master degree thesis supervisor

• Masters Thesis and Supervisor

[Part of the Policies of the CHD, August 2019]

Master’s Thesis

A candidate for a terminal Master's degree, with the prior approval of a faculty supervisor and of the CHD, may undertake an extended reading and research project resulting in what amounts to a Master's thesis.  The thesis is optional for the S.M. degree and required for the M.E. degree.  In connection with this project, an S.M. candidate may take no more than two SEAS letter-graded reading and research courses (299r), no more than one in any given semester.  M.E. candidates may take up to one 299r course as part of the eight letter-graded courses and are required to take eight 300-level reading and research courses. 

Second Reader

When a thesis project is pursued in connection with a terminal Master’s degree, the thesis supervisor, in consultation with the student, shall nominate an outside reader who is a member of the SEAS faculty for approval by the CHD by course-enrollment day of their second semester in the case of SM students, or by course-enrollment day of their third semester for M.E. students.  Ordinarily, both the supervisor and reader must be members of the SEAS faculty; exceptions must be approved by the CHD.

An initial draft of the thesis must be transmitted to the supervisor before Spring Recess of the student’s final semester (or Thanksgiving Recess if the student’s final semester is the fall). The final draft of the thesis, incorporating any revisions given on prior drafts by the thesis supervisor and outside reader, must be transmitted to the thesis supervisor and outside reader by the first day of Reading Period, and the student should simultaneously submit a one- or two-page abstract to the Office of Academic Programs. The thesis supervisor and outside reader should each submit to the Office of Academic Programs by the last day of Reading Period a letter giving their evaluation of the thesis.

It is expected that such a thesis will represent a more substantial contribution than is customary for an undergraduate senior thesis, but less so than a doctoral dissertation. The thesis will follow a similar format to a Ph.D. dissertation, and satisfy similar criteria. The main difference is in the volume of original work expected of a master’s thesis, which might have the content of roughly 25% of original research as in the Ph.D. dissertation. No part of a master’s thesis may be included in a subsequent Ph.D. dissertation. The student should note that the following four points should be covered in a master’s thesis: introduction, stating the question being asked, or hypothesis being tested, or design challenge being addressed; literature review, summarizing pertinent prior work; original research or design; and conclusions, stating what was learned.

The thesis abstract and evaluations will be made part of the student's permanent record. When an S.M. or M.E. program plan approved by the CHD provides for or requires the preparation of a thesis, awarding of the degree will not be recommended until the abstract and satisfactory evaluations have been received by the Office of Academic Programs.   Unsatisfactory evaluations of the thesis will be reflected as unsatisfactory grades given by the supervisor in the student’s 300-level and/or 299r courses and will preclude the awarding of the M.E. degree; M.E. students who otherwise have met the requirements for the S.M. may apply for that degree to be conferred on the next degree date.

M.E. students who are in-between supervisors

M.E. students who do not remain with their initial supervisor are expected to secure a new supervisor by the end of the second semester.  Students who cannot identify a new supervisor by that time will be expected to withdraw from the program based on a lack of progress to degree, receiving the S.M. if they have met the requirements for that degree.  Such students may petition to remain for a third semester in order to satisfy the S.M. requirements.

The new supervisor will normally be a member of the SEAS faculty.  Permission for a student to have a non-SEAS supervisor may be given by the Director of Graduate Studies; such students must also have a SEAS faculty member as co-advisor.

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Eight tips to effectively supervise students during their Master's thesis

Jul 30, 2021 PhD

I am a fan of knowledge transfer between peers, teaching what I know to others and learning back from them. At University I frequently helped my fellow course mates with the material, so I was very interested in formally mentoring students when I started my PhD. Luckily my supervisor, who is really talented at this, agreed to let me help him with supervising some Master’s theses. In this article, also published as a Nature Career Column , I present eight lessons that I learned by watching him at work and trying on my own.

I supervised three Master’s students in the past year. One of them was quite good and independent, did not need a lot of guidance and could take care of most things on his own, while the other two required a fair amount of help from us, one of them even coming close to not graduating successfully. Dealing with the difficult situations is when I learned the most important lessons, but regardless of the ability of the students a common thread soon appeared.

But first, here’s a brief digression on how that happened. While I was writing a draft for this blog, I noticed an interesting article on Nature’s newsletter. While I was reading it, I felt its style was quite similar to what I usually aim for in this blog: use headlines to highlight the important points, and elaborate on those with a few paragraphs. I then noticed the author of that column was a PhD student, and I thought: “how comes she has an article there? Why can she do that? Can I do that?”. I quickly found how to do it , finished the draft and sent it to them, and, after eight rounds of review in the course of two months, the article was finally up! The editor was very responsive and we could iterate quickly on the manuscript, and the quality of the writing is so much better than what I had originally sent in. On the other hand, I sometimes felt the message was being warped a bit too much. After the editing process was finished I had to agree to an Embargo Period of six months during which Nature had the exclusive right of publishing the final version on their website. As those six months are now over, I am finally allowed to publish the final version here, too. Enjoy!

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Nature Career Column . The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02028-1 .

The lessons I learnt supervising master’s students for the first time

PhD student Emilio Dorigatti supported three junior colleagues during their degrees.

I started my PhD wanting to improve not only my scientific abilities, but also ‘soft skills’ such as communication, mentoring and project management. To this end, I joined as many social academic activities as I could find, including journal clubs, seminars, teaching assistance, hackathons, presentations and collaborations.

I am a bioinformatics PhD student at the Munich School for Data Science in Germany, jointly supervised by Bernd Bischl at the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich and Benjamin Schubert at the Helmholtz Centre Munich, the German Research Center for Environmental Health. When I went to them asking to gain some experience in communication and mentoring soft skills, they suggested that I co-supervise three of Benjamin’s master’s students.

At first, I felt out of my depth, so I simply sat in on their meetings and listened. After a few months, I began offering technical advice on programming. I then started proposing new analyses and contributions. Eventually I became comfortable enough to propose a new master’s project based on part of my PhD research; Benjamin and I are now interviewing candidates.

I gained a great deal from this experience and I am grateful to both of my supervisors for supporting me, as well as to the students for staying motivated, determined and friendly throughout. Here are some of the things I learnt about how to ensure smooth collaboration and a happy outcome for all of us.

Draft a project plan

With Benjamin and Bernd, I put together a project plan for each of the master’s students. Drafting a two-page plan that ended up resembling an extended abstract for a conference forced us to consider each project in detail and helped to ensure that it was feasible for a student to carry out in their last semester of study.

If you’re a PhD student supervising others, sit down with your own supervisor and agree on your respective responsibilities as part of the project plan. At first, you might want your supervisor to follow you closely to help keep the project on the right path, but as you gain more experience and trust, you might request more autonomy and independence.

Use the project plan to advertise the position and find a suitable student: share it online on the group’s website or on Twitter, as well as on the job board at your department. Advertise it to your students if you are teaching a related topic, and sit back and wait for applicants.

We structured the plans to include a general introduction to the research subject as well as a few key publications. We described the gap in the literature that the project aimed to close, with the proposed methodology and a breakdown of four or five tasks to be achieved during the project. My supervisors and I also agreed on and included specific qualifications that candidates should have, and formalities such as contact information, starting dates and whether a publication was expected at the end.

Benjamin and I decided to propose publishable projects, sometimes as part of a larger paper. We always list the student as one of the authors.

Meet your student regularly

I found that I met with most students for less than an hour per week, but some might require more attention. Most of the time, Benjamin joined the meeting, too. We started with the students summarizing what they had done the previous week and any issues they had encountered. We then had a discussion and brainstorming session, and agreed on possible next steps. I learnt that I do not need to solve all the student’s problems (it is their thesis, after all). Instead, Benjamin and I tried to focus on suggesting a couple of things they could try out. At the end of the meeting, we made sure it was clear what was expected for the next week.

We used the first few weeks to get the students up to speed with the topic, encouraging them to read publications listed in the plan, and a few others, to familiarize themselves with the specific methods that they would be working with. We also addressed administrative matters such as making sure that the students had accounts to access computational resources: networks, e-mail, Wi-Fi, private GitHub repositories and so on.

Encourage regular writing

Good writing takes time, especially for students who are not used to it, or who are writing in a foreign language. It is important to encourage them to write regularly, and to keep detailed notes of what should be included in the manuscript, to avoid missing key details later on. We tried to remind our students frequently how the manuscript should be structured, what chapters should be included, how long each should be, what writing style was expected, what template to use, and other specifics. We used our meetings to provide continuous feedback on the manuscript.

The first two to four weeks of the project are a good time to start writing the first chapters, including an introduction to the topic and the background knowledge. We suggested allocating the last three or four weeks to writing the remaining chapters — results and conclusions — ensuring that the manuscript forms a coherent whole, and preparing and rehearsing the presentation for the oral examination.

Probe for correct understanding

In our weekly meetings, or at other times when I was teaching, I quickly realized that asking ‘did you understand?’ or ‘is that OK?’ every five minutes is not enough. It can even be counterproductive, scaring away less-assertive students.

I learnt to relax a little and take a different approach: when I explained something, I encouraged the students to explain it back in their own words, providing detailed breakdowns of a certain task, anticipating possible problems, and so on.

Ultimately, this came down to probing for understanding of the science, rather than delivering a lecture or grilling an interviewee. Sometimes this approach helps when a student thinks they fully understand something but actually don’t. For example, one of our students was less experienced in programming than others, so for more difficult tasks, we broke the problem down and wrote a sketch of the computer code that they would fill in on their own during the week.

Adapt supervision to the student

Each student requires a different type of supervision, and we tried to adapt our styles to accommodate that. That could mean using Trello project-management boards or a shared Google Doc to record tasks; defining tasks in detail and walking through them carefully; or taking extra time to explain and to fill knowledge gaps. I tried to be supportive by reminding students that they could always send an e-mail if they were stuck on a problem for too long. One of the students found it very helpful to text brief updates outside of scheduled meetings, as a way to hold themselves accountable.

Sometimes, if we felt a student needed to be challenged, we proposed new tasks that were not in the original plan or encouraged them to follow their interest, be it diving into the literature or coming up with further experiments and research questions.

One student conducted a literature review and summarized the pros and cons of the state-of-the-art technology for a follow-up idea we had. That saved some time when we picked up the project after the student left; they learnt lots of interesting things; and the discussion section of the manuscript was much more interesting as a result.

When things go badly, make another plan

Not all projects can be successful, despite your (and your student’s) best efforts. So, as part of each project, my supervisors and I prepared a plan B (and C), working out which tasks were essential and which were just a nice addition. This included a simpler research question that required less work than the original. The initial plan for one of our projects was to compare a newly proposed method with the usual way of doing things, but the new method turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated, so we decided not to do the comparison, and just showed how the new method performed.

Halfway through the project is a good time to evaluate how likely it is that the thesis will be handed in on time and as originally planned. The top priority is to help the student graduate. That might entail either forgoing some of the tasks planned at the beginning, or obtaining an extension of a few months if possible.

Have a final feedback round

After the oral examinations, Benjamin and I met to decide the students’ final grades on the basis of the university’s rubric. We then met the students one last time to tell them our decision, going through each item in the rubric and explaining the motivation for the score we had given. We tried to recall relevant events from the past months to make each student feel the grading was fair.

We also remembered to ask the student for feedback on our supervision and to suggest things they thought we could do better.

Lastly, I encouraged those students to apply for open positions in our lab, and offered to write recommendation letters for them.

Duties of a thesis supervisor and the supervision plan

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Supervision work is closely linked to the intended learning outcomes of the degree and thesis as well as the related grading criteria. In accordance with the Regulations on Degrees and the Protection of Students’ Rights at the University of Helsinki, the student must receive instruction both during their studies and while writing their thesis.  See here for instructions on ensuring that your supervision is aligned with the learning outcomes.

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Supervision principles.

The Rector decides on the principles of supervision, including the rights and obligations of the student and the supervisor. The degree programme’s curriculum must contain instructions on how to prepare a personal study plan, along with the practices for approving and updating the plan. Please review the curriculum of your faculty and the thesis grading criteria in order to ensure that your supervision is aligned with the learning outcomes.

In the Rector’s decision, supervision refers to the support provided for the student’s or doctoral candidate’s learning process as they change, gain experience and grow as an expert. As a whole, supervision consists of communication, advice, instruction and special guidance. Supervision and counselling can be organised in a group led by the supervisor, at a seminar, in a peer group of students or doctoral candidates organised by the supervisor or in a personal meeting separately agreed between the supervisor and the student/doctoral candidate. Supervision and counselling can also be provided electronically through, for example, Moodle or other teaching tools available. 

Members of the teaching and research staff provide counselling that is related to teaching and research and requires knowledge of the content of different studies and disciplines. This counselling may concern, for example, personal study plans or thesis supervision. 

Guidance and counselling are provided in the Finnish and Swedish-language and multilingual degree programmes in Finnish or Swedish depending on the student’s native language or in English or another language as agreed with the student. If the student’s native language is a language other than Finnish or Swedish, guidance and counselling are provided in English or, if agreed with the student, in another language. In English-language master’s programmes and doctoral programmes, guidance can also be provided solely in English.

The degree programme steering group is responsible for ensuring that each student is appointed with a primary supervisor who is responsible for the supervision of their thesis. Additional supervisors may also be appointed. Your supervision plan can be used to agree on the responsibilities related to the supervision.

Supervision as interaction and the supervision plan

Supervision is about interaction with responsibilities that are divided between the different parties of the supervision relationship. Ambiguities related to supervision are often due to the parties’ different expectations regarding the content and responsibilities of the supervision and the fact that the parties are often unaware of the others’ expectations. Below, you can find a table that serves as a great tool for considering the different rights and obligations related to supervision

The policies and practices of supervision should be discussed in the early stages of the thesis process. The supervisor and the student may also prepare a written supervision plan that clarifies the schedule for the supervision and the thesis work as well as the content of the supervision. The plan can also be utilised if any problems arise or you fall behind schedule.

Topics the supervisor should incorporate in the supervision

When supervising a student’s thesis work, remember to pay attention to the following topics:

• the responsible conduct of research and avoiding cheating
• guiding the student in matters related to data protection  
• matters related to open access publications and the public availability of theses  
• inform the student of the general process of thesis examination and approval and the related schedule 

Different faculties may have their own decisions and instructions on thesis supervision. Please read the instructions provided by your faculty.

See also the Instructions for Students

You will find related content for students in the Studies Service.

Bachelor’s theses and maturity tests

Thesis and maturity test in master's and licentiate's programmes.

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Individualized & Interdisciplinary Studies Program

Guide for thesis supervisors.

Thank you for supervising an individualized major senior thesis project. Your expertise is critical in guiding the student’s project and setting the criteria for its evaluation. The guidelines below outline some considerations particular to individualized major students. They are most appropriate for traditional research projects but may also be relevant to less traditional final projects.

All individualized majors complete a capstone, which provides them an opportunity to integrate knowledge they have acquired during the course of their majors. About 40-45 percent of individualized majors do so by completing a thesis. (The rest complete our capstone course or an approved alternative.)

Thesis projects usually take the form of a traditional research study, but other formats, such as a photo essay, film, website, or piece of creative writing are also possible. Thesis projects, whatever their form, should contribute to the development of knowledge or practice in new ways, involve significant background research, and require sustained attention in the implementation of the project. If the final product takes a less traditional form, it should include a piece of writing that describes the student’s learning process.

Thesis Courses

Some thesis projects will comprise six credits completed over the course of two semesters. This is mandatory for students completing Honors Scholar requirements in their individualized major. Non-honors students may complete a one-semester, three-credit thesis project. Students intending to complete a thesis project must submit a thesis proposal  which they have discussed with their thesis supervisor no later than the last day of classes of the semester before they begin their thesis.

In the social sciences and humanities : In the Fall semester of the senior year, students will typically begin their research by enrolling in a thesis-related research seminar, graduate course, or independent study in their thesis supervisor’s department. During the Spring semester, students will enroll in UNIV 4697W Senior Thesis (for which the thesis supervisor serves as instructor) in which they will complete the research and write the thesis. During this process, the student meets regularly with the thesis supervisor for feedback on data collection, evidence gathering, analysis, and writing.

In the sciences , students may follow a more extended sequence, perhaps two to three semesters of data collection and laboratory work (independent studies or research courses) followed by thesis writing (UNIV 4697W) in the final semester.

Learning Outcomes

Individual faculty will differ in expectations regarding research methodology, theoretical approaches, and presentation of findings. Nonetheless, there are some general criteria and intended learning outcomes for all individualized major thesis projects.

• The student’s research, analysis, and writing on the thesis project should be relevant to their individualized major and represent an opportunity for them to integrate and deepen at least several aspects of study in the major.
• A thesis should do more than summarize the existing literature on a particular topic. It should make an original contribution to the field of study, present new findings in the form of new data, or new, critical interpretations of existing material. It should reflect a good command of the research methodologies in the relevant discipline(s).

Upon completion of the thesis project the student should be able to:

• Define a research question and design a substantial research project.
• Select a methodological approach to address the research question.
• Identify appropriate sources and collect relevant and reliable data that addresses the research question.
• Analyze the strengths and limitations of different scholarly approaches to the question, and recognize the resulting interpretative conflicts.
• Develop an argument that is sustained by the available evidence
• Present that argument in a clear, well-organized manner.

Requirements for Honors Students

As noted above, all Honors students are expected to complete at least six credits of thesis-relevant coursework. In addition, all Honors students are expected to have a second reader and make a public presentation of their thesis project.

Second Reader

We ask Honors students to identify a second reader for their thesis from a relevant discipline, which may be the same as, or different from, the supervisor’s discipline. The second reader will provide the student with a different perspective and may provide additional insights on how to achieve the intended learning outcomes of the thesis. The thesis supervisor, in consultation with the student, determines when to bring the second reader on board. It is the supervisor’s prerogative to define how the grade for the thesis will be determined.

Public Presentation

Honors students are required to make a public presentation of their thesis research in a format negotiated with the thesis supervisor. Where possible, the audience should include the thesis supervisor, the second reader, and an IISP staff member. Other faculty members and the student’s peers may be invited to join the audience, as well.

Existing departmental exhibitions or “Frontiers in Undergraduate Research” make excellent venues for student presentations. If a student cannot find a venue for his or her presentation, please consult with IISP and we will coordinate one.

Note: Although non-Honors students who are completing a thesis are not required to have a second reader or make a public presentation, we would certainly welcome them to do so.

Honors Advising

An IISP staff member serves as Honors Advisor to each individualized major following an Honors Scholar plan of study. The staff member’s role as an Honors advisor is to coordinate and facilitate students’ plans for completing Honors Scholar requirements, including the thesis, and to monitor progress toward completion.

Thesis Course Registration

Specific instructions for registering for UNIV 4697W are available on the Capstone page .

We very much appreciate your willingness to supervise an individualized major’s senior thesis. If you have any questions about the Individualized Major Program or about supervising an individualized major thesis, please contact IISP staff .

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Applicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details

The supervisor is the key person in a thesis-based graduate degree program. The principal role of the supervisor is to help students achieve their scholastic potential and to chair the student’s Supervisory Committee. The Supervisor will provide reasonable commitment, accessibility, professionalism, stimulation, guidance, respect and consistent encouragement to the student. Learn more

Graduate programs have different expectations regarding prospective students contacting faculty members. Some require commitment of a faculty member as thesis supervisor prior to applying while others assign supervisors in the first year. Please review the requirements for each program in the degree listing under the heading "Admission Information & Requirements" in step 3 "Prepare Application" under "Thesis Supervision".

Advice on how to reach out to supervisors

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Reaching Out Tips

Complete these steps before you reach out to a faculty member.

• Familiarize yourself with program requirements. You want to learn as much as possible from the information available to you before you reach out to a faculty member. Be sure to visit the graduate degree program listing and program-specific websites.
• Check whether the program requires you to seek commitment from a supervisor prior to submitting an application. For some programs this is an essential step while others match successful applicants with faculty members within the first year of study. This is either indicated in the program profile under "Admission Information & Requirements" - "Prepare Application" - "Supervision" or on the program website.
• Identify specific faculty members who are conducting research in your specific area of interest.
• Read up on the faculty members in the program and the research being conducted in the department.
• Familiarize yourself with their work, read their recent publications and past theses/dissertations that they supervised. Be certain that their research is indeed what you are hoping to study.
• Do not send non-specific, mass emails to everyone in the department hoping for a match.
• Address the faculty members by name. Your contact should be genuine rather than generic.
• Include a brief outline of your academic background, why you are interested in working with the faculty member, and what experience you could bring to the department. The supervision enquiry form guides you with targeted questions. Ensure to craft compelling answers to these questions.
• Highlight your achievements and why you are a top student. Faculty members receive dozens of requests from prospective students and you may have less than 30 seconds to pique someone’s interest.
• Convey the specific ways you are a good fit for the program.
• Convey the specific ways the program/lab/faculty member is a good fit for the research you are interested in/already conducting.
• Be enthusiastic, but don’t overdo it.

G+PS regularly provides virtual sessions that focus on admission requirements and procedures and tips how to improve your application.

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Finding a supervisor

A supervisor is a professor who oversees your research and the development of your thesis. They provide mentorship, support, and guidance throughout your studies. 

Your relationship with your supervisor will be an important factor in your experience and success as a graduate student. Focus on finding a supervisor who shares your research interests, complements your research and learning style, and supports you in your research and academic goals.

Learn more about supervisory roles and responsibilities in the  Guide for Graduate Research and Supervision .

This video will help you as you prepare to research, contact, and select a supervisor for your graduate studies.

Do you need a supervisor?

Looking for a supervisor, contacting potential supervisors, meeting potential supervisors.

Supervisors are not required for Waterloo professional coursework and professional  online programs .

Some research-based master's and doctoral programs require a supervisor prior to applying while others may assign a supervisor once you have started in your program. Contact your department/program  graduate co-ordinator  to determine if having a supervisor before you apply is required for your program.

Your graduate coordinator will be able to answer questions about program requirements, the admission process, supplemental materials, and funding opportunities.

Visit Faculty or Department websites to learn more about faculty members in your desired field. Faculty profiles or websites will often provide details about conference participation, course instruction, publications, and CVs. Consider how your research interests and experience may intersect with a faculty member's and identify opportunities to expand you knowledge in a desired area.

Use your findings to create a shortlist of potential supervisors to explore further.

The next step is to contact the supervisors on your list. Be sure to tailor your email for each potential supervisor. Your goal is to stand out and generate interest in working with you.

• Use proper letter format, formal salutations – Professor/Dr. (last name) and close with “Yours sincerely” followed by your full name and contact information
• Attach your CV and current transcripts
• Specify the program for which you are applying
• Ask if they are accepting graduate students under their supervision for your desired admit term
• If you already have funding or a scholarship, specify the source, value, and duration
• Explain your interest in graduate studies, your academic and career goals, and your research experience
• Explain your interest in the faculty member and discuss how your research aligns with theirs (this can be a great way to differentiate yourself and make a strong case for your candidacy)
• Suggest a follow-up meeting with options for date and time

Once you hear back from an interested potential supervisor, you may wish to arrange for a phone call or virtual meeting. We suggest using that time to learn more about the faculty member’s experience, expectations, and availability.

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First meeting with your dissertation supervisor: What to expect

The first meeting with your dissertation supervisor can be a little intimidating, as you do not know what to expect. While every situation is unique, first meetings with a dissertation supervisor often centre around getting to know each other, establishing expectations, and creating work routines.

Why a good relationship with a dissertation supervisor matters

Getting to know each other during the first meeting, getting to know the work environment during the first meeting, establishing a meeting and communication schedule, discussing your research idea with your dissertation supervisor, discussing expectations with your dissertation supervisor.

Writing a dissertation is an exciting but also intimidating part of being a bachelor’s, master’s or PhD student. A dissertation is often the culmination of several years of higher education, and the last step before graduating.

What is important to know is that the relationship that you establish with your supervisor can be a crucial factor in completing a successful dissertation.

A better relationship often results in better and timely completion of a dissertation. This finding is backed up by science. This study , for instance, points out that student-supervisor relationships strongly influence the quality, success or failure of completing a PhD (on time).

Good communication with a dissertation supervisor is key to advancing your research, discussing roadblocks, and incorporating feedback and advice.

Commonly experienced challenges in student-supervisor relationships, on the other hand, are “different expectations, needs and ways of thinking and working” (Gill and Burnard, 2008, p. 668).

Therefore, getting acquainted with each other to set a foundation for the upcoming collaboration is often what first meetings with dissertation supervisors are (and should be) about.

Many first meetings with a dissertation supervisor include a considerable amount of ‘small talk’. Thus, you can expect to engage in a casual conversation to get acquainted.

This conversation tends to look different based on whether you already know your dissertation supervisor, or whether you have never met them before. It could also be that you had a talk with your dissertation supervisor during a formal interview stage, but never talked informally.

Common questions to expect are:

• How are you doing?
• Did you find adequate housing, and did the (international) move go well?
• Did you bring a partner, spouse or family to a new country or city?
• What do you like to do in your free time?
• Where and what did you study before?
• How did you experience your degree programme so far?
• What courses did you enjoy?
• How did you come up with your dissertation topic?
• What are your ambitions for this thesis?
• What are your expectations and goals for both the thesis process?
• What do you want to do after graduating?

You may also like: Getting the most out of thesis supervision meetings

PhD students who start their dissertation are often introduced to their lab, research group or department during the first meeting.

It is not uncommon for the dissertation supervisor to walk around with the new student and introduce him or her to colleagues and supporting staff.

Getting to know your (new) work environment is less common for students who write a dissertation to complete their master’s degrees. Though in some cases, they conduct their master thesis research as part of a lab or existing research project, and will be introduced there as well.

There may also be a discussion about accessing an institutional email address or online work environment as a dissertation student. And any questions that are important to answer to kick off the dissertation process.

During the first meeting, it is very useful for both the student and the dissertation supervisor to discuss their collaboration for the coming months.

This particularly includes agreements on meetings and the frequency of communication. Even if your dissertation supervisor does not raise these issues during the first meeting, it can be helpful to raise them yourself.

Establishing a meeting schedule, or at least discussing how often you are planning to meet, how regularly, and within what time intervals, can reduce a lot of stress and uncertainty.

It can also be very valuable to talk about the frequency of communication. Does your dissertation supervisor appreciate a weekly summary of your progress? Or are you only supposed to reach out when you hit a roadblock?

Furthermore, what are the best ways to communicate? For instance, does your supervisor prefers emails? If so, check out some sample emails to a thesis supervisor ! Or does your supervisor prefer you to collect all your questions until the next supervision meeting, putting them on the meeting agenda?

While you can expect a lot of Smalltalk, planning, and organisational issues to dominate the first meeting with your dissertation supervisor, it is common to also chat about your research idea.

But don’t worry! Supervisors tend to be aware that you are just at the beginning of the dissertation process. Usually, they don’t expect you to provide a fully-fledged research proposal or a formal presentation.

However, be prepared to share your initial thoughts and ideas. Additionally, be prepared to explain why you are interested in the topic and how you roughly anticipate conducting your research and writing your dissertation.

Based on this information, the dissertation supervisor can already point you in the right direction, suggest relevant literature, or connect you with other students or colleagues who work on similar issues.

It is normal to feel slightly lost during the first weeks of working on your dissertation.

However, to keep this feeling to a minimum, it can be extremely helpful to create concrete steps and plans with your dissertation supervisor for the first weeks.

Expectations differ from supervisor to supervisor. Some may just expect you to simply get used to your work environment, read a lot and explore theories that are relevant to your dissertation. Others may want to see the first results in terms of a literature review or research proposal.

Thus, make sure to discuss expectations for the upcoming weeks during the first meeting with your dissertation supervisor. It will prevent you from overthinking what you should do.

Elsewhere, I have written a guide for first-year PhD students with some directions and advice . As a PhD student, you can use this guide as an inspiration and starting point to discuss your own supervisor’s expectations.

If you are writing a master thesis, your timeframe will be much shorter. Thus, it is even more important to define deadlines and milestones with your dissertation supervisor as soon as possible. The first meeting lends itself to making this plan.

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10 things to do when you feel like your dissertation is killing you, related articles.

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Getting the most out of thesis supervision meetings

• Graduate School

How to Write a Master's Thesis Proposal

How to write a master’s thesis proposal is one of the most-asked questions by graduate students. A master's thesis proposal involves a copious amount of data collection, particular presentation ethics, and most importantly, it will become the roadmap to your full thesis. Remember, you must convince your committee that your idea is strong and unique, and that you have done enough legwork to begin with the first few drafts of your final thesis. Your proposal should serve as a foundational blueprint on which you will later build your entire project. To have the perfect thesis proposal, you need to have original ideas, solid information, and proper presentation. While it is a good idea to take assistance from thesis writing services , you still need to personally understand the elements that contribute to a master’s thesis proposal worthy of approval. In this blog, we will discuss the process of writing your master’s thesis proposal and give you tips for making your proposal strong. Stay tuned!

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 8 min read

How to decide the goals for your master's thesis.

If you are pursuing a master’s or a PhD , you will be undertaking a major research paper or a thesis. Thus, writing a thesis proposal becomes inevitable. Your major objective for pursuing a master’s degree is to improve your knowledge in your field of study. When you start your degree, you delve deeper into different concepts in your discipline and try to search for answers to all kinds of questions. If you come across a question that no one can answer, you can select that question as your research thesis topic.

A master's thesis proposal will have multiple sections depending on your decided layout. These sections will continuously support your argument and try to convince the reader of your core argument. The structure will also help you arrange the various parts of the paper to have a greater impact on the readers. A paper should always begin with you giving a brief summary of the topic and how you have come across it. The introduction is particularly important because it will give the readers a brief idea about the topic of discussion and win their interest in the matter.

After the summary has been given, slowly you need to progress into the body of the thesis proposal which would explain your argument, research methodology, literary texts that have a relation to the topic, and the conclusion of your study. It would be similar to an essay or a literary review consisting of 3 or 4 parts. The bibliography will be placed at the end of the paper so that people can cross-check your sources.

Let's take a look at the sections most master's thesis proposals should cover. Please note that each university has its own guidelines for how to structure and what to include in a master’s thesis proposal. The outline we provide below is general, so please make sure to follow the exact guidelines provided by your school:

Restate your primary argument and give us a glimpse of what you will include in the main master\u2019s thesis. Leave the reader wanting more. Your research proposal should talk about what research chapters you are trying to undertake in your final thesis. You can also mention the proposed time in which you will complete these chapters.  ","label":"Conclusion and proposed chapters","title":"Conclusion and proposed chapters"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">

A thesis proposal needs to be convincing enough to get approval. If the information is not enough to satisfy the evaluation committee, it would require revision. Hence, you need to select and follow the right methodology to make your argument convincing. When a research proposal is presented, the reader will determine the validity of your argument by judging the strength of your evidence and conclusions. Therefore, even writige:ng a proposal will require extensive research on your part. You should start writing your thesis proposal by working through the following steps.

Interested in a summary of the points covered below? Check out this infographic:

Exploring your topic in detail

You need to delve deeper into your chosen topic to see if your idea is original. In the process of this exploration, you will find tons of materials that will be supportive of your argument. When choosing your research topic and the problem you want to explore, you should always consider your primary research interest (yes, the one which you had mentioned in your research interest statement during grad school applications) for a better master’s thesis. You have a high probability of performing better in an area that you have always liked as compared to any other research area or topic.

Reviewing the literature

You have to include all the sources from where you have formed your argument and mention them in the thesis proposal. If you neglect to mention important source texts, the reader may consider it to be plagiarism. Furthermore, you want to keep track of all your research because it will be easier to provide references if you know the exact source of each piece of information.

Finding opposing arguments for your study

You should also mention any texts that would counter your argument and try to disprove their claims in the thesis. Make sure to use evidence if you try to disprove the counterarguments you face.

Emphasizing the importance of your research

At the end of the thesis proposal, you need to convince the reader why your proposal is important to your chosen field of study, which would ultimately help you in getting your topic approved. Thus, it is essential to outline the importance of your research thoroughly.

Drafting your proposal

After doing proper research, you should go ahead and draft your proposal. Remember you will not get it right in just one draft, it will take at least 50 attempts to come up with a satisfactory proposal. You should proofread your draft several times and even have a fellow student review it for you before sending it further to your research supervisor.

Getting your proposal evaluated by your supervisor

After you have written sufficient drafts, you need to get your proposal evaluated by your research supervisor. This is necessary to meet the graduate research requirements. It will ensure the clarity and correctness of your proposal. For your supervisor to evaluate your proposal, you should complete the research methodology part along with sufficient proposed work.

Since your supervisor will play a crucial role in your master's research thesis, you must choose a supervisor who can be your ultimate guide in writing your master's thesis. They will be your partner and support system during your study and will help you in eliminating obstacles to achieving your goal.

Choosing the ideal supervisor is a pretty daunting task. Here’s how you can go about the process:

You should approach your professor with an open mind and discuss the potential goals of your research. You should hear what they think and then if you both mutually agree, you can choose them as your supervisor for your master\u2019s thesis. "}]">

Length of a Master’s Thesis Proposal

The length of a master’s thesis proposal differs from university to university and depends on the discipline of research as well. Usually, you have to include all the above-mentioned sections, and the length is around 8 pages and can go up to 12-15 pages for subjects such as the liberal arts. Universities might also define the number of words in the guidelines for your master’s thesis proposal and you have to adhere to that word limit.

Are you debating between pursuing a Masters or a PhD? This video has details that can help you decide which is best for you:

How to Format a Research Thesis Proposal Correctly?

Now that you know how to write a thesis proposal, you must make it presentable. Although your school might give your specific instructions, you can keep in mind some of the general advice:

• You can use some basic font like Times New Roman and keep the font size to 10 or 12 points.
• The left margin should be 1.5 inches and all other margins should be 1 inch each.
• You should follow double-spacing for your content.
• The first line of paragraphs should be indented 0.5 inches and the paragraphs should be left or center aligned.

Tips to Write a Strong Master's Thesis Proposal

When you are writing your master’s thesis proposal, you should keep these tips in mind to write an excellent master’s thesis proposal with all the correct elements to get approval from the evaluating committee:

Select your research objectives wisely

You should be clear on what you wish to learn from your research. Your learning objectives should stem from your research interests. If you are unsure, refer to your grad school career goals statement to review what you wanted out of grad school in the first place. Then, choose your objectives around it.

Write a clear title

The title of your research proposal should be concise and written in a language that can be understood easily by others. The title should be able to give the reader an idea of your intended research and should be interesting.

Jot down your thoughts, arguments, and evidence

You should always start with a rough outline of your arguments because you will not miss any point in this way. Brainstorm what you want to include in the proposal and then expand those points to complete your proposal. You can decide the major headings with the help of the guidelines provided to you.

Focus on the feasibility and importance

You should consider whether your research is feasible with the available resources. Additionally, your proposal should clearly convey the significance of your research in your field.

Use simple language

Since the evaluation committee can have researchers from different subject areas, it is best to write your proposal in a simple language that is understandable by all.

Stick to the guidelines

Your university will be providing the guidelines for writing your research proposal. You should adhere to those guidelines strictly since your proposal will be primarily evaluated on the basis of those.

Have an impactful opening section

It is a no-brainer that the opening statement of your proposal should be powerful enough to grasp the attention of the readers and get them interested in your research topic. You should be able to convey your interest and enthusiasm in the introductory section.

Peer review prior to submission

Apart from working with your research supervisor, it is essential that you ask some classmates and friends to review your proposal. The comments and suggestions that they give will be valuable in helping you to make the language of your proposal clearer.

You have worked hard to get into grad school and even harder on searching your research topic. Thus, you must be careful while building your thesis proposal so that you have maximum chances of acceptance.

If you're curious how your graduate school education will differ from your undergraduate education, take a look at this video so you know what to expect:

Writing the perfect research proposal might be challenging, but keeping to the basics might make your task easier. In a nutshell, you need to be thorough in your study question. You should conduct sufficient research to gather all relevant materials required to support your argument. After collecting all data, make sure to present it systematically to give a clearer understanding and convince the evaluators to approve your proposal. Lastly, remember to submit your proposal well within the deadline set by your university. Your performance at grad school is essential, especially if you need a graduate degree to gain admission to med school and your thesis contributes to that performance. Thus, start with a suitable research problem, draft a strong proposal, and then begin with your thesis after your proposal is approved.

In your master’s thesis proposal, you should include your research topic and the problem statement being addressed in your research, along with a proposed solution. The proposal should explain the importance and limitations of your research.

The length of a master’s thesis proposal is outlined by the university in the instructions for preparing your master’s thesis proposal.

The time taken to write a master’s thesis proposal depends upon the study which you are undertaking and your discipline of research. It will take a minimum time of three months. The ideal time can be around six months. 

You should begin your master’s thesis proposal by writing an introduction to your research topic. You should state your topic clearly and provide some background. Keep notes and rough drafts of your proposal so you can always refer to them when you write the first real draft.

The basic sections that your master’s thesis proposal should cover are the problem statement, research methodology, proposed activities, importance, and the limitations of your research.

A master’s thesis proposal which clearly defines the problem in a straightforward and explains the research methodology in simple words is considered a good thesis proposal.

You can use any classic font for your master’s thesis proposal such as Times New Roman. If you are recommended a specific font in the proposal guidelines by your institution, it would be advisable to stick to that.

The ideal font size for your master’s thesis proposal will be 10 or 12 points.

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Connecting with a Supervisor

How to find and connect with potential supervisors.

Your relationship with your supervisor will be one of the most important factors contributing to the success of your graduate studies. Taking the time to find a supervisor who will complement your research and learning style will help to ensure the success of this relationship. Below are some important considerations to assist you in your efforts.

Do you need to select a supervisor?

Every department at McGill has different admissions procedures. While some will expect you to connect with a potential supervisor prior to applying, others will assign a supervisor to you after you have been accepted. Make sure to carefully read the requirements of the program into which you are applying, available on the departmental website, to find out the supervisory procedures for that department. If it is unclear, contact the Graduate Program Director to clarify.

Identify Potential Supervisors

• Browse our Program Pages to identify the department in which your research of interest is taking place.
• Develop a shortlist of potential supervisors from the Faculty members working in your area. In comparing them, try to identify who would be the ideal supervisor for you both in terms of research interests and teaching/learning style.
• Review Faculty member research profiles to locate potential supervisors with research interests similar to your own. Check Departmental websites under the menu heading ‘Faculty’.
• Think laterally – if you don’t find what you’re looking for in one department, look at the research profiles of Faculty in related fields.

What to look for

By looking at a Faculty member’s CV and talking to them as well as to their current and former students, you can get a good idea as to who might be the best supervisor for you. 

A good supervisor should be able to provide you with some direction, while allowing you to take initiative. There are a number of factors that can promote a successful supervisory relationship. These include:

• Expertise : Are they working on your area of research?
• Experience: Have they supervised many students before?
• Availability : Will they be available to meet with you when you need them?
• Research agenda : How active is their research?
• Publishing: How often do they publish? Do they co-author with other professors in the department or with students?
• Collegiality and interpersonal relationship: How well will you get on with each other?

Make a connection

Prior to researching and speaking to potential supervisors, make sure to contact the academic unit offering your program in order to establish a relationship. 

The Graduate Program Coordinator will be your main contact person within the unit and will provide you with pertinent information. They will answer your questions about program requirements, the admissions process, supplemental materials, funding opportunities and the procedure for finding a supervisor within the department.

When you are ready to contact potential supervisors, approaching them by email is a good initial step. Ensure that your messages are tailored to each professor, not generic. You must catch the interest of the professor quickly and make a good first impression.

• Write a concise and professional letter.  The message should start with Dear Professor/Dr. (lastname) and end with "Yours sincerely" followed by your full name and contact information (or the formal equivalent in a message written in French). 
• Attach your Curriculum Vitae and unofficial transcripts. Note, you may complete and submit the Canadian Common CV . State why you are writing  (e.g.  I am applying to the M.Sc. program in specify program).
• State why you are interested in graduate studies (including career goals) and emphasize any research or leadership experience and analytical skills.
• If you already have funding, state the amount, duration and source.
• State why you are approaching this particular professor, and why your research interests and goals are a good match. Refer briefly to specific published articles by the professor that interest you.
• Offer an opportunity for further discussion (teleconference, videoconference, or if you are in Montreal, an in-person interview).

Questions and issues to discuss with potential supervisors:

• Capacity:  Does the professor currently have graduate students? Not enough? Too many? Looking for more?
• Expectations: Working hours, frequency of student-supervisor meetings, group meetings, reports, record keeping, contribution to general duties, assistance from and to other personnel/students, and meeting program milestones.
• Expected attendance at journal clubs, seminars, etc, aside from official requirements of the Graduate Program.
• Financial considerations: stipend, presentation/attendance at conferences.
• Conventions on authorship (within the norms of the discipline and McGill’s Regulation on the Conduct of Research .
• Review of written work : extent of supervisor’s involvement with student’s presentations, thesis preparation, time frame for return of comments, etc.
• Supervisory style: keeping in mind the questions above.
• Student Success :   how many students have they supervised through to graduation? Have the students finished their program in good time? Have many of the students published? How have the students done in the job market?
• Personality: trust your instincts as to whether you would be a good match.

Visit Campus

If at all possible, try to visit McGill and meet with your potential supervisor. Not only will this give you an opportunity to show them how excited you are to work together, but it will also allow you to get a sense of their personality. After identifying potential supervisors, call or email them to find out if they are taking on new students.

Away from McGill?

If you are unable to visit with your potential supervisor in person, you will need to rely on communication by phone, email or videoconference. Even if you are communicating at a distance, try to establish a personal connection. Show your potential supervisor why you are interested in working with them in particular.

Talk to current/former students

Talking to the current and former students of a potential supervisor is a good way to find out about their supervisory style, and will allow you to determine whether you work in a similar way.

• If you are visiting McGill, consider meeting up with some students in person to discuss working with this supervisor.
• If not, ask either the professor or the Graduate Program Coordinator/Secretary to provide you with email addresses or phone numbers.

Questions to ask current/former students

• What has been their experience working with this supervisor? Is the supervisor readily available when questions or problems arise?
• What is expected of them as graduate students working under this supervisor? Does the supervisor take a hands-on or laissez-faire approach to supervision?
• What do they feel are this supervisor’s strengths in terms of graduate supervision?
• What do they feel are their weaknesses in terms of graduate supervision?

Department and University Information

Graduate and postdoctoral studies.

In this section

• Graduate Program-Specific Contacts
• Doctoral Dissertation Guidelines and Procedures
• Dissertation Release and Embargo Procedures
• Guide to Enrolling in Master's Thesis
• Thesis Release and Embargo Procedures
• Graduate Studies Forms
• Three Minute Thesis Competition
• Graduate Student Appreciation Week

Master's Thesis

Master's thesis guidelines and procedures.

These guidelines have been prepared to assist you in getting the information you need for successful completion of your master's thesis at UM-Dearborn.

Deadline to Submit for Format Check

Winter 2024: April 15, 2024 Summer 2024: August 9, 2024 Fall 2024: December 9, 2024 Winter 2025: April 14, 2025

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] .

Enrolling in Master's Thesis

Review our  Guide to Enrolling in Master's Thesis  for further information on how to start. Students should follow their individual program policies and procedures in order to successfully complete their program in a timely manner. Frequent communication with your committee members is essential. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of all relevant deadlines and to plan accordingly.  Deadlines cannot be altered and missing one will delay your graduation.

Helpful Guides When Researching/Writing the Thesis

• Mardigian Library Resources for Graduate Students
• Graduate Student Research Grants
• Obtaining Copyright Permission
• Formatting Your Thesis With Microsoft Word
• ITS Student Computer and Software Resources

Archiving Master’s Thesis

The resources below will help you format your thesis in accordance with university guidelines and archive your final thesis upon successful defense.

The format check/archiving process is required in order to release your final thesis grade. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of all relevant deadlines and to plan accordingly. Individual department deadlines to defend may be different from the University's deadline to submit your defended thesis for the format check/archiving process. 

Thesis Release and Embargo Options

Format check for thesis, related resources, office of graduate studies.

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The Department of Biomedical Engineering offers programs leading to the Master of Science (thesis or non-thesis option) and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

The Department of Biomedical Engineering offers a dual-degree program that culminates with students receiving both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science (BS/MS) in Biomedical Engineering concurrently. This program is available only to qualified students enrolled in the undergraduate program in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami. This program is intended to give qualified Biomedical Engineering students the opportunity to acquire both a baccalaureate degree (BSBE) and a Master of Science (MSBE) degree in five years rather than the 4 plus 2 years (approximately) that is traditionally expected. The two degrees are awarded simultaneously when the combined requirements have been met for both degrees.

• Juniors enrolled in BME who have maintained at least a 3.0 CGPA have the option to apply for admission to the combined BS-MS in Biomedical Engineering program.
• Those who are accepted into this accelerated program must maintain at least a 3.0 CGPA and a minimum of a 3.0 GPA for the final 30 credit hours to meet the requirements of the Graduate School.
• Up to 6 credit hours of engineering electives earned during the fourth year can be counted toward the 30 credit hours required for the MS degree. If their schedule allows, students may be able to complete an additional 6 credits of graduate classes during their fourth year.
• Students must be registered for a minimum of 12 undergraduate credit hours per semester in their fourth year.
• Students can register for a maximum of 6 graduate credit hours in each semester of their fourth year.
• If a student needs to withdraw from the BS/MS BME program then all the requirements for the BS degree must be completed for graduation with the BS BME degree.

Admission Requirements

The dual BS/MS program is available only to qualified undergraduate students enrolled in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Typically, students must have undergraduate student status and a cumulative G.P.A. of at least 3.0 at the time of application.

Qualified students must apply prior to the beginning of final exams in the second semester of their junior year. Students are strongly advised to apply to the BS/MS program as early as possible in their junior year to facilitate academic advising and course selection in the second semester of their junior year. Before submitting an application, interested students should discuss the program and the possibility of entering the program with an academic advisor.

Curriculum Guidelines

In the dual-degree BS/MS program in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the first four years of the curriculum are altered as follows:

• In the senior year, up to two 3-credit Undergraduate Engineering Electives can be replaced with 3-credit Graduate Engineering Electives
• If their schedule allows, students may be able to register for an additional 6 credits of graduate courses in the senior year.

In the fifth year, BS/MS students complete their graduate course requirements, including completion of the MS Project ( BME 707  and  BME 708 ). Students in the BS/MS program must also complete exactly two physiology courses chosen from  BME 601 ,  BME 602 ,  BME 603  as part of their graduate requirements.

Graduate Engineering Electives taken in the senior year must be chosen from dual-enrollment engineering course offerings, with the approval of their academic advisor. The credits of Graduate Engineering Electives completed in the fourth year are counted toward the 30 credits required for the MS degree.

Students admitted in the dual degree BS/MS program can take a maximum of six (6) graduate credits per semester in their senior year, for a maximum of twelve (12) graduate credits per year, without incurring additional costs if they are full-time undergraduate students during this period. Students should register for courses towards their graduate degree as "G" credits and not as "U" credits. These registrations must be completed prior to taking courses. Retroactive add/drops will not be processed.

To register for graduate credits during their senior year, students must be in senior status and must complete and submit the Graduate School’s  Application for Undergraduates to Take Graduate Coursework  form. This form must accompany the Add/Drop and/or Course Request form to ensure that students are registered with the correct registration status.

In the Senior year, students must be registered for a minimum of 12 undergraduate credits each semester to maintain full-time status as an undergraduate student. After completing the senior year, students must register as graduate students.

Graduation Requirements

Students accepted into the dual degree program must maintain at least a 3.0 Cumulative GPA, and meet all other pertinent Graduate School requirements, including a minimum of 3.0 GPA in the credits applied toward the MS degree. 

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Schedule of upcoming thesis defenses for finakpo' (summer) 2024, finakpo' (summer) 2024 thesis defenses.

The candidates for master's degrees in Finakpo' 2024 will be presenting their thesis defenses at the following times. 

More coming soon!

Check back for updates in the schedule.

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