Course Description

Public Health Master’s students are expected to prepare a formal proposal related to the concept for research under the direction of the primary mentor and following the guidelines provided by the University.

Thesis Project
Following approval of the thesis proposal, the student will begin the research project. The thesis may take the form of a traditional research project or it may be a major scholarly project of the type appropriate to the discipline. Whichever approach to the thesis is approved, the resulting project must demonstrate mastery of a body of knowledge in the major field of study, be the original work of the student and represent a meaningful contribution to the betterment of the human condition or an improvement of the professional field.

The thesis research may be conducted via quantitative, qualitative, or participatory action research. The body of the thesis manuscript should bestructured according to a set of approved manuscript guidelines. If the thesis takes the form of a major scholarly project, it must follow the guidelines provided by the University for such projects.

Review of Thesis
Once the students have prepared the thesis manuscript, they will be asked to schedule the formal review process. The primary mentor and a faculty member representing the secondary academic area will conduct the formal physical review of the thesis manuscript and the oral review of thesis.

The physical review of the thesis manuscript usually takes the review committee four to six weeks. Each reviewer will prepare questions and commentary relative to the underlying review of the literature, the thesis methodology, the mechanics of your project, and the presentation of the findings, conclusions and recommendations.

The oral examination is carried out by a video conference call and is designed to allow detailed investigation of the thesis. The faculty reviewers explore issues related to the thesis including methodology, review of literature and interpretation of the findings.

One outcome of the thesis review process is a set of final expectations directing the student through the remaining tasks for completing the thesis manuscript. Once the final manuscript is approved, the student will submit the formal document to an approved bindery and later ship the bound thesis to the University for permanent archival storage.