what’s a college thesis

One great way to think of this is to think about what you would like the end result of your paper to be and write the thesis statement from that point of view.
If it doesn’t, it will most likely sound like either a statement based on research or a position on an unclear subject.

There are several advantages that you can reap from choosing a master’s program that requires the completion of a thesis project, according to Professor John Stackhouse. A thesis gives you the valuable opportunity to delve into interesting research for greater depth of learning in your career area. Employers often prefer students with a thesis paper in their portfolio, because it showcases their gained writing skills, authoritative awareness of the field, and ambition to learn. Defending your thesis will also fine-tune critical communication and public speaking skills, which can be applied in any career. In fact, many graduates eventually publish their thesis work in academic journals to gain a higher level of credibility for leadership positions too.
It’s common for graduate students to mistakenly use the words “thesis” and “dissertation” interchangeably, but they are generally two different types of academic papers. As stated above, a thesis is the final project required in the completion of many master’s degrees. The thesis is a research paper, but it only involves using research from others and crafting your own analytical points. On the other hand, the dissertation is a more in-depth scholarly research paper completed mostly by doctoral students. Dissertations require candidates create their own research, predict a hypothesis, and carry out the study. Whereas a master’s thesis is usually around 100 pages, the doctoral dissertation is at least double that length.

Did you know that some graduate schools remove the thesis requirement for students who complete field experience? If you think this sounds like an easier option, keep in mind that your school may require that you complete 300 hours or more of supervised fieldwork after finishing your studies. This may also mean that it takes you three or more years to finish your degree. Students who do a thesis often finish within two years or less. Schools that offer fieldwork in lieu of a thesis often require that students complete detailed logs of the work they do and present those logs to the department before graduating.
Prior to entering graduate school, many students might wonder if all graduate students do a thesis. Despite what you might hear, a thesis isn’t always a requirement for completing all graduate school programs. It often depends on the type of subject you study, but some schools offer both a thesis and a non-thesis route that lets students take more classes in lieu of doing a thesis. Once you learn more about the alternatives to a thesis, you can better decide which option is right for you.

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Plan to spend half of your time researching and the other half writing. Often, students spend too much time researching and then find themselves in a crunch, madly writing in the final hours. Give yourself goals to reach along certain “signposts,” such as the number of hours you want to have invested each week or by a certain date or how much you want to have completed in those same timeframes.

A masters degree thesis is more closely related to a research paper that you would have completed during college. You are expected only to use the research of others and provide your own analysis on your discoveries. It demonstrates your level of critical and analytical thinking and defines the subject that you are most interested in pursuing within your field. With a dissertation, you are expected to use the research of others only to guide you in your own research to come up with a completely new hypothesis.
So you are beginning your graduate program, reading over all the material and trying to prepare yourself as best as possible for the next two to three years. You’re already looking forward to graduation and figuring out exactly what will be required in order to receive your degree on time. What you’ve probably discovered is that whether you are pursuing a masters degree or a doctoral degree, the main goal in graduate school is to complete original research or projects, depending on your degree program.

References:

http://www.gradschoolhub.com/faqs/what-is-a-thesis/
http://www.gradschoolhub.com/faqs/do-all-graduate-students-do-a-thesis/
http://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-senior-thesis-1857482
http://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/64C6D277/What-Is-the-Difference-Between-a-Thesis-and-a-Dissertation/
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/