New York University Bulletin - Gallatin School of Individualized ...

The Master’s ThesisGALLATIN SCHOOL OF INDIVIDUALIZED STUDYEach graduate student in the Gallatin School completes a final thesis as the culmination of hisor her work toward a Master of Arts degree.The thesis may take one of three forms:a researchthesis, an artistic thesis, or a project thesis. In each case, the thesis represents a synthesis of thestudent’s accumulated knowledge and skill and an opportunity to display the ideas, practices,and skills learned through the program.While the master’s thesis,unlike a doctoral dissertation,does not have to create new knowledge or break new ground,it does display the student’s abilityto go beyond the mere collection of information into synthesis, analysis, judgment and interpretation.Moreover, it should demonstrate the student’s familiarity with a substantial bodyof thought and literature and illustrate mastery of some self-chosen field of study.TYPES OF THESESThe Research ThesisThe research thesis is essentially an extended research paper, approximately 50-100 pages inlength.The research thesis consists of a systematic inquiry into some phenomenon, problem,or question that the student attempts to address or solve through research.This processentails the collection and analysis of original material as well as already published (secondary)sources, using appropriate scholarly methods.The topic for the thesis should emerge from the student’s individualized program of studyand should bring together issues or concerns that he or she has been pursuing during thecourse of the M.A. program. Some sample research topics include The Theatrical Collaborationsof Five Studio Artists from the Russian Avant-Garde;A Sense of Our Own Realities:TheLife and Art of Alice Neel; and Power and Stigma: Shaping the HIV/AIDS Epidemic inUganda and South Africa.The thesis may take any number of methodological approaches, depending on the questionand on the student’s studies:historiography,literary criticism,an integrative review of previousresearch, ethnographic analysis, policy studies, program evaluation, biography and manyother possibilities.The student should be able to justify his or her approach according to theparticular research problem or issue. Students should keep in mind that the adviser is the primaryperson responsible for determining the criteria and standards by which the thesis is carriedout and the relevance of the questions and issues posed.NewYork University Bulletin 2012-2013 75