Before writing the thesis, a student must submit a short thesis proposal to the MFA director. It is often wise to let a thesis proposal develop from work originally written for a graduate course, but in any case the proposal should result from in-depth consultation with the thesis advisor. Students should also consider taking an independent study (ENG 500) under the direction of the proposed thesis director in the term before enrolling for thesis credit.
The thesis proposal should be 2-3 pages long and should (a) explain clearly the topic of the thesis, (b) describe briefly what prior work the thesis will arise from, (c) explain why the student has chosen to do a thesis, and (d) present a short, tentative outline of deadlines toward completion.
After the MFA Program Director approves the thesis proposal, the student may register for four credit hours of ENG 501: Thesis Research by using the Independent Study form. Only four credit hours of ENG 501 will count toward the Master's degree, and they will count as an elective in the MFA program. Note that the thesis must be completed and approved in order for the ENG 501 credits to count toward the Master's degree.