M.A. Thesis Guidelines

The Master's Thesis represents an original work of research based on primary materials.  Students must find, on their own initiative, an adviser appropriate to the topic.  The adviser should be a faculty member (Assistant, Associate or Full Professor) of the Council on East Asian Studies (CEAS).  With permission of the DGS, the adviser can be a visiting faculty member associated with CEAS.  If a student can’t find an advisor, then the DGS may co-advise or help to find a suitable advisor.

Students should agree on the topic with the adviser, and then obtain the approval of the DGS for the topic and adviser.  The adviser must confirm in writing with the DGS and CEAS Registrar that they will be serving as your adviser.

Students must enroll in EAST 900: Masters Thesis in the semester in which the thesis will be submitted.  (EAST 900 may be counted among the 16 required courses for the degree.)  Your thesis advisor will submit their grade directly to the DGS and CEAS Registrar utilizing the M.A. Thesis Reader’s Report Form. If you have two readers, only one of them can submit the grade.

The length should be no more than 8,000-12,000 words (about 35-40 double-spaced pages).