Thesis & Dissertation Requirements
All graduate students in the School of Informatics must submit a thesis to fulfill graduation requirements. Ph.D. students will use the term "dissertation" to refer to the thesis process. Much of the procedure is the same for both master's and doctoral candidates. Where information is specific to the Ph.D. dissertation, we'll use (Ph.D.) to point it out.
Due Dates
For thesis and dissertation due dates, check the calendar.
Exceptions & Additions
Instead of a thesis, graduate students in the Media Arts & Science program may complete a capstone project to fulfill graduation requirements.
Human-Computer Interaction students should use this document in addition to any relevant topics here.
The Process
Proposal
All thesis work requires a proposal to direct the overall project. This must be established before the thesis begins, and must be approved by your research advisor and committee.
Criteria for Judging Thesis Proposals
Background and rationale
- Does your project address a significant issue or problem in informatics?
- How well do you connect this project to larger issues in the field?
- How knowledgeable are you about these larger issues?
Research project objectives
- Is your hypothesis clearly formulated?
- Are your objectives clear and concise?
- Are your objectives and hypothesis linked?
- Is your hypothesis entirely covered by the objectives?
- Can your project appropriately test the hypothesis or answer the question?
Methods and plans
- Are your methods appropriate for the project goals?
- How detailed and specific are your methods?
- Can you complete the project with the time and resources available?
- Have all necessary commitments from participants been obtained?
- Are all tasks clearly assigned to participants?
- Have you devised a method to measure the project's success?
Student background
- Do you have the ability (knowledge, skills, and resources) to undertake the project?
- Is the project appropriate for your subject matter and career goals?
Developing and Writing your Thesis
After the proposal has been approved by the research advisor and committee, you may begin work on your thesis. As the project nears completion, the research advisor and committee will suggest revisions for the final defense.
Sample Thesis
Defense
When your thesis is finished, you'll defend it in an open seminar with the research advisor, committee, and other interested attendees. Based on your defense, the committee may recommend final changes to the thesis prior to publication.
Publication
The final step in the thesis process is to have your thesis bound and archived. Prior to binding and committee sign-off, it must be reviewed to ensure proper formatting.
Binding
When your thesis is complete, it is hard-bound for IU storage and archival.
Two bound copies are required. One goes to the School of Informatics graduate office, and one to your research advisor. The graduate program director must also receive a bound copy if he/she is not your research advisor.
Bound theses must be on 100% cotton rag paper, single-sided only.
Binding prices vary according to company and turnaround time (usually between 1-3 weeks, depending on urgency). Cost is usually between $30 and $50/each for 2 to 4 bound copies.
Unbound copies should be distributed to remaining members of the thesis committee. Finally, submit an electronic version to the reviewer via CD-ROM or email.
Archival
IUPUI holds past informatics graduate theses in the IDeA digital archive. Please be sure to sign and submit a permission form when you turn in your electronic copy of your final thesis to the Dean’s office with your bound thesis. This will allow your thesis to appear in IDeA.
IU Style Guide
"A Guide to the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations" is provided by the IUPUI Graduate Office for students in IU graduate schools. Most of the formatting rules you must follow are established here. Exceptions are listed under Informatics Thesis Format.
The IU Style Guide is published by IU Bloomington and sets conventions to follow in general IU communications.
Additional formatting questions
If you have reviewed the IU thesis guide and still have questions about your thesis format, please review the theses stored in IDeA. They will demonstrate what yours should look like when complete.
