums (2010)
  • Equity Risk Premium Puzzle and Investors' Behavioral Analysis: A Theoretical and Empirical Explanation from the Stock Markets in the U.S. & China (2010)
  • Investing in Microfinance: A Portfolio Optimization Approach (2010)
  • Empirical Analysis of Value Investing Strategy in Times of Subprime Mortgage Crisis 2007-08 (2009)
  • Two Engines of Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank: Different Approaches. Different Results? (2008)
  • Searching for the "Sweet Spot": The Optimal Mix of Executive Compensation to Maximize Firm Performance (2005)
  • Differentials in Firm-Level Productivity and Corporate Governance: Evidence from Japanese Firm Data in 1998-2001 (2004) 
  • Where's the Brand Equity?: Further Investigations Into the Role of Brand Equity in Experiential, Luxury, and Other Products (2003)
  • An Account of Worth through Corporate Communication (2002)
  • Deciphering Federal Reserve Bank Statements Using Natural Language Processing (2022)
  • Gender Wage Gaps (2022)
  • The Relationship between the Overall Sentiment on Twitter and Stock Market Performance during COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 (2022)
  • The U.S. Stock Market’s Influence on China Stock Market between 2014 and the first half of 2019 (2022)
  • Social Protection and the SDGs: A Data-Driven Bayesian Network Analysis (2022)
  • Overeducation: The Effects of the Great Recession on the Labor Market (2021)
  • Investor Sentiment and Stock Returns: Evidence from China's A-Share Market (2021)
  • Difference-in-Differences Analysis (2017)
  • Rapid Transition: A Comparison of Subway Usage and Rent Data to Predict Gentrification in New York City (2017)
  • Female Labor Force Participation Rate and Economic Development: Time-Series Evidence in China (2016)
  • Linkage Between Stock and Commodity Markets' Volitility in Both the U.S. and China (2016)
  • Will Urbanization be the Next Economic Growth Engine for China? (2014)
  • Solar Electricity's Impact on Germany's Wholesale Electricity Market (2014)
  • How Does Quantitative Easing Policy Impact Emerging Markets: Evidence from the Effects on Long-Term Yields Structure of Hong Kong and Singapore (2014)
  • The Effect of Income Taxes in Mexico: Evidence and Implications for Permanent Taxpayers (2014)
  • Jumping on the Bandwagon: Conformity and Herd Behavior (2014)
  • Effects of War After War: A Quantitative Comparison of the Economic Performance of Jewish World War II Veterans to Non-Jewish World War II Veterans (2013)
  • Basel III Agreement: Will Higher & More Strictly Defined Capital Standards Impede on the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises? (2013)
  • Unemployment and Economic Growth in Peru: 2001-2012 (2013)
  • The Informal Market for Foreign Direct Investment: The Attractive Power of Country-Specific Characteristics (2012)
  • Evaluating the impact of the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme on Singapore's Labour Market (2012)
  • Innovation and Fiscal Decentralization in Transitional Economies (2012)
  • International Trade and Economic Growth: Evidence from Singapore (2012)
  • Economic Openness and Welfare Spending in Latin America (2012)
  • Assessing the Costs of Fractional Reserve Banking: A Theoretical Exposition and Examination of Post-Meiji Japan (2012)
  • Pricing Emerging Market Corporate Bonds: An Approach Using the CDS-Bond Basis Spread (2012)
  • The Geographical Distribution of Mixed-Income Housing in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Developments (2012)
  • An Economic Theory of Voting: Can we Explain, through Digital Inequalities, Why People Vote Less? (2011)
  • Super-Pornstar Economics: Investigating the Wage Premium for Pornstar-Escorts (2011) 
  • The Dynamic Linkages among International Stock Markets: The Case of BRICs and the U.S. (2011)
  • Revisiting the Financing Gap: An Empirical Test from 1965 to 2007 (2010)
  • Antitrust Law and the Promotion of Democracy and Economic Growth (2010)
  • An Analysis of Keynesian Economics (2010)
  • Who Will Pay to Reduce Global Warming?  A Multivariate Analysis of Concern, Efficacy, and Action (2010)
  • Wage Difference Between White, Non-White, Local, and International Professional Players in the NBA (2010)
  • Is Microlending Sustainable? Discerning the Relationship Between Microfinancial Participation, Measures of Acute Morbidity, and Expectations of the Characteristics of Village Organizations (2009)
  • Application of Multi-Attribute Utility Theory to Consumers' Choices about Environmentally Responsible Decisions (2009)
  • Trade Openness and Poverty Reduction: What is the Evidence? (2009)
  • Crude Oil Prices: Mean Reversion in the Spot? Futures Know the Future? (2008)
  • Evaluating the Impact of Supply-side Factors on Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: The Case of Nicaragua (2008)
  • Females: Less Likely to Be Entrepreneurs? A Multi-level Analysis of the Effect of Gender on Entrepreneurial Activity (2008)
  • Banking the Mexican Immigrant Population: Analysis of Profiling Variables (2008)
  • A Comparison of Microfranchising to Independent Microenterprises in Ghana (2008)
  • From Autarky to Free Trade: Will China Overtake the U.S. as the Major Trading Power in the Global Economy? (2006)
  • Cluster Patterns of Age and Racial/Ethnic Groups Within Privately Developed Section 8 HUD Rent Subsidy Properties in New York City (2004)
  • The Impact of Decimalization on Market Volatility and Liquidity (2004)
  • Strategic Delegation with Unobservable Incentive Contracts: An Experiment (2002)
  • Exchange Rate Market Pressure and The Quality of Governance (2001)

Public Health

  • Analysing the Performance of Supervised ML models in Breast Cancer Diagnosis  (2022)
  • Portability of Polygenic Scores for QuantitativeTraits using Continuous Genetic Distance in the UK Biobank (2021)
  • A Report on the Correlation between COVID-19 pandemic and Unemployment Rate through Visualization (2021)
  • Spatial Summary of Outdoor Dining and COVID-19 Rates in NYC (2021)
  • The COVID-19 Infodemic: Narratives from the US & India (2021)
  • Exploring the Experiences of People Living with HIV in the United States: Modelling Muscle Ache/Pain and Medicaid Expansion (2017)
  • An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: An Algorithm Using Non-Health Indicators to Predict Health Risks of an Individual (2017)
  • Does Racial Concordance in Clinical Encounters improve Providers’ Accessibility and Patients’ Satisfaction with Providers? (2016)
  • Proportionality of Death Sentences in Alabama (2014)
  • Zombies, Brains, and Tweets: The Neural and Emotional Correlates of Social Media (2013)
  • Asexuality as a Spectrum: A National Probability Sample Comparison to the Sexual Community in the UK (2013)
  • Parent-reported and Child Self-reported Symptoms of Psychiatric Disorder and their Relationships to Independent Living Skills in a Clinical Sample of Perinatally HIV-infected and Perinatally HIV-exposed but Uninfected Adolescents: An Exploratory Analysis (2013)
  • The Sperm Shopper: How Consumer Segments and Evolutionary Pyschology Shape Choice of Sperm Donor (2012)
  • Social Context and Impoverished Youths' General Health Outcomes: Community Disorder and Violence Predicting Self-Rated Health and Body Mass Index (2012)
  • Location Theory and the Supply of Primary Care Physicians in Rural America (2012)
  • Perception of Neighborhood Safety and Overweight/Obesity Status among Non-Metropolitan Adolescents in the U.S. (2011)
  • Factors Affecting the Extent of Depression Treatment (2011)
  • Beyond Gender Binary in Survey Design (2010)
  • Junk Food and BMI: A Look at Schools Banning Candy, Snacks, and Soft Drinks and the Effect on Fifth Graders' BMI (2009) 
  • Delivering Maternal Health: An Examination of Maternal Mortality on a National Scale (2008)
  • Public Health and the Conrad Visa Waiver Program (2007)
  • Alzheimer's Disease, Migration, and Social Environment: A Study of Caribbean Hispanics (2005)
  • The Influence of Physician Attributes on Cesarean Likelihood (2004)
  • Natural or Human-Made Disaster: Dimensions of Impact Measurement (2003)
  • Healthy Life Choices Project: Efficacy of Nutritional Intervention with  Normal Foods  and Cognitive/Behavioral Skill Building on HIV/AIDS Associated Diarrhea and Quality of Life (2002)

Political Science

  • Encouraging Voter Registration Among Minority Voters:  A Field Experiment Using Radio Advertisements (2022)
  • Public Opinion Transition in China: Evidence from Weibo (2022)
  • Gender and Co-sponsorship in U.S. Congress (2017)
  • Accessing Social Influences of Congressmen with Keyword Network (2016)
  • How presidential election in 2016 affects the stock market – A Twitter sentiment analysis perspective (2016)
  • Assessing Assessors: A Study on Anti-Corruption Strategies in New York City’s Property Tax System (2016)
  • Demographic Trends in Virginia 2013
  • The determinants of Party and Coalition Identification in Chile: The effect of long and short-term factors (2013)
  • Radical Moderation: Factors Affecting Support for Islamic Extremism (2012)
  • Accommodationists versus Hardliners in Slovakia: Correlates of Public Opinion on Selected Foreign Policy Topics 2004 - 2010 (2012)
  • Measurement and Belief: Determinants of Federal Funding for Public Diplomacy Programs (2010)
  • Consumerism and Political Connectedness in Socialist Czechoslovakia (2010) - History
  • Civilizations and Social Tolerance: A Multi-Level Analysis of 58 Countries (2008)
  • How Does the 1965 Immigration Act Matter? (2006)
  • 7200 Revolutions per Minute: An Economic Analysis of the Struggle between the Recording Industry and Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Networks (2005)
  • Classifying Myers-Briggs Personality Type based on Text (2021)
  • Hiding Behind the Computer Screen: Imposter Phenomenon in the Tech Industry (2022)
  • Relation between dark tourism on-site experience and visitors’ satisfaction (2022)
  • Evaluating the Impact of Self-perceptions of Creativity and DemographicFactors on Arts Participation: Evidence from the United States (2021)
  • Running head: QUEER HAPPINESS AND SUPPORTExamining Happiness in LGBTQ+ People and its Relationshipwith Worsened Parental Relationships After Coming Out (2021)
  • The Impact of Donating Behavior on the Level of Happiness (2021)
  • Birds of a Feather, or Do Opposites Attract? THE IMPACT OF PERSONALITY TRAITS ON CONSTRAINT AND HOMOPHILY WITHIN SOCIAL NETWORKS (2017)
  • Predicting Social Value Orientation from Personal Information and Survey Metadata (2017)
  • All the Feels: Sentiment Analysis Between Emoji and Text (2017)
  • Social Media Interface and the Next Generation Cognitive Mapping in New York City (2016)
  • Is Prospective Memory Ability Flexible?  Manipulating Value to Increase Goal Significance (2011)
  • Will a Nation Be Happier with a More Even Income Distribution? (2007)
  • Behavioral Extensions to the Topology of Fear: A Gedankenexperimen (2007)
  • Psychological Control and Preschoolers' Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors in China (2003)
  • Prevalence and success of diversity-and-inclusion projects on education crowdfunding platform  (2022)
  • Does gentrification cause the displacement of urban black populations?  (2022)
  • Feedback and Gender in the Workplace: Should You Expect Equal Evaluation from Men and Women?  (2021)
  • What are the determinants for art practitioners to choose self-employment? (2022)
  • An empirical research for studying the influence of star popularity on the box office of movies (2022)
  • Couple Dissolution Between Couples Who Meet Offline Versus Couples Who Meet Offline (2021)
  • Masculine Men Who Wear Makeup: Exploring the Evolving Masculinity (2021)
  • Do Individual Or Environmental Factors Play a Greater Role in Shaping the Intentions of Female High School Students to Enrol in STEM (2021) Programmes in University?:Evidence from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (2021)
  • COVID-19 Information Narrative Beliefs Across Social Media Platforms (2021)
  • Spatial Wage Penalty for Young Mothers: Exploring the Discrepancy of Education Return between Metro and Non-metro Areas (2016)
  • Inequality Matters: A new Empirical Framework for Studying the Impact of Rising Socioeconomic Inequality on the Poor (2016)
  • Immigration, Income, and Occupation: Peruvian Immigrants in the Chilean Labor Market (2014)
  • Preferring France's 35-Hour Workweek: The Effects of Media on Work-Life Balance Preference Formation (2014)
  • The Effect of College Education on Individual Social Trust in the United States– An Examination of the Causal Mechanisms (2013)
  • Socio-economic Inequality and Socio-emotional Relationship Quality: Cause and effect? (2013)
  • Examination of the Relationship between mother's employment status and one's family gender role attitudes (2012)
  • A Study of Materialism Level among Mid-Atlantic residents (2012)
  • Relation Recombination - A Sociological Patent Analysis (2012)
  • The Relationship between Religious Attitudes and Concern for the Environment (2012)
  • Marrying Down: The Gender Gap in Post-Secondary Completion & Education Hypogamy between 1960 and 2010 (2012)
  • 2.0 Social Networks Have an Impact on our Real Lives (2011)
  • Evidence of Ethnic Solidarity in Marriage Patterns of Hmong and Sino-Vietnamese in United States (2011)
  • What Explains the Racial Disparity in Employment Discrimination Case Outcomes? (2010)
  • Reading Race: The Changing Views of Human Difference in American History Textbooks, 1870-1930 (2010)
  • Satisfaction with Life (2010)
  • Entering the "Real World": An Empirical Investigation of College Graduates' Satisfaction with Life (2010)
  • The Relationship between the Establishment of Marine Protected Areas and Biomass Productivity of Municipal Fisheries in the Philippines (2010)
  • Performance Surveys, Citizen Respondents, and Satisfaction of Public Services: An Analysis of NYC Feedback Citywide Customer Survey (2009)
  • Analysis of Job Retention Programs of the Center for Employment Opportunities of the Formerly Incarcerated (2009)
  • The Intergenerational Transfer of Human Capital: The Role of Grandparents' Education in Grandchildren's Cognitive Abilities (2009)
  • Are Homicide Trends Fads? Diffusion Analysis of the Urban-rural Spillover Effects on Homicide Incidents from 1960-1990 in the South Atlantic States (2008) 
  • Rejection Sensitivity and the Contagious Effect of Mood Regulation in Romantic Couples (2008)
  • Women and the Homeostasis of the Inmate Population
  • An Examination of the Relationship between Government Funding Allocation and Services Provided by Nonprofit Organizations in Brooklyn and the Bronx, 1997-2000 (2007)
  • The Concurrent Validity of Maternal Self-report: The  Impact of Social Desirability on Substance Use and Prenatal Care (2006)
  • The Effect of Housing Programs on the Economic Outcomes: Utilizing Observation Study Results from Minnesota Family Investment Program (2005)
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An Analysis of Pairwise Preference (2016)

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  • A Time Series Analysis of Crime Rates and Concern for Crime in the United States: 1973-2010 (2012)
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  • Quantifying Variation in American School Safety with Explainable Machine Learning:An Application of Machine Learning Feature Importances for the Social Sciences (2021)
  • Age, Gender, and Comorbidities Affect Prevalence of Dyscalculia and Dyslexia, A Large-Scale Study of Specific Learning Disabilities Among Chinese Children (2021)
  • Validation of Fitbit for use in Objective Measurement of Physical Activity and Sleep in Children and Adults (2014)
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  • Methods Supporting Policies in Education Reform (2010)
  • Have Inclusionary Policies in Higher Education Really Helped?:  Looking at College Accessibility and the College-wage Premium, 1962-2007 (2010)
  • NCLB and Curriculum Standards: What Really Impacts Teachers' Decisions to Leave the Profession? (2010)
  • Exploring the Relationship between Video Games and Academic Achievement via Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Analyses (2009)
  • Racial Disparities in Collegiate Cognitive Gains: A Multi-level Analysis of Institutional Influences on Learning and its Equitable Distribution (2009)
  • Hoping for Higher Ed: The Differential Effects of Parental Expectations of Education Attainment (2009)
  • The Impact of Family Communication on Risk Behavior among Boston Public High School Students (2009)
  • Path Towards an Attainable Future: The Effect of College Access Programs on High School Dropout (2009)
  • Traditional vs. Non-traditional College Students and Future Job Satisfaction: A Statistical Approach (2008) 
  • A Multi-level Analysis of Student Assignment to Out-of-field and Uncertified High School Math Teachers: Implications for Educational Equity and Access (2008)
  • The Impact of Obesity on Education (2005)
  • The Gender Gap in Standardized Math Tests: Do the Gender Gaps in Math Self-concept and Other Affective Variables Contribute to the Gender Gap in Scores? (2004)
  • An Alternative Approach to Selection Bias in School Choice: Using Propensity Score Matching to Examine School Sector and Teacher Quality Impact on Educational Outcomes (2003)

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  • Preparing my thesis
  • Thesis with creative works

With approval from your advisory committee your thesis may include a creative work or non-traditional research output (NTRO) component alongside a dissertation to fulfil the requirements of the degree. This is more common in some degrees and disciplines than others.

Both the dissertation and creative work must be passed, and a final version including a durable record of all components of your thesis must be submitted to the University’s digital repository, in order for you to be awarded the degree.

All theses must be presented as a unified whole and address a significant research question.

The creative work may take a variety of forms including:

  • a performance,
  • an exhibition,
  • writing (poetry, fiction, script or other written literary forms),
  • musical composition,
  • e-portfolio or website,
  • multimedia, or
  • other new media technologies and modes of presentation.

If the creative work is not in writing it must be comprehensively documented. The work itself, or the documentation must be submitted with the dissertation through the Thesis Examination System (TES). If your thesis file consists of multiple files, upload the main file as part of the thesis submission process and upload the additional files via a cloud storage platform. Then add the shared link to TES as part of your submission.

The dissertation and documentation of the work  (where needed) must adhere to the Preparation of Graduate Research Theses Rules .  You must include a description of the form and presentation of the creative work in the Abstract and in your Preface, note the relative weighting of the creative work and dissertation.

The combined volume of work of the creative works and dissertation for a doctoral thesis would be equivalent to approximately 80,000 -100,000 words.  For a masters degree, the combined volume of work would be equivalent to approximately 40,000-50,000 words.

Any thesis that exceeds the maximum limit requires permission to proceed to examination, which must be sought via the  Graduate Research Examinations Office prior to submission.

Relationship between the Dissertation and Creative Work

The dissertation and the creative work should be considered as complementary, mutually reinforcing parts of a single project.  You may argue, however, that the relationship between the two parts contributes to the originality and creativity of the whole.

The dissertation is required to do more than simply describe the creative work and how it was undertaken.

The dissertation must:

  • present the research questions address, and
  • contextualise the research as new knowledge within the field of its production.

The dissertation may:

  • include information on the materials and methodology used,
  • elucidate the creative work, and
  • place the creative work in an artistic, intellectual, or cultural context.

The weighting given to the components of the thesis describes the proportion of the research which is demonstrated through the creative component/s and the proportion which is demonstrated in the written dissertation. The relative weighting will inform the examiners’ assessment of the work so must be clearly explained in your Preface.  When registering your intention to submit via the Thesis Examination System (TES), include the weighting in your 80-word summary.

The weighting of the dissertation and creative work, and the expected word length of the dissertation should be agreed at Confirmation. Check the Handbook description for your course to see if the weighting is specified for the course. If not, the minimum weighting for the dissertation that can be agreed at Confirmation is 25%.

Examination

Where the creative work includes a performance or exhibition of visual art works, the examiners may be required to travel to the site of the performance or exhibition. Your Chair of Examiners will make the necessary arrangements for your examiners to attend the viewing of the performance/exhibition. In this situation, if the dissertation is not submitted at or around the same time, you must provide an extended abstract of 1000-3000 words to your Chair of Examiners two weeks prior to the viewing. You must then submit your dissertation by logging into the Thesis Examination System (TES) no more than six calendar months after the performance/exhibition. The role of Chair of Examiners is normally undertaken by the head of department/school or nominee. To find out your Chair of Examiners, contact your supervisor or the Examinations Office .

If one or more components of your thesis is a live website or content hosted online, there should be no alterations made to the website or online content while the examination is in progress.

As graduate researchers submitting creative works in the form of a performance, an exhibition, an e-portfolio, or a website have an obligation to avoid identifying their examiners, the following  Creative Works: Examiner Confidentiality Declaration form should be completed and submitted along with your thesis. Once you have submitted your thesis via TES, return the signed confidentiality declaration to the Examinations Office .

Additional criteria are specified for examiners who are examining creative works.

Final archival version of your thesis

To meet the University's digital repository (Minerva Access) requirements, once examiner comments and amendments have been incorporated, you will need to deposit a durable record of all components of your thesis. Methods of capturing and providing this durable representation of your creative work component vary widely depending on the nature and presentation of your creative component.  It is important for you, in discussion with your supervisor, to decide and capture your desired best quality representation.

If your thesis included a website, you must provide a durable copy of the website as it was during the examination with any amendments requested by the examiners.  You may also provide a link to the live website and have readers directed to that while it remains available,  in addition to the archived copy.

You can find further information about requirements for deposit, as well as options and implications of choosing some options at My thesis in the library and  Depositing multiple files for your final thesis record . You can request technical assistance for submitting the thesis to  Minerva Access .

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  • How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

  • Start with a question
  • Write your initial answer
  • Develop your answer
  • Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

  • Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
  • Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
  • Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

  • Why you hold this position
  • What they’ll learn from your essay
  • The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

  • In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
  • In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

  • It gives your writing direction and focus.
  • It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

  • Ask a question about your topic .
  • Write your initial answer.
  • Develop your answer by including reasons.
  • Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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Colorado College

Creative Writing Thesis

Creative writing courses.

English Majors on the Creative Writing Track are required to take a Beginning, Advanced, and Senior Seminar course. The scaffolded creative writing courses provide clear levels of progress centered upon eventually completing the senior project and for deepening student engagement with the craft of developing voice and narrative. Students take an introductory and advanced course in one chosen genre before moving into the senior sequence as described above. Students also take one elective in creative writing or another art discipline as a way of broadening, deepening and diversifying their engagement with creative productivity more generally.

Students interested in more than one genre are encouraged to begin their progress through the track by taking the multi-genre “Introduction to Creative Writing” class before choosing a genre path. Further, senior sequence courses are designed to support hybrid projects that cross and complicate genres, as well as incorporate other mediums and areas of studies.

The Senior Thesis in Creative Writing

The Senior Thesis can take the form of a collection of poetry, essays, short stories, a novella, or even a novel. Hybrid works are also possible and encouraged. Length of the project is determined by the genre, style, and intention of the project. In general, prose works are 40+ pages with some novels as long as 250. Poetry collections vary from 20-40 pages. 

The Senior Thesis is due on the last day of Block 7 and required for graduation. No exceptions. 

EN481 CW Senior Seminar

Scheduling: This is a two-block course held in Fall (b3&4) and Spring (b6&7) only. Please see the Course Path page for more information.  Senior Seminar Sequence: Workshop/Project EN481 Senior Seminar: Two-block advanced study of creative writing culminating in a creative capstone project such as a collection of short stories, a novella or novel, a collection of poems, a long essay or a collection of essays, or hybrid writing project. Required of all senior Creative Writing Track English majors. What is the Creative Writing Senior Sequence? The goal of the Senior Seminar sequence is the submission of a finalized senior project at the end of Block 7 as part of the English Major requirement. The first block of the Senior Seminar operates as a workshop offering students an opportunity to have their work read and critiqued by others. Being a member of the workshop entails:

  • Submitting writing under strict deadlines
  • Turning in writing ready for critique
  • Discussing the scope of the project and goals for the block
  • Reading the work of peers thoughtfully and within the context of their project and the craft of writing
  • Providing both written and oral feedback that is well-supported and constructive.

EN499 Senior Project

Creative writing faculty.

Creative Writing

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Online Dissertation Resources

Dissertations, useful links to online dissertations and theses, university of roehampton theses & masters dissertations, using a thesis held in the roehampton repository in your own work, academic writing style guides.

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We have a range of online resources to help plan, write and finish your dissertation. Although this is aimed primarily at 3rd Year Undergraduates and Postgraduate Taught students, it contains information that can be useful to Postgraduate Research Students.

  • Sage Research Methods (Library Database) Provides a range of useful tools including a Project Planner, which breaks down each stage of your research from defining your topic, reviewing the literature to summarising and writing up.
  • Literature Reviews Checklist - Handout
  • Components of a Dissertation (document) A useful guide to the central components of a dissertation. By the end you should be able to: --Understand the core elements that should be in your dissertation --Understand the structure and progression of a strong dissertation
  • Dissertation Workshop - Handouts Includes a planning template and outline
  • Dissertation Workshop Slides
  • Writing Your Dissertation Guide - Handout

Other Resources

  • Reading Strategies (PDF document) An interactive document on reading at university.
  • How To Write A Literature Review Video - Queen's University Belfast 10 minute video
  • Start to Finish Dissertations Online Webinar from Manchester
  • A to Z of Literature Reviews - University of Manchester 20 minute tutorial
  • Appendices A short example of how to use and cite appendices in your dissertations, essays or projects

Check out these recordings to help you through your Dissertation writing process, from start to finish. 

Dissertation Planning and Writing Series

  • Starting Your Dissertation (Video) 46 minutes This webinar recording will help you with the early stages of planning, researching and writing your dissertation. By the end you should be able to: --Understand the challenges and opportunities of writing a dissertation --Move towards refining your subject and title --Know what steps to take to progress with your dissertation
  • Writing Your Dissertation (Video) 52 minutes This webinar recording will help guide you through the middle stages of writing your dissertation. By the end you should be able to: --Identify the key parts of a high quality dissertation --Understand how to structure your dissertation effectively --Know how to increase the fluency and strength of your argument across an extended piece of writing 
  • Finishing Your Dissertation (Video) 59 minutes This webinar recording aims to guide you through the final stages of writing your dissertation. By the end you should be able to: --Identify key features that should be included in your dissertation --Know how to ensure your dissertation has a strong and cohesive structure --Proofread your work.
  • Using Word to Format Long Documents (Video) 1 hour and 22 minutes A video tutorial on how to format long documents such as Essays and Dissertations using Word. By the end you should be able to: --Create a Table of Contents --Know how to insert page numbers --Be familiar with how to use the various auto-formatting and styles functions to manage longer documents

A selection of external sources that would be of particular use to 3rd Year Undergraduate students and Postgraduate students. 

Please note that the Library does not hold Undergraduate or Masters Dissertations. For information on print and online doctoral theses please see below information on University of Roehampton Thesis Collection

Accessibility

National thesis service provided by the British Library which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK's doctoral theses. NOTE: EthOS is currently unavailable due to ongoing issues following a serious cyber security incident at the BL (January 2024). 

Help using this resource

EBSCO Open Dissertations is an online thesis and dissertation database with access to over 800,000 electronic theses and dissertations worldwide.

  • DART-Europe E-theses Portal Free access to nearly 800,000 open access research theses from 615 universities in 28 European countries.
  • Open Access Theses and Dissertations OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 5,153,410 theses and dissertations.

The university holds a selection of theses and master dissertations awarded by the University of Roehampton.

2013 onwards, Digital Theses

Roehampton Research Explorer - Student Theses

Theses subject to an embargo are not accessible digitally or in hard copy until the embargo period elapses. Embargoes may be applied to protect the rights of the author whilst they explore opportunities for publication, or where sensitive information is held within the thesis.

Please note  that there is a short delay in recently submitted theses appearing on our repository. If you cannot find the thesis you are looking for, please  contact the Research Office .

2004-2013, Print Theses & Masters Dissertations

The University holds a print Theses Collection (including some Masters dissertations) on the 2 nd Floor of the Library. The holdings are not complete as the criteria for inclusion was set by academic departments, and threshold varied between department. Not all student work would be made available to view. The selected works were intended to provide examples of work for students. Some examples were kept in-house, used for teaching purposes, and not available within the library.  Library print holdings were usually kept for up to 10 years and reviewed for relevance.

To search for print theses and masters dissertations use UR Library Search to search for a title or topic and filter by Format > Book > Theses, Dissertation.

1985-2004, Roehampton Institute of Higher Education (RIHE)

Dissertations and theses published between 1985-2004 were awarded by the University of Surrey. The holdings are not complete as the criteria for inclusion was set by academic departments, and threshold varied between department. Not all student work would be made available to view. The selected works were intended to provide examples of work for students.

To search for digitised copies of RHIE theses go to the University of Surrey’s Open Research repository .

You may re-use material from a thesis in the same way you would any other source, i.e. by providing a full citation to the thesis in question, and by not re-using material in a way that may breach the rights of the author.

If you feel your own copyright has been affected by content held in the University of Roehampton repository, please refer to our take down policy and contact us immediately.

  • Government Guidance on exceptions to copyright Details of the exceptions to copyright that allow limited use of copyright works without the permission of the copyright owner.
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  • URL: https://library.roehampton.ac.uk/creativewriting

Below are guidelines for the thesis, which is the culmination of the MFA experience, consisting of a final project under the guidance of an MFA in Creative Writing faculty member.  Here you will find a description of the various aspects of the process, including necessary forms and requirements of the university and of the registrar.

Creative Writing MFA - Thesis Guidelines

Thesis Workshop

Thesis Signature Page

Thesis Title Format

Master's Project Binding Instructions

Thesis Preface Guidelines

Thesis Preface Examples

Preface Example 1

Preface Example 2

Preface Example 3

Preface Example 4

Preface Example 5

Creative Writing

Past thesis titles.

IMAGES

  1. Thesis Writing

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  2. Thesis & Dissertation Title Page

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  3. 45 Perfect Thesis Statement Templates (+ Examples) ᐅ TemplateLab

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  4. 45 Perfect Thesis Statement Templates (+ Examples) ᐅ TemplateLab

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  5. 015 Creative Essay Example Cover ~ Thatsnotus

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  6. Thesis Writing Guide

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VIDEO

  1. HOW TO WRITE RESEARCH TITLE?

  2. Effective ways of writing Thesis / Research Article

  3. Meeting With Thesis Advisor

  4. PhD Thesis Defense. Viktor Mamontov

  5. PhD Thesis Defense. Elizaveta Shvalyuk

  6. PhD Thesis Defense. Anastasiia Merdalimova

COMMENTS

  1. Thesis Title: Examples and Suggestions from a PhD Grad

    Master's thesis title examples. Creation of an autonomous impulse response measurement system for rooms and transducers with different methods. Guy-Bart Stan, 2000 - Bioengineering - Imperial Professor - direct link to Guy-Bart's bioengineering academic CV. Segmentation of Nerve Bundles and Ganglia in Spine MRI using Particle Filters.

  2. BA Thesis

    The thesis—typically in the form of a collection of short stories, poems, essays, or a novel excerpt—is a significant, polished, original creative work; the culmination of your study at the University of Chicago; and an opportunity to deepen your understanding of writing craft. Over the course of four quarters, in consultation with a ...

  3. A Matter of Value: Creative Writing Strategies and Their Transference

    A writer and a creative writer uses eight habits of mind to communicate, according. to Sullivan (this is the second time he mentions writing in general as some form of habit). The habits are as follows: curiosity, openness, engagement, creativity, persistence, responsibility, flexibility, and metacognition (16).

  4. M.F.A. in Creative Writing

    The M.F.A. Creative Thesis must be accompanied by a critical paper of 7 to 10 pages, analyzing comparable texts that exemplify the literary tradition from which your thesis springs. This paper may discuss the influence of analyzed works on the thesis, but will focus on a discussion of the craft evident in the creative works discussed. To read ...

  5. Browsing MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics by Title

    Bag of Flesh: MFA Thesis . Donnelly, Ellen Hathaway. Bag of Flesh: MFA Thesis is a collection of short stories and poems centered on dysfunctional personalities. Using a range of voices, the book explores issues of identity and selfhood in restrictive societies.

  6. Creative Writing Theses and Dissertations

    sermon for a believer -- the gospel -- sanctuary -- me an punkin an alla'dem -- ninth ward -- before the war of the righteous everybody go get saved -- meditation on a little black dress -- from the purple letters -- how ...

  7. PDF Creative Writing Thesis Overview and Guidelines

    If you wish to pursue a creative writing thesis, include the following components in your 3-5 page prospectus: 1) Project description (3-5 paragraphs) explaining the project's genre, subject, and scope; 2) An artist's statement (3-5 paragraphs) explaining at least five important influences that have shaped

  8. PDF How to Write a Creative Honors Thesis

    Like traditional theses, creative theses have a written component. Projects must include a final artist's statement of about ten pages in length describing your intent in producing the creative work, your influences (e.g. other artists' work, musical styles, or performances). Here you will describe the history and process of the project's ...

  9. A look inside the creative senior thesis

    Crystal Liu — Creative Writing. Crystal Liu, a philosophy major from Seattle, wrote a collection of poems titled "Memory House" as her thesis in creative writing. Tracy K. Smith, professor of creative writing and U.S. poet laureate, advised Liu as she explored the intertwining ideas of family, personal history and memory.

  10. Writing a Creative Thesis: An Interview with Edric Huang '18

    Edric Huang, Class of 2018, Anthropology Major with Certificates in Creative Writing and Urban Studies. A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed Kristin Hauge about her independent work in the Music Department to highlight creative independent work in the arts. This week, I got in touch with Edric Huang, a senior in the Anthropology Department with certificates in Urban Studies and Creative Writing.

  11. (PDF) ENHANCING STUDENTS' CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS: AN ...

    E NHANCING STUDENTS' C REATIVE W RITING SKILLS: AN. A CTION R ESEARCH PROJECT. Laraib Nasir, Syeda Meenoo Naqvi, Shelina Bhamani. Abstract: This research aimed to improve written expression ...

  12. How to Write a Great Title

    Entice the reader. Find a way to pique your readers' interest, give them enough information to keep them reading. Incorporate important keywords. Consider what about your article will be most interesting to your audience: Most readers come to an article from a search engine, so take some time and include the important ones in your title ...

  13. MFA Thesis

    The thesis committee is made up of a chair drawn from the Creative Writing faculty; a second reader typically drawn from the Creative Writing faculty (including adjuncts), and an "external member" (third reader) drawn from outside the Creative Writing Program. ... If a student wishes to present a thesis that includes writing in more than ...

  14. Sample Thesis Titles

    Sample Thesis Titles. Completing a thesis is the capstone experience of the QMSS program. Students take this opportunity to apply the tools and methodologies developed through their coursework to questions of particular interest to them. The list of theses below demonstrates the broad array of substantive subject areas to which our graduates ...

  15. Thesis with creative works

    The combined volume of work of the creative works and dissertation for a doctoral thesis would be equivalent to approximately 80,000 -100,000 words. For a masters degree, the combined volume of work would be equivalent to approximately 40,000-50,000 words. Any thesis that exceeds the maximum limit requires permission to proceed to examination ...

  16. PDF Senior Thesis Guidelines

    99r; it will not be evaluated by others. Many thesis writers have completed a first chapter or equivalent earlier in the term; if this is the case and your advisor has read it, you need not submit another chapter at this point. February 10, 2020 Thesis titles and format due to Lauren (creative) Thesis titles and abstract due to Lauren (critical)

  17. How to Write a Thesis Statement

    Step 2: Write your initial answer. After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process. The internet has had more of a positive than a negative effect on education.

  18. Creative Writing Thesis

    The Senior Thesis in Creative Writing. The Senior Thesis can take the form of a collection of poetry, essays, short stories, a novella, or even a novel. Hybrid works are also possible and encouraged. Length of the project is determined by the genre, style, and intention of the project. In general, prose works are 40+ pages with some novels as ...

  19. PDF Class of '23 Creative Thesis Handout

    The thesis will receive a "review" and a letter grade from a faculty reader, in consultation with the thesis advisor. There is no set length for the thesis. Fiction theses have ranged from 80 to 400+ pages, 100-200 pages being typical. A poetry thesis normally contains 20-40 poems, depending on their length.

  20. Dissertations & Theses

    Dissertations and theses published between 1985-2004 were awarded by the University of Surrey. The holdings are not complete as the criteria for inclusion was set by academic departments, and threshold varied between department. Not all student work would be made available to view.

  21. The Honors Thesis in Creative Writing

    The honors thesis must be work that has been rigorously workshopped in the past, and is in most cases a further revision of the manuscript worked on during Manuscript Workshop. Creative Writing Senior Honors Thesis Proposal Process. By Thanksgiving Break, choose a thesis advisor (a member of the creative writing faculty).

  22. Thesis

    Thesis Below are guidelines for the thesis, which is the culmination of the MFA experience, consisting of a final project under the guidance of an MFA in Creative Writing faculty member. Here you will find a description of the various aspects of the process, including necessary forms and requirements of the university and of the registrar.

  23. Past Thesis Titles

    2010. Allison R Werner: Orbital Bodies. Jennifer Burris: Hope. Julia Patrick: The stories our mothers tell and other tales of transformation and growth. Marena Lear: The Woman Who Loves: Poems. Susan Lynch: Ethics for Invisible Worlds. Vanessa Veselka: Josephine and Ursula.