Cultural & Educational Policy Studies:
Oral Defense of the M.A. Thesis
It is the candidate's responsibility, in consultation with the thesis director, to arrange an appropriate date, time, and place for the defense. The defense is normally about an hour but could end in less or more than that time. Although the candidate may invite whomever he/she wishes, he/she is discouraged from inviting family members and non-academic friends. The defense is a serious exercise and involves trenchant inquiry, the demeanor of which might be misinterpreted by individuals outside the academic community.
The candidate must distribute her/his thesis no less than eight work days in advance of the defense to the committee. The candidate must arrange a date for the defense. The draft of the thesis distributed to the committee must be prepared in strict accordance with the rules and standards of the Graduate School. In regard to academic style, the comparative education program allows only University of Chicago Manual of Style or APA.
At the defense the candidate furnishes an overview of the thesis, covering briefly a justification of the topic, the conceptual framework including issues pursued, methodology, findings, and conclusion(s). The committee members then present a set of questions to the candidate that forms the basis for discussion.
At the conclusion of questioning and discussion, the candidate is requested to leave the room. The committee then deliberates and decides to approve or disapprove the dissertation and defense. The committee indicates approval by signing an approval form furnished by the candidate and obtained from the Graduate School. The candidate is then asked to return and given the result.
