Plant Biology Master's Thesis
About the M.S. Thesis
The student should meet once a semester with each committee member for informal progress reports.
The thesis must use the format provided by the Thesis and Dissertation Services (TAD) by using the template provided by TAD.
The M.S. thesis must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks before the examination date. The committee must approve the examination date.
The thesis will be orally defended in a formal, public presentation. After the public presentation, the committee will conduct a closed-door defense to thoroughly evaluate the quality of the research. At this time, the committee will provide constructive comments to improve unsatisfactory sections.
This public presentation defense will be the student’s second PBIO 6970.
- The student should obtain copies of the Graduate Seminar/Final Seminar Critique Form from the departmental website and distribute it to his or her committee.
The oral defense must be approved unanimously, as evident by presenting a committee signed CAS#8 Report on the Oral Thesis Examination Defense [PDF] to the Graduate Chair.
- If a student receives only two passes, the committee, adviser, and student should work together in an attempt to satisfy the dissenting opinion via revision or additional work.
- If a student receives less than two passes, a report of the thesis examination (indicating that the student has failed) will be submitted and the student will be dismissed from the graduate program.
A PDF of the finalized thesis will be submitted to TAD, along with CAS#8.
M.S. Thesis Committee and Proposal
The adviser will chair the thesis committee with two other appropriate faculty members; one must be a Plant Biology tenure-track faculty member.
The student will present a draft thesis proposal to the adviser at the beginning of the second semester for comment. At this time, the student needs to select the thesis committee.
No later than the end of the second semester, the thesis committee must unanimously approve the research proposal by signing the PBIO Proposal Defense Form. The form should be presented to the Graduate Chair along with a hard copy of the proposal.
If the research project changes substantively (i.e., hypothesis or experimental design), the student must submit an updated proposal and seek approval of the committee.