2008–2009 (PDF, 6 MB) - LAU Publications - Lebanese American ...

ACADEMIC RULES AND PROCEDURESFOR GRADUATE PROGRAMSACADEMIC RULES AND PROCEDURESFOR GRADUATE PROGRAMS2.11. THESIS AND PROJECT1. ThesisThe Thesis shall be based on original researchwork carried out in the basic, and /or applied, fieldof study.2. ProjectThe Project shall be based on substantial appliedwork, involving, for example, critical literaturereview, and experimental or analytical studies dealingwith the application of recent, or significant,techniques or tools, development of kits/systems,empirical testing of theories, etc…3. RegistrationStudents may register for the Thesis or Project, atany time, after being registered for 12 credits, subjectto the consent of their Thesis or Project Advisor.Theses must be completed within 2 years of thefirst registration, and Projects within 3 semesters,excluding Summer.Registration for a Thesis or Project will allow studentsto retain their status with the University for 2years, or 3 semesters, respectively, with no additionaltuition fees. To maintain access to theUniversity facilities, students must re-register forthe Thesis or Project (for zero credits, and no fees).Past the 2 years for Theses, or the 3 semesters forProjects, students allowed to have a Thesis or aProject extension, by the University GraduateCouncil (UGC), will be required to register for aResidence Fee (0 quality point), and to pay for 50%of one Graduate credit, per semester.4. GuidelinesA. A student selects a Thesis or Project Advisor, anda topic. In consultation with this Advisor, studentsalso select the other member(s) of a GraduateAdvisory Committee to guide their work on thechosen topic. Students are expected to makethese selections soon after registering in theThesis or Project.B.In addition to the Advisor, the Thesis Committeeshall be made up of a minimum of two members,and the Project Committee of a minimumof one member. The majority of the ThesisCommittee members must be full-time LAUFaculty of the Graduate Program concerned. TheAdvisor, who should be a full-time LAU faculty,shall chair the Committee. This Advisor shallcommunicate the names of the members of theThesis Committee to the Department/Division/School concerned, which will be approved by theDean of Graduate Studies and Research or theDean of the School concerned.C. Students must successfully defend their Thesisproposal in front of the members of their ThesisAdvisory Committee, normally within the firstsemester in which they register for the Thesis.The results of the Proposal Defense, along withany specific instructions, shall then be communicatedby the student’s Advisor to the Office ofthe Dean of Graduate Studies and Research orthe Dean of the School concerned, and theGraduate Student concerned, using the ThesisProposal Form. The Form shall be certified by allthe members of the Committee.D. The members of the Committee shall be keptinformed of the progress of the Thesis orProject.E. The grade for a Thesis or Project can be a Pass, ora No Pass (P or NP). The grade does not contributeto the GPA.F. Before their defense, students can petition tochange registration from a Thesis to a Project, orcourse, and vice versa.1. Students changing from a Project to a Thesisoption will be required to pay, only, for theextra credits, provided that the student remainswith the same Thesis Advisor. The change shallbe made at least one semester before graduation,and shall carry the approval of theUniversity Graduate Council (UGC).2. Students changing from a Thesis to a Projectwill not be refunded for the difference in credits.The change shall be made at least onesemester before graduation, and shall carrythe approval of the UGC.3. Students changing from a Thesis or a Projectto one or two course (s) are required to pay forthe substituted courses.5. Conflict of InterestThe Faculty shall not serve on the Thesis orProject Advisory Committee, or be the Advisor of astudent that either is a family member 1 or a businesspartner 2 .In such cases where the academic circumstancesrequire that a Faculty member serve on the Thesisor Project Advisory Committee, or be the Thesis orProject Advisor of a student that is either a familymember or a business partner, the Faculty shallsecure the prior written approval of the Dean ofGraduate Studies and Research or the Dean of theSchool concerned.2.12 PROCEDURE FOR THESIS ANDPROJECT DEFENSE1. Thesis DefenseThe student shall submit his/her Thesis to theThesis Committee members, and the Dean ofGraduate Studies and Research or the Dean of theSchool concerned, at least two weeks before theDefense date.The date of the public Defense will be publiclyannounced by the concerned School Dean, at leasttwo weeks in advance.The Thesis Defense session shall start by thecandidate giving a public presentation. This will befollowed by a closed meeting with the ThesisCommittee for the final Defense. The ThesisCommittee will deliberate, in private, in the absenceof the candidate, before reaching a final decision.The result of the Defense is reported on theThesis Defense Form. The Form is preliminarilysigned by the Advisor, and all the members of theCommittee. The Form specifies corrections andchanges to the Thesis requested by the Committee.The student shall deliver the corrected and/orchanged Thesis to the Advisor within a period, to bespecified by the Committee, which shall not exceedone term. The Advisor must verify that the Thesisfulfills the requirements of the Thesis Committee,including all the requested changes, and corrections.The Form is then submitted to Dean ofGraduate Studies and Research, or the Dean of theSchool concerned, who is responsible for checkingthat the Thesis fulfills all the requirements.2. Project PresentationEach Department/Division/School will set its ownguidelines for the Project presentation.2.13 PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OFTHESIS AND PROJECTTheses and Projects shall be written in accordancewith the specified “Thesis and Project FormatGuidelines”, available at the Office of the Dean ofGraduate Studies and Research, or the SchoolDean.Thesis:The candidate must provide the Library with thefinal version of the Thesis, for format verification,and binding, at least one week prior to the deadlinefor submission of all grades. The final version shallinclude, immediately after the cover page, a completedand signed Thesis Approval Form. The librarianshall verify the Thesis compliance, with theformat specified in the “Format Guidelines.” Thelibrarian shall then fill and sign the Library ClearanceForm, and send it to the Registrar for initiation ofthe graduation procedures. The student is alsorequired to submit two copies of the final version ofthe Thesis to the Office of Graduate Studies/SchoolDean. The Registrar shall not register the grade for aThesis until he/she obtains copies of both the ThesisApproval Form, and the Library Clearance Form.general informationACADEMIC CATALOG [ 2008-2009 ]51Lebanese American University | page 501. Spouse, parents, children, siblings, siblings of parents, first cousins and any person related to one of these individuals bymarriage, or any other relation, who resides in the same household with the Faculty member.2. One in which the Faculty member, or a member of their family, serves as an officer, director, partner, trustee, owner, or controllingstockholder of an organization related to the student.