Main Content Region

Thesis/Project Checklist

Quarter Information

Semester Information 

  1. Advanced Candidacy: Consult with your advisor (Not 1st reader) to complete your program plan. Once the plan is completed in the condition that you have completed (ETEC5000, 5430, and 5440, 6430), submit it to your advisor. PDF
  2. MA Thesis/Project Application: Develop a one-page proposal for your thesis or project. Work with your MA Project Supervisor/1st reader until your 1st reader approves of the proposal. Instructions and examples are available on the ETEC's Resource webpage. Then submit the proposal to your 2nd reader. All committee members must sign the proposal approval sheet.
  3. You will work with two committee members. Your MA Project Supervisor/1st reader is the instructor of ETEC 6963 and must be a tenured or tenure-track Instructional Design and Technology program faculty member (Drs. Eun-Ok Baek, Stephen Bronack, Michael Chen, and Amy Leh). Your 2nd reader can be a full time faculty at CSUSB (does not need to be tenured or tenure-track faculty).
  4. Enroll in ETEC6963. You need to enroll for 3 units once. Your thesis will be graded as either Pass or Incomplete. If your thesis is not complete in the semester you register for the course, you will receive Incomplete and will have one year to complete it. In the meantime you will need to enroll in an ETEC elective course or EDUC 6990 through College of Global Extended Education in order to keep your student status. If your thesis is not complete after one year of your enrollment of the course, you will receive the grade of Incomplete and you need to re-register for ETEC 6990 course again.
  5. Obtain the ETEC Thesis/Project Requirements
  6. Graduation check: Candidates for degrees to be awarded must request a graduation requirement check on the Office of Records, Registration and Evaluations website at least one quarter before the term of their expected graduation. For more additional information about the graduation requirement check, visit the Office of Graduate Studies' Graduation Requirement Check webpage. Advancement to Candidacy is needed before the graduation check can be completed. Deadlines and fees for filing are published in the catalog and in the Class Schedule. Students not completing their degree in the term applied for will need to refile and pay for the later term. Access to registration for terms subsequent to the stated graduation will not be granted until the graduation check is refiled.
  7. Obtain the Thesis Guidelines from Office of Graduate Studies. These guidelines include information about formatting, chapter contents, and more. Read them and follow the guidelines carefully as you develop your proposal and thesis. Considering attending Format Workshops offered by the office. Visit the Office of Graduate Studies webpage frequently to obtain information in relation to important deadlines or changes in deadlines.
  8. Secure IRB approval if your study involves human subjects. The form is available at the IRB Application and Forms webpage. You must have approval before you can begin collecting data. It may take up to 1-2 weeks for approval for the exempt review. Plan for this.
  9. Write drafts of the chapters of the thesis/project. Provide your 1st reader with drafts that have been carefully proofread. The drafts will be returned to you unread if there are too many errors in the document. It is not the chair's responsibility to have to proofread poorly written work. Work with your 1st reader to refine chapters. When approved by your 1st reader, distribute your thesis to your 2nd reader. You have to submit your thesis to your 2nd reader at least one-month ahead of time you need it by before the First Format Review.
  10. First Format Review: You may submit your thesis/project draft (on regular paper) to Office of Graduate Studies for format accuracy after your 1st reader has approved a completed draft of the text. Theses/Projects with half-finished chapters, incomplete or missing sections (such as table of contents, abstract, references, tables, graphs, etc.), blank pages, and gross spelling and grammar errors will be returned unreviewed to the student. If the thesis/project is submitted incomplete at the time of the First Format Review Deadline then the student must change their graduation date to the following quarter. PLEASE BE AWARE: changing printers will affect the formatting of your thesis/project. If possible, use a computer that you can use from beginning (First Format Review) to end (Final Format Review). Draft copies, along with your name and phone number, should be left with the draft. You will be contacted when the review is complete. When your formatting check has been successfully completed, an approval document will be sent to your 1st reader. The thesis reviewers are available for individual appointments during designated hours and days of the week. The purpose of these appointments is to allow students to discuss the reviewer's comments and seek guidance in the formatting process. No appointments will be made to review a thesis/project which has not undergone a first format review. 
  11. Submit final draft to committee members with at least 1month time period. (Optional: Run your manuscript by a tutor at the Writing Center before submitting this draft to your committee. (College Education building, 3rd floor.)
  12. Work with your thesis 1st reader to make all corrections that were suggested by committee members during the review.
  13. Presentation: In the last week of ETEC6963, tenure-track ETEC faculty member will be present during the presentation of your thesis. A letter grade will be assigned to your thesis based on the decision of the ETEC faculty members. If you would like to invite your 2nd reader, it is your responsibility to notify him or her.
  14. Obtain signature from your 1st and 2nd readers on 3 required copies (and any additional copies for your needs) of the approval/signature page. The approval page needs to be copied onto 100% cotton or acid-free paper, as specified by Graduate Studies.
  15. Final Format Review: Once all changes are accepted by your committee and the draft is ready for the good paper, submit to the Office of Office of Graduate Studies all copes to be bound. When you submit a thesis/project for a FINAL REVIEW to the Office of Graduate Studies, the thesis/project must be complete. Before final printing, give final draft for last draft review. This means that you have (1) fulfilled all formatting requirements, (2) obtained the signatures of all committee members on the signature page, and (3) turned in every copy of the thesis/project that is to be bound (this includes the one original printed from a laser printer and two copies all on 100% cotton paper that will be kept by the university, as well as any additional personal copies for binding--which can be on any paper). If these criteria are not met by the final review deadline, then you must change their graduation date to the following quarter. The final review may take 3-5 days for completion, so students should make sure they submit the thesis/project early enough to meet the Binding Payment Deadline.
  16. If the above three (3) criteria for the final format review are met, and all copies to be bound are complete and accurate, then the Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies will grant final approval and sign the "Summary of Charges for Binding of Thesis/Project" form, allowing the student to pay the binding fee. The binding payment receipt must be dated by the binding payment deadline or else the graduation date will have to be changed to the following quarter. This means the thesis/project title page and signature page will need to be changed to reflect the new graduation date. Take signed "Summary of Charges for Binding of Thesis/Project" form to the Bursar's office and pay the binding fee. You will receive the form and a small receipt form the Bursar. Bring all the paper work back to the Office of Graduate Studies.
  17. Give fee receipt from the bursar to your thesis supervisor/1st reader.
  18. Graduate Studies needs a copy of the final version of your thesis at least a week prior to the end of the semester if you are having the bookstore bind your thesis. Graduate Studies needs two copies and the Advanced Studies in Education Department needs one copy.