Department of English

Thesis or Three-Paper Option

 

Each graduate student is required to complete either a thesis or "three-paper" option. The critical thesis is an approximately 75-100 page study of a particular scholarly question. It may develop and extend an essay written for a graduate class. The creative thesis is a 40-65 page collection of poetry or 75-100 page collection of prose. The creative thesis is an option ONLY for student pursuing an MA in Creative Writing. The three-paper option takes three separate essays of approximately 25 pages each and develops them to publishable quality. If the student uses essays or creative work prepared for graduate classes, these essays or creative work must be substantially revised and, as previously noted, developed to the level of being publishable.

The thesis/three-paper option is required to complete the degree. To learn about the Graduate School's deadlines and formatting requirements for the thesis, go to http://www2.creighton.edu/gradschool/currentstudentinfo/

thesisguidelines/formatandorder/index.php. To learn about the English Department's requirements, read on.

Process

The thesis/TPO is to be submitted during the student's final semester, though the student is encouraged to work on it prior to this time. The student is required to enroll in ENG 798 during that semester and is thus given course credit for the work in preparing the Thesis/TPO.

For the Thesis

The student will designate one professor as her/his Thesis Supervisor. This individual oversees the student's work and is the main source of advice and feedback in the project. In addition, the student must choose two other readers who will evaluate the completed thesis. The Thesis Supervisor and the two readers must be English department faculty members with graduate faculty status. The student must choose a supervisor as well as the two readers at the start of the semester during which s/he is enrolled in ENG 798. S/he must also notify the graduate director(s) in writing of the prospective thesis title and topic and the thesis committee (supervisor and two readers) no later than the first week of the semester in which s/he is enrolled in ENG 798.

When the student and the supervisor feel that the thesis is complete, the student is responsible for distributing the thesis to the other two readers on the committee. This should be done well in advance of the annually appointed deadline set by the Graduate School (see Graduate Bulletin for the deadline for each year). The student may invite the two non-supervisory readers to read the thesis and provide feedback in advance of the final completion, but the readers are not obligated to agree to read anything more than the final product.

Two of the three members of the committee must pass the thesis in order for the thesis to pass and for the student to complete this requirement for the degree.

Once it is passed, the student is responsible for obtaining the appropriate signatures, seeing to the appropriate formatting and binding of the thesis and submitting these to the Graduate School Office by the official deadline. Students should consult the Graduate School's document "Guidelines for Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation" for specific formatting and binding guidelines.

Three-Paper Option

For EACH of the three papers, the student must designate a primary supervisor and two additional readers for the committee for EACH paper. A professor may be supervisor or reader on more than one paper, but EACH paper must have a designated supervisor and two additional designated readers.

The supervisor for EACH paper oversees the student's work and is the main source of advice and feedback for the particular paper. The student must choose a supervisor as well as the two readers for EACH of the three essays at the start of the semester during which s/he is enrolled in ENG 798. S/he must also notify the graduate director(s) in writing of the prospective title and topic of EACH of the three papers and the designated committee (supervisor and two readers) for EACH of the three papers no later than the first week of the semester during which s/he is enrolled in ENG 798.

When the student and the supervising professor of EACH paper feel that the paper is complete, the student is responsible for distributing the essay to the other two readers on the committee for that paper. This should be done well in advance of the annually appointed deadline set by the Graduate School (see Graduate Bulletin for the deadline for each year). The student may invite the two non-supervisory readers to read the essay and provide feedback in advance of the final completion, but the readers are not obligated to agree to read anything more than the final product.

Two of the three members of the committee must pass EACH essay in order for the student to complete the requirement. All three papers in the three-paper project must receive the grade of Pass.

For additional information:

 

Dr. Greg Zacharias,

Director of Graduate Studies

Department of English, CA 303D

Hitchcock Communication Arts
Creighton University
Omaha, NE 68178
Phone: (402) 280-2729
Fax: (402) 280-2143

gwzach@creighton.edu

 

 

For information, contact Jackie Masker, Senior Administrative Assistant, at 402.280.2822 or jackie@creighton.edu