Thesis

Thesis research represents an attempt to answer a research question or test a research hypothesis that has some significance to the discipline. The work is conducted under the guidance and mentoring of the student's thesis committee. The written thesis is the culmination of the student’s research. It communicates the research problem, its significance, its context within the literature, the methods used to conduct the research, data and results, how the results fit into the larger perspective, and references cited.

Thesis Committee

Your thesis advisory committee (or simply ‘thesis committee’) is comprised of your thesis advisor (also called your advisor, thesis director, or committee chair) and two other tenured or tenure -track faculty members from the department. Your thesis advisor is chair of your thesis committee and should be determined early in your program, ideally by the middle of your second semester. You may choose to include one additional (a fourth) committee member from outside the department, usually an OU faculty member from the most relevant cognate field. In that case, the optional fourth member of the committee will vote on committee decisions if they are a member of the graduate faculty in their home department. Alternatively, you may select as a fourth committee member an emeritus or a non-tenure track professor in our department to serve in an advisory (non-voting) capacity. In all cases, the optional fourth committee member must have at least a master’s degree. Only tenured or tenure-track faculty from the Geography department can serve as a thesis director or as one of the other two main members of your thesis committee. Each student must successfully defend the thesis proposal, and later the final thesis, in front of this committee and must satisfactorily complete revisions to the thesis as specified and reviewed by the committee or thesis advisor. It is expected that the members of the thesis committee remain the same from proposal to thesis defense, but substitutions may be made under exceptional circumstances.

Thesis Proposal

Students should plan to defend a thesis proposal by the end of the second semester of their program in order to allow sufficient time to conduct thesis research. If a defense during the student’s second term is not possible, students may use the break after their second semester to prepare for a proposal defense early in their third semester. Students must have their thesis proposal defended no later than the end of the 5th week of their third semester. Submit the signed Thesis Proposal Defense form to the Graduate Chair when the committee approves this proposal.

You are expected to follow the instructions of your advisor as to the content and length of your thesis proposal, but most proposals are 15-20 pages long and include an introduction, review of literature, statement of a research question(s) or research hypothesis, methodology, discussion of the significance of the research, time table, and references cited. Once a proposal meets the advisor’s approval it is distributed to each committee member at least one week prior to the scheduled proposal defense meeting

The Written Thesis

Like the proposal, the thesis is written with the advice and guidance of the advisor. The thesis defense occurs only after the advisor has approved the thesis and agrees that it may be distributed to the thesis committee. The thesis must be given to committee members at least one week prior to the thesis defense.

Virtually all students have some revisions to make to their thesis after the defense. Once the revisions are completed and the committee has given final approval to the thesis, you must submit an electronic copy of it to the Thesis and Dissertation (TAD) Services office of the Graduate College. Your advisor or the Graduate Chair then submits the signed thesis defense form to the College of Arts and Sciences. Formatting, submission, deadlines for the current academic year, and other guidelines for the thesis are posted on the TAD Services part of the Graduate College webpage.

Proposal and Thesis Defenses

When your advisor agrees that your proposal or thesis is ready to be circulated to your committee and defended, you can schedule your defense for a time that is acceptable to your committee. Every attempt should be made to schedule defenses during the fall or spring semester. Faculty members may not be available for defenses during summer, other break periods, or holidays. The defending student is responsible for arranging a time and room for each defense. Scheduling a two-hour block of time is recommended, especially for the thesis defense. Consult with your thesis advisor to reserve an appropriate space for the proposal and thesis defense. Once your thesis defense is scheduled, prepare a flyer that lists your name, thesis title, a photo or illustration relevant to your thesis topic, and the date, time, and location of the defense. Post these around the department to notify the rest of the OU Geography community about the thesis defense and share the flyer with the Graduate Chair for circulation to faculty. Share the Arrangement for the Oral Thesis Defense form with your thesis advisor when you have your day/time arranged.

Both the proposal defense and the thesis defense begin with an approximately 20 -minute presentation in which the student summarizes the essential aspects of the proposed or completed study. The committee members and other interested faculty and graduate students attend the presentation. After questions from the general audience, the advisor excuses the general audience to begin the part of the defense reserved for the student and committee alone. Unanimous approval by the voting members of the committee is required to pass a proposal or thesis defense. With additional preparation as directed by the student’s advisory committee, a proposal or thesis that was not successfully defended can be redefended for possible approval. 

Be sure to take the required Report on the Oral Thesis Examination form, part of which you fill out, to both the proposal and the thesis defenses. The forms are available from the Department of Geography’s Geography Graduate Courses & Resources page. Your committee chair will keep the signed form until the committee is satisfied with the final, revised version of the thesis.