In the semester(s) before the term in which you hope to write your final project…
Desired Semester to Compete Final Project | Date by Which to Request Project Director | Date by Which to Complete Proposal and Send to Committee |
Fall | May 1 | May 31* *(If the student is considering using work from a Summer seminar, Sept.1. is the deadline for proposal submission.) |
Spring | December 1 | January 7 |
Note: It is NEVER too early to approach a faculty member about a potential project.
- Choose Project. Choose a potential seminar or workshop project that you would be excited to expand and revise. Discuss project ideas with your instructor to explore potential for further expansion.
- Draft Preliminary Proposal and Ask Faculty Member to Serve as Director. Write an initial draft of your proposal (2 pages, double-spaced), which includes a description of your existing project and how you propose to expand and revise it. For Literary Analysis Projects, please see the posted Proposal Guidelines in the Thesis Resource Archive for types of questions to consider in the proposal and what must be included. For Creative Writing Projects, your proposal should also identify at least three outside sources (short stories, poems, craft texts, etc.) that you will discuss in your craft essay, and briefly describe their relevance to your project. Submit this to the faculty member whom you would like to direct the project. If/when the faculty member agrees…
- Register for a 4-credit, one-semester ENG-W 609. Sign up for an ENG-W 609 with your Director. It is expected that you will complete the project during the one semester of your W-609. E-mail the Director of Graduate Studies to inform him/her of the arrangement.
- Finalize Committee. Consult with your Project Director and the Director of Graduate Studies, who will assign two faculty members to serve on the Committee.
- Revise Proposal and Submit to Committee. Work with the director to revise your initial proposal draft and agree on final version to present to Committee. Send the proposal to them by May 31 (for Fall semester proposal meeting), September 1 (for Fall meeting regarding a proposal based in work initiated in most recent summer seminar), or January 7 (for Spring semester proposal meeting).
- Schedule Proposal Meeting for the first week of the semester.
During Your ENG-W 609 Semester…
| Project Task | Deadline in the Term |
| Proposal Approval Meeting with Committee (Submit Approved Proposal with Signed Proposal Acceptance Form) | Week 1 or 2 |
| Drafting / Work with Director | Weeks 1-12 |
| Submit Revised Project in Proper Format to Committee for feedback | Week 13 |
| Schedule Defense with Committee | Week 15 |
| Submit Successful Project to Director of Graduate Studies for Approval | Finals Week - Immediately After Defense |
| Print and Bind // Director Submits Grade | Finals Week - Immediately After DGS Approval |
- Meet with Committee for Proposal Approval. During the first two weeks of the semester, you will meet with your Director and two committee readers for a Proposal Approval Meeting. The meeting will last approximately 30 minutes, and the faculty committee will expect to see clear and specific plans for how the project will be revised and expanded. You will open the meeting with a five-minute discussion of your project, after which the committee will ask questions and make suggestions. After the meeting, submit the Approved Proposal along with the signed Proposal Acceptance Form.
- Apply for Graduation. Complete the Application for Graduation. See Savanna Annis, Department Secretary, in DW 3127, to fill out the graduation form as early as possible--at least twelve weeks prior to the end of the semester. Although the awarding of your degree depends upon the successful completion of your project, this step is absolutely necessary so that the Department may inform the Registrar.
- Work on Your Drafts. When the proposal is approved, you will then begin actively revising and expanding. You will submit regular drafts to your Director based on a schedule that you create together. Keep in mind that when you submit something, it can then take up to two weeks for the Director to comment. Keep working during that process.
- Complete the Project and Submit to Full Committee. The project must be properly formatted into one single document and submitted to the Committee by Week 13 of the semester. Note: This can only occur if your Director confirms the readiness of the project.
- Schedule Your Project Defense during Week 15. The Defense is a one-hour meeting during which you will give a ten-minute formal presentation about the project and then field questions from your committee members. Prepare for the Defense by reviewing these requirements. The goal of the defense is to have a sustained academic conversation about the project and to develop some ideas about how you might improve it should you continue working on it. At the end of the defense, the committee members will ask you to leave the room and confer for a few minutes about the final grade for the project. They will then invite you back in, inform you of your grade, and sign the Acceptance Page for your project, which you will include in the bound copies.
- Submit Successful Project to Director of Graduate Studies for Formatting Approval. Once your project has been approved, make any final edits and check to make sure that the project meets the formatting guidelines. You should then send an electronic copy of the project to the Director of Graduate Studies, who may request formatting revisions.
- Print and Bind. When the director has approved the formatting of your project, you must present three copies to the department secretary that are printed on watermarked, 100 percent cotton bond paper (20 or 24-pound weight). The secretary will send these copies to the printer for binding. You may include additional copies for personal use, which will be bound for $10.10 each.
- Celebrate!!!