Identifying and Working toward Your Thesis Topic
Students have the option to select Thesis or Non-Thesis track
Thesis Track
Although you will not likely enroll in thesis hours until your second year (or 18 credits completed) in the program, you should be working toward your thesis well before this. Through course readings and assignments, conversations with faculty and other students, participation in department workshops and colloquia, and other activities, you should explore and narrow down possible thesis topics your time in the program.
Forming a Thesis Advisory Committee
When writing your thesis, the topic you choose should represent an area of sustainable interest for you. It is also essential that you choose a topic for which your coursework has prepared you, and a topic about which at least one Rhetoric & Composition faculty member has expertise. To get an idea of which faculty member you would be interested in working with, feel free to explore our DWR Faculty and Staff webpage to learn more about the members of our department.
When you have identified the general topic you would like to pursue, you should start the process of choosing a thesis chair and faculty advisory committee. You will need some idea of your thesis topic before you can develop your annotated bibliography, as this document requires you to frame the bibliography with a thesis overview and explain in your annotates how you will use the sources in your thesis
The thesis option is arguably the more traditional approach to graduate program completion. This kind of project prepares the student to engage in sustained, independent research, which can be particularly useful (though not necessarily required) for those who wish to pursue a PhD after completing the MA.
As of Fall 2024, the thesis option requires six credits of ENC 6971 (Thesis Hours). Completing a thesis requires the student to work with a faculty committee, including an advisor/chair, to create a substantial research-based project. Projects can vary in their details.
Traditional Thesis
The most traditional type is a formal multi-chapter text, typically about 60-100 pages in length.
Non-Traditional Thesis
Other options include shorter final products focused on external audiences. This might be an article for publication, a grant proposal for a project, a digital portfolio, or a curriculum project. Generally speaking, it’s best to enroll for three credits each in the Fall and Spring semesters of your second (final) year of the program, so you will have adequate time for planning, drafting, revising, and defending, and submitting your project.
Non-Thesis Track
As of Fall 2024, the non-thesis option for degree completion requires successful completion of the Rhetoric and Composition Graduate Capstone course (ENC 6952), which is typically offered each Fall and includes development of an electronic portfolio.
You do not have to know which of these options you plan to pursue when you begin the program, but it’s smart to begin thinking about which is the best fit for your goals as soon as possible. Take opportunities to talk with faculty members, program alumni, and students who are farther along in the program to determine what is best for you. Ideally you should have a general plan in place by the time you have completed 15 credits, or half of your course work.
Major research projects completed by DWR alumni here at UCF may be accessed and viewed online through the UCF Library STARS Repository.
Enrolling in Thesis Hours
After your coursework has been completed and annotated bibliography approved, your work in the program will focus on the thesis requirement. Remember that before you can enroll in thesis hours you will need to form a thesis committee and submit the completed Thesis Advisory Committee Form to the program assistant, who will forward it to Graduate Studies for approval. Remember, too, that for thesis hours you and your chair will need to complete the CAH Restricted Registration form and submit this to the Graduate Program, the deadline to submit this form is the Wednesday before classes begin, that semester.
If you are on an assistantship or otherwise need to qualify as a full-time student, you must take 3 thesis hours each term; otherwise you only need 3 thesis hours total. Once you begin thesis hours, you must be continuously enrolled every term, including Summer, until you complete the thesis requirement.
Because you will almost certainly not be able to propose, research, write, revise, and defend a thesis in a single terms, you should plan on completing the thesis requirement over two terms, preferably the Fall and Spring.
Completing the Thesis Proposal
The Thesis Proposal page explains this genre in more detail and recommends that you work on the thesis proposal in ENC 6720 or in the Summer before you enroll in thesis hours, if you begin these in the Fall term. If your project requires IRB approval, you should also secure this in advance of and include it in your thesis proposal.
After working with your chair to develop and revise your proposal, you will send it to the other members of your advisory committee for feedback, and your chair will schedule a proposal meeting with the full committee. During this meeting, the committee will approve, conditionally approve, or ask you to revise the proposal. Once your proposal is approved by the committee, your chair should send it via email to the program director.
Be sure to plan carefully and communicate effectively with your committee so that you have ample time to develop and get approved the proposal before the end of your first semester of thesis hours, if not sooner. You should not begin writing your thesis until your proposal has been approved by the committee. If your committee still rejects your proposal after any requested revisions, you must select a different topic and/or form a different committee.
Meeting University Thesis Requirements and Deadlines
As you work on your thesis, you will need to meet the UCF Graduate Studies requirements and deadlines for submitting your thesis format review, scheduling and announcing your defense, and submitting the final thesis. The Graduate Studies Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Gateway website details specific university processes, requirements, and deadlines, including the step-by-step guide Completing Your Thesis or Dissertation.
As the Completing Your Thesis guide explains, the following requirements must be met by graduating students in their final term. Note: Deadlines for thesis format review, thesis defense, and thesis final submission are listed on each term’s Academic Calendar.
- Submit a fully formatted, bookmarked PDF thesis file for format review by the format review deadline listed in the Academic Calendar; follow the standards outlined on the Formatting the ETD page of the ETD Gateway website
- If approval not granted upon initial review, promptly resubmit your corrected thesis file for format approval
- Submit the Thesis and Dissertation Release Option form several weeks before the defense
- Schedule and create the announcement for your thesis defense, and send the announcement to the Graduate Program RhetGrad@ucf.edu at least 14 days before the defense date
- Send the full thesis (preferably already revised based on chair and committee feedback) to the committee at least two weeks, and ideally four weeks, before the thesis defense
- Submit your full thesis for a review for original work, for example Turnitin.com or iThenticate.
- Prepare the Thesis Approval Form before the thesis; you can access the form through the Graduate Studies Thesis and Dissertation Services website
- Defend your thesis by the thesis defense deadline listed in the Academic Calendar
- If necessary, make any revisions to the thesis as directed by the committee, and send the revised thesis to the chair and committee for approval
- After all members of the advisory committee have signed the Thesis Approval Form, submit the form to the program assistant, who will get the signatures from the program director and dean and then submit the completed form to the College of Graduate Studies; Graduate Studies must receive the completed form by the final submission deadline listed in the Academic Calendar
- Submit your final thesis on the Final Submission page of the Thesis and Dissertation Services website by the thesis final submission deadline listed in the Academic Calendar
The College of Graduate Studies offers several thesis and dissertation workshops each term. Students are highly encouraged to attend these workshops early in the process to fully understand the above policies and procedures. If you have any questions that are not answered by the resources above, you can reach the Graduate Studies thesis and dissertation office at editor@ucf.edu.