Thesis Proposal and Thesis Proposal Amendments

Thesis Proposal

Your Thesis Proposal should be approved by your Thesis Advisory Committee during your third term of study. The written proposal for an MA, MSc, or PhD thesis is usually between 10 and 20 pages (double spaced) and should include the following components:

  1. Rationale for the Study – A short statement to illustrate the importance of and reasons for doing such a study.
  2. Overview of the Literature – This should include a pointed review of the selected and most pertinent literature related to the study being proposed. This review should support the rationale for the study and definition of the research problem(s).
  3. Statement of the Problem – A concise statement that clearly outlines the specific problem to be studied and indicates the limits of the study.
  4. Methods – The proposal must indicate the variables to be studied, the particular device or techniques to be employed in such measurement, and a description of the material (e.g., participants of the study).
  5. Analysis – This will include a short outline of how the data will be collected and analyzed. An adequate discussion of the proposed treatment will convince the reader that a valid answer to the stated problem may be forthcoming.
  6. References – referencing formats vary – your supervisor will identify which reference method to be used in your thesis.

After you have submitted your Thesis Proposal to each member of your Thesis Advisory Committee (5 working days in advance of the meeting), a meeting will be held to discuss the written document and the proposed project. The results of the meeting will be recorded on the Thesis Advisory Committee Meeting / Thesis Proposal Admendment Form (FILLABLE)  

Any required revisions to the Proposal will be noted on the Form which will be signed by each member of the Committee. Please submit the completed form AND the approved thesis proposal. 

Thesis Proposal Amendments Process and Form

Any significant changes to an approved proposal must be approved by the original Thesis Proposal Advisory Committee by having each committee member complete and sign the Thesis Advisory Committee Meeting / Thesis Proposal Amendment Form (FORM FILLABLE) (via email and electronic signatures acceptable) as soon as possible following submission by the candidate.  You will submit the final completed Thesis Advisory Committee / Thesis Proposal Amendment Form to the SKHS Graduate Assistant to retain on file with the original approved thesis proposal document.

In your final thesis you must include either:

a) 

  • your original Thesis Proposal Advisory Committee / Thesis Proposal Amendment Form
  • a statement that indicates there were no significant changes to your original thesis proposal

—  OR  —

b)

  • include all Thesis Advisory Committee / Thesis Proposal Amendment Forms as appendices in your thesis as per the SKHS thesis formatting guidelines.
  • a statement that indicating that all significant changes from the originally proposed work were approved by your Thesis Advisory Committee.
  • you may choose to include a description and discussion of changes from the original proposal in the general discussion chapter of your thesis in order to provide context for your thesis examining committee, who may not be members of your Thesis Advisory Committee.  This may be useful, for example, if changes were made due to unforeseen difficulties or circumstances (e.g. equipment failure, substantial difficulty in recruitment despite diligent efforts.