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Thesis Guidelines and Forms

In this section

There are three sets of guidelines that apply to the Master Thesis within College of Science and Engineering at University of Houston-Clear Lake: CSE Guidelines for a Thesis Proposal, UH-Clear Lake Thesis Formatting Guide and Library Formatting Requirements. CSE Guidelines are above and beyond the UH-Clear Lake Guidelines. Some colleges, including CSE, specify more details beyond the UH-Clear Lake guidelines.

CSE Guidelines - Thesis Proposal

The proposal should employ good grammar and proper sentence construction with correct spelling and punctuation. The proposal should be typed and well organized. If acronyms or very specialized words are used, a glossary of definitions should be available in the appendix. The proposal should be written as though the reader was a typical scientist or engineer and not a specialist on the topic of the proposal. Referenced publications or prior studies listed in the bibliography should be cited in the body of the proposal. Follow the Style Manual appropriate for your discipline as recommended by your Thesis Chair.

Overall

The proposal should employ good grammar and proper sentence construction with correct spelling and punctuation. The proposal should be typed and well organized. If acronyms or very specialized words are used, a glossary of definitions should be available in the appendix. The proposal should be written as though the reader was a typical scientist or engineer and not a specialist on the topic of the proposal. Referenced publications or prior studies listed in the bibliography should be cited in the body of the proposal. (You should check with your advisor to determine which Style Manual is to be followed for your discipline).

Please note: your proposal should be thought of as being the initial stages of your final thesis, rather than as a paper separate from the thesis. Consider your proposal to be a preview of the organization and quality that will go into your thesis. Thus, effort put into the proposal should contribute directly to the final product, the thesis itself.

Length

There is no required minimum length, however the length should be sufficient to cover all the items listed below. Clarity and conciseness should be emphasized. Typical proposals contain between 6 and 20 pages.

Contents

In general, the following categories should be contained in the proposal:

  1. A review of the background relating to the problem being addressed (e.g., know the concepts, methods or previous work relevant to the subject.
  2. A clear statement of the problem, (i.e., what is to be explained or investigated? Why is the work being done? What are the objectives of the work? What benefits are expected?)
  3. If a new or unusual approach is to be tried, reasons why it might be expected to succeed, particularly in contrast to other approaches that may have failed.
  4. A clear statement of the work that is to be done. (e.g. What are you planning to do and perhaps what are others associated with the project planning to do? What are the details of the investigation? Is the work a simulation, the development of a model, theory, instrument or software, a statistical analysis of existing data, testing of an existing technique under new circumstances, or an experimental search for data to be generated in a laboratory or out in the field, etc.?) It is appropriate to consider (and include) a timetable of when various steps of the work are expected to be completed.
  5. A description of the actual methods, instruments, materials, protocols, software or reagents that will be used in the investigation. This section should address whether all times needed for the investigation are available; if they are not, a plan for gaining access to such items or circumventing their necessity should be included.
  6. A brief summary of possible outcomes of the work.

Example of Some Major Sections

(Note: not all sections listed below may be useful or appropriate; alternatively, other sections not included here may be necessary).

  1. Table of Contents
  2. Abstract
  3. Introduction and Background
  4. Statement of the Problem
  5. Details of the Proposed Investigation
  6. Materials, Methods or Instruments to be Used
  7. Summary
  8. References (or Bibliography)
  9. Appendices (e.g., Glossary, computer programs, etc.)

UH-Clear Lake Guidelines - Thesis Formatting

These guidelines serve as the technical blueprint for the thesis. The responsibility of ensuring that these university guidelines are followed lies with the student, the thesis committee, the library, and the Office of the Associate Dean. The responsibility for the scholarship of the thesis lies directly with the student and the thesis committee, particularly the thesis chair, and indirectly with the Office of the Associate Dean. The completed thesis is an index of the scholarly ability of its author. The final copy must be a professional quality manuscript, correct in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Ordinarily, future tense and the use of first person pronouns are not acceptable. For detailed information, please visit Library Guidelines - Thesis Formatting Requirements.

Library Guidelines - Thesis Formatting Requirements

UHCL's Alfred R. Neumann Library electronically preserves all theses that are submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for UHCL master's degrees.

Theses are to be submitted electronically through the Vireo Thesis & Dissertation Submission System, where the work will be accessible directly from the Neumann Library Institutional Repository, hosted by the Neumann Library and the Texas Digital Library (TDL). Print theses are not required and will not be accepted. As an extra measure of security, students are strongly encouraged to keep a copy of their approved thesis/project and to provide an additional copy to their supervisor/department.

As the repository for UHCL theses, Neumann Library is charged with making sure the documents submitted for preservation meet the format standards of University. Any other content, beyond the formatting listed in the Format & Submission Guidelines, is subject to the approval of your thesis committee. For detailed information, please visit Library Guidelines - Thesis Formatting Requirements.

Guidelines For Research Involving Humans or Animals

If you are planning to conduct research that involves vertebrate animals or humans, you are required to include the appropriate application forms in your research proposal. You will subsequently be required to submit the application to the appropriate UH-Clear Lake committee (e.g., IACUC [Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee] or CPHS [Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects]) and receive approval before beginning any work on your research project. IACUC and/or CPHS applications and approval documents must be included in the final research report submitted.

The required information and application forms can be found at the locations listed below.

  1. For research involving vertebrate animals
  2. For research involving human subjects

Print out the appropriate forms, complete them and attach to your research proposal.

  1. Protection of Human Subjects
  2. CPHS Application Form
  3. Consent and Assent Forms
  4. Federal and University Guidelines

Forms

  1. Master's Option Course Enrollment
  2. Registration Form and Record of Independent Study