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School of Graduate Studies
PO Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372

Phone: 910.521.6271 or 1.866.521.GRAD (4723)
Fax: 910.521.6751
Email: grad@uncp.edu

Location: Lumbee Hall, Room 253
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directions for the preparation of a thesis

Students required to complete a thesis as part of their program requirements, and other students interested in completing a thesis as part of their program of study, should follow these steps.

• Not later than halfway through the program of study, talk with the program coordinator/director about possible thesis topics and the selection of an advisor for the thesis. The program coordinator/director will help the student identify a thesis advisor. This should be a graduate faculty member in the student's program area with whom he/she feels comfortable. The graduate student should talk with the prospective advisor about possible thesis topics. When the thesis advisor has been identified, it is the student's responsibility to file Form 1: Thesis Advisor (PDF - requires Adobe Reader) with the Office of Graduate Studies.
• In the appropriate semester/summer session, the student should register for the thesis course. Once registered for the course, the graduate student should prepare the written prospectus for the thesis. The prospectus should contain the following:

  Title Page (including proposed title, student name, thesis committee members, date)
  Introduction to the proposed thesis
  Preliminary review of related literature
  Proposed research questions/hypotheses to be studied
  Proposed subjects to be used (if applicable)
  Proposed research design/methodology to be used
  Proposed statistical analyses to be used (if applicable)
  Proposed instruments to be used (if applicable)
  Bibliography/References

  The student is responsible for securing the necessary copies of the prospectus for the thesis committee.

• When the student registers for the thesis course, the Office of Graduate Studies will forward Form 2 to the thesis advisor of record. It is the responsibility of the thesis advisor to return this form to the Office of Graduate Studies in a timely manner.
• When the thesis advisor is satisfied with the written prospectus for the thesis, he/she will convene the thesis committee to conduct the preliminary oral examination of the student. Upon successful completion of the preliminary oral examination, the thesis advisor forwards Form 3: Preliminary Oral Examination (PDF - requires Adobe Reader) and a copy of the prospectus to the Office of Graduate Studies. (M.A. in Music Education students presenting an applied music project must complete and submit the "Warrant" (PDF - requires Adobe Reader) after the prospectus has been approved.)
• If the proposed thesis involves the use of human subjects, once the prospectus is approved by the thesis committee, the student must submit the required information to the chair of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke's Institutional Review Board for Research Involving Human Subjects (IRB). The student may not proceed with the thesis until approval from this board is secured. Information on the IRB is included in Attachment 1.
• Once the proposed thesis has been approved by the student's thesis committee, and the UNCP IRB (if applicable) , the student should conduct the proposed research. It is important that the student regularly update his/her thesis advisor on the progress being made on the thesis.
• The student works with his/her thesis advisor to prepare the written thesis. The thesis should be prepared according to disciplinary and program standards. It must contain the following elements:

  Title Page (See Sample (PDF - requires Adobe Reader)
  Abstract of the research and findings (one Page/single spaced)
  Acknowledgments (if the student wishes to do so)
  Table of Contents
  Review of related literature
  Conclusions/Discussion
  References
  Instruments used (in appendices, if applicable)

• When the thesis advisor is satisfied with the written thesis, s/he will convene the thesis committee to conduct the final oral examination of the student. Upon successful completion of the final oral examination, the thesis advisor forwards Form 4: Final Oral Examination (PDF - requires Adobe Reader) to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.


• When all final corrections to the thesis are made, it is the responsibility of the student to provide the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies with a single copy of the work on ordinary bond paper for Graduate School approval. This is due in the Office of Graduate Studies at least two weeks before the end of the semester in which the student expects to complete degree requirements. This copy will be reviewed and marked before being returned to the student for revision (if needed). All copies submitted after final Graduate School approval for binding and processing must
  be on paper that is 8.5 x 11 inch, 20-pound weight, white or very light cream in color, acid-free, at least 25% cotton content (archival quality) paper. All final copies must be free of streaks and smudges, and must be correctly aligned on each page.The student is responsible for the cost of binding, and may arrange to have additional copies bound.

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