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Texas State > The Graduate College > Thesis/Dissertation Information > Graduate College Guide to Preparing and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation > III

III

CHAPTER III

THESIS OR DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Proposal Preparation

With the guidance of the student’s thesis or dissertation committee, the

student will produce a proposal. This proposal states the problem the student

intends to address and the means and resources with which the student

intends to solve it. In preparing the proposal, the student must follow the

latest edition of Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses,

and Dissertations, using parenthetical citation and reference format, or conform

to the specific guidelines in the student’s major department/graduate program.

Submission of the Thesis or Dissertation Proposal

The thesis or dissertation proposal is submitted to the Graduate College.

The signed thesis or dissertation proposal is the commitment between the

student and the university

Thesis Proposal

One copy of the Proposed Thesis Research form (see Appendix A) with the

thesis project description attached is submitted to the Graduate College. The

proposal form must bear original signatures of the student, the student’s

committee members, and the Department Chair. The chair will forward the

signed forms to the Dean of the Graduate College for approval and signature.

The Graduate College will return a copy of the approved thesis proposal form

to the committee chair. The Office of the Graduate College will retain the

original approved proposal form with attached thesis project description.

Dissertation Proposal

One copy of the Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal form (see Appendix A) and

proposal is submitted to the Graduate College. The proposal form must bear

original signatures of the student, the student’s committee members, the Ph.D.

Program Director and the Department Chair. The chair will forward the signed

forms to the Dean of the Graduate College for review and signature.

The Graduate College will return a copy of the approved dissertation proposal

form to the committee chair. The Office of the Graduate College will retain the

original approved proposal form and proposal.

Changes in the Thesis or Dissertation Topic

It is anticipated that the research design may need to be modified over the

course of the project. Revisions to the proposal are not necessary under such

circumstances. However, if the Committee Chair judges that major changes in

the research design are necessary or if a new topic is selected, the student must

submit a new proposal.

If a dissertation topic changes resulting in submission of a new proposal after

the initial proposal has been defended (see Chapter IV. for dissertation proposal

defense procedure), the student must repeat the procedure to defend the new

dissertation proposal.