thesis requirements osu

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Document preparation, student responsibility.

PhD and master’s students are responsible for meeting all requirements for preparing theses and dissertations. They are expected to confer with their advisors about disciplinary and program expectations and to follow Graduate School procedure requirements.

Graduate School Role

The Graduate School certifies that theses and dissertations have been prepared as required. Graduate School staff members are available to provide information and to review documents at any stage of the planning or writing process. The Graduate School will not accept documents if required items are missing. The Graduate School cannot provide hands on training or editing of a document to meet formatting and digital accessibility standards. The Graduate School will not extend deadlines because of miscommunication between the student and the advisor. 

Required Format Features

Ohio State dissertations and theses must contain the following format features, which must be identified with a major heading that is centered below at least a one-inch top margin. The Graduate School highly recommends you use one of the templates in the following section as many of these features are already setup to help simplify the process. Visit our format review page for more information on format review and submission.

Specific Required Format Features

• Title page 
• Copyright 
• Abstract 
• Table of Contents 
• List of Figures 
• Bibliography 
• List of Tables (if applicable) 
• List of Illustrations (if applicable) 
• Appendices (if applicable)

Digital Accessibility Features (Features implemented beginning Spring 2023)

*(see links below for information about applying these features)

As of August 1st 2024, if students need access to Adobe Acrobat to run a digital accessibility checker on their dissertation or thesis, they can visit the visit the Digital Union (Macs only), Research Commons Computer Lab, and the public library sites at the Thompson Main Library and 18 th Avenue Library.

Graduate School Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Accessibility Plan

• PDF file includes full text
• PDF accessibility permission flag is checked
• Text language of the PDF is specified
• PDF includes a title
• Images, figures, and tables have descriptive captions and/or alt tags explaining content

Electronic Dissertation and Thesis Adobe Acrobat Download and Accessibility Support Video

OSU Login is required for access.

Optional Features 

• Frontispiece (if used, no heading is included on this page) 
• Dedication 
• Acknowledgments

Additional Resources

• Detailed guidelines for formatting
• Dissertation formatting tips and tricks
• Digital Accessibility Guide for Dissertations and Theses
• More information about format review and submission
• Making an accessible document in Microsoft Word
• * Adobe Acrobat - Creating and Verifying and Accessible Document

Additional Online Training Support for Microsoft Office Suite

• General Office Training Support
• User training on Office 2016
• Office 2016 for Mac Quick Start Guides
• User help guides on Office Mobile for iPhone
• User help guides on Office Mobile for Android
• Accessible Documents and Formatting Training

Sample Pages and Templates

The following templates are available for use in formatting dissertations, theses, and DMA documents. Please read all instructions before beginning. 

• Graduate Dissertations and Theses Templates - OSU Login Required

Still Have Questions?

Dissertations & Theses 614-292-6031 [email protected]

Doctoral Exams, Master's Examination, Graduation Requirements 614-292-6031 [email protected]

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Research thesis and research distinction.

An undergraduate thesis is an official, academically-integrated undergraduate research project with a formal written outcome. Completing a thesis is permanently recognized on a student's diploma as graduation with "Research Distinction" or with "Honors Research Distinction."

The requirements for graduating with research distinction vary by college, but generally include submitting an application to complete a thesis at least a semester prior to graduation, enrolling in thesis course credit hours, submitting a written thesis manuscript and completing an oral examination or defense to a faculty panel. Students should discuss their interest in completing a research distinction project with their research advisor and academic advisor as early as possible.

Theses are permanently stored in the University Library's Knowledge Bank ; so, they are also considered to be a published material.

Research Thesis and Distinction by College/Program

Please contact your academic advisor if you are interested in completing a research thesis or distinction program.

• Graduation and Research Distinction Guidelines
• Research Distinction (Honors and Non-Honors)

Students should contact their academic advisor for information on graduating with Research Distinction or Honors Research Distinction.

• Undergraduate Research & Distinction
• Undergraduate Research Advising Packet
• Honors and Research Distinction (including Non-Honors)
• Guidelines for Research Distinction
• Research Distinction
• Honors Distinction and Thesis
• Undergraduate Research, Independent Study, and Honors Program
• Research Pathways
• Research Distinction Guidelines
• Honors Research and Thesis Requirements

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Guidelines for Master's Thesis and Ph.D. Proposals

Guidelines for master’s thesis and ph.d. dissertation proposals (note: see also more general details in graduate student handbook)  .

Graduate students should begin investigating potential research areas and discussing the feasibility of possible topics with appropriate faculty as soon as is practical after beginning their graduate careers.  The ideal situation would be for a student to have chosen the general research area and to have received an indication from a faculty member that he or she would be willing to serve as advisor to the student before the end of the first semester in residence.  It is recognized that commonly this will not occur until the second quarter in residence.

Under the guidelines for “Normal Progress”, a M.S. student must have an approved Thesis Proposal completed by the end of the second semester or, for a Ph.D. student a completed Dissertation Proposal by the end of the second year (4 semesters) at OSU.

Only members of the Graduate Faculty (Status M or P) can serve as advisors at the Master’s level.  Only members with Status P can serve as Ph.D. advisors.  All regular faculty in the School of Earth Sciences qualify, as well as Emeritus faculty who have petitioned to retain Graduate Faculty status.  Associated faculty, including adjuncts, may serve on master’s and doctoral examination committees upon petition by the Graduate Studies Committee of the student’s program and approval by the Graduate School; however they do not count towards the Graduate School minimum requirements for Graduate Faculty (2 for the M.S. Examination Committee, 4 for the Ph.D. Candidacy Exam, and 3 for the Final Ph.D. Oral Examination).

To formalize this agreement between the student and faculty advisor, the department requires that a Thesis/Dissertation Proposal be submitted to the Graduate Studies Committee for its approval.

The procedure for preparing and submitting the proposal is given below.  It is expected that the text of the M.S. proposal will be approximately 3 to 5 pages, not including references.  The Ph.D. proposal is expected to be approximately 5 to 9 pages, not including references.

1.         The student develops a proposal that meets the approval of his or her advisor and which addresses the following points:

a.         nature and significance of the problem; b.         description of the procedures the student will use to solve the problem; c.         timetable for the work; and d.         estimated budget which shall include; i) stipend and its duration and anticipated source of funds (GRA, GTA); ii) analytical costs and technician time; iii) computer hardware and software costs; iv) fieldwork costs; v) illustration expenses; etc.

2.         The student in conjunction with his or her advisor selects two additional faculty members for an M.S. (note that this minimum of 3 Committee members is 1 greater than the Graduate School minimum of 2), or three additional faculty members for a Ph.D., who are willing to serve on the committee and who approve the written proposal. All faculty committee members sign and endorse the proposal TITLE PAGE before final submission to the Graduate Coordinator who then sends this on to the Graduate Studies Committee.

3.         The Graduate Studies Committee will review the proposal, after which it may a) return the proposal to the student for clarification, amplification, or rewriting, or b) approve the proposal as written.  Approval of the proposal is accompanied by filing of the proposal in the student’s folder in the Departments Graduate Records Office, and notification of the student of these actions.  It shall be incumbent upon the Graduate Studies Committee to take action on Thesis/Dissertation Proposals as quickly as possible when they are submitted during the regular academic year.

For a student in the M.S. program, the committee will serve as the Master’s Examination committee.  The Ph.D. student’s committee will serve as the Ph.D. Candidacy Examination committee, and also typically the Ph.D. Final Examination committee (although changes can be made between candidacy and the final thesis defense).  If a member of such a committee cannot be present for any Examination, the Chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee should be informed and in consultation with the student’s advisor, a substitute for the Examination will be appointed.

Please note that:                                                         

1.         A student should have an approved Thesis/Dissertation Proposal before enrolling in GS 8999 (Thesis/Dissertation Research).| 2.         If a student does not have an approved Thesis Proposal by the end of the second semester or a Dissertation Proposal by the end of the second year (4 semesters) at OSU, then under the guidelines the student is not making “Normal Progress”.  The Graduate Coordinator and Graduate Studies Committee must be made aware of the reasons for the delay, expected timeline for completion, and a meeting may be requested with the student and advisor to discuss the circumstances.| 3.         Students are encouraged to apply for small grants (e.g., Sigma Xi, AAPG, GSA, etc.) when the necessary financial support for research expenses is uncertain.  The deadlines for these proposals are normally in January or early February, requiring early planning for thesis/dissertation research.

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Introduction

This page has resources on writing a thesis or dissertation. Ohio State's Graduate School has a guide and requirements for theses and dissertations .

If you are looking to find dissertations, see the Dissertations & Theses guide.

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Dissertation Format

The format of the dissertation is to be determined prior to the dissertation proposal and the proposal structured according to the guidelines below., traditional five chapter dissertation.

• Front pages and formats
• https://gradsch.osu.edu/completing-your-degree/dissertations-theses/document-preparation
• https://gradsch.osu.edu/completing-your-degree/examinations/doctoral-examinations
• The dissertation proposal includes Chapters 1-3
• The dissertation includes revised Chapters 1-3 plus Chapters 4 & 5
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Review of Literature, Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
• Chapter 3: Methods
• Chapter 4: Findings
• Chapter 5: Discussion and Recommendations

Manuscript Style Dissertation

• Introduction
• Research Problem(s) and Purpose of Proposed Research
• Paper 1: Aim, summary of literature to support premise, methods
• Paper 2: Aim, summary of literature to support premise, methods
• Paper 3: Aim, summary of literature to support premise, methods
• Research Problems and Purpose of Proposed Research
• Paper 1: Aim, summary of literature to support premise, methods, results, discussion, conclusion
• Paper 2: Aim, summary of literature to support premise, methods, results, discussion, conclusion
• Paper 3: Aim, summary of literature to support premise, methods, results, discussion, conclusion
• Summary discussion with recommendations for research, policy, and practice

Contents of the Manuscript Style Option

• Integrative or systematic review of literature
• Empirical methods paper
• Data based paper(s) of findings; all research questions proposed for the dissertation must be addressed in the final dissertation. Thus, more than one results paper may be needed.
• The inclusion of these published papers must be approved by the dissertation committee at the proposal stage and described within the proposal.
• The inclusion of published papers in the final dissertation must be allowable under the copyright agreement the student signed when the paper was submitted/accepted by the journal and the paper must be in the form that the specific journal allows.
• The student must be the first author on all published papers that are included in the dissertation.
• All proposed research questions/aims must be addressed in the final dissertation.

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MS with Thesis degree requirements, MSE

The master's degree program in MSE is designed to give students the opportunity to gain additional knowledge and necessary skills in a specific area of Materials Science. A thesis option master's degree is made up of two primary aspects; academic course work and research used to support a written document. The requirements for the MS with Thesis degree, as established by the MSE Graduate Studies Committee, are as follows:

Degree requirements effective AU19

For graduate students who entered the graduate program in or after AU19 and for those students admitted before AU19 choosing to follow this curriculum.

MATSCEN MS with Thesis Requirements Worksheet (PDF)

I 30 total graduate credit hours are required for an MS degree

A Of these 30 hours, at least 15 credit hours must be graded graduate level courses.

• Of these 15 hours, at least 9 credit hours must be taken in MSE at the 6000-level or greater.
• Of these 15 credit hours, at least 6 credit hours of graduate-level courses in addition to the 9 listed in A1 (these 6 credit hours may be taken within the dept. or outside MSE; if taken outside MSE, it is understood that all 6 credit hours are to be related to the student's area of materials study).

B At least 15 credit hours may come from other courses, besides those listed above in A, to bring the total graduate credit hours to 30 or greater.

• Of these 15 credit hours, at least 3 and no more than 4 credit hours of MSE 7895 (Graduate Seminar and Colloquium, 1 credit hours), all with Satisfactory grade, count towards the requirement.
• Of these 15 credit hours, credit for at least two one  semester of mandatory Instructional Assistant (IA) service will be earned while assisting in the instruction of the undergraduate studies program. This requirement was updated in AU24. Previous requirement was two terms of IA service, this was reduced to one term of required service.
• Of these 15 credit hours, at least 10 credit hours are to be from MSE 6999 (Research in Materials Science and Engineering).

II Master’s Thesis Document

A Thesis Draft

A student pursuing the thesis option must submit a complete, thesis draft to the master’s examination committee. The thesis draft must be approved by the master’s examination committee before the student takes the examination. The thesis must conform to Graduate School format requirements as described in the “Graduate School Guidelines for Formatting Theses, Dissertations, and D.M.A. Documents.”

If the student satisfactorily completes the master’s examination and if the student presents an acceptable thesis, the master’s examination committee members indicate approval of the thesis by posting their decision on the Report on Final Document by the published deadline for the autumn or spring semester or summer term of graduation.

C Restricted Material

Theses must not include material restricted from publication.

D Submission

The thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School by the published deadline for the autumn or spring semester or summer term of graduation. The final thesis must be submitted electronically as a PDF document to OhioLink.

III Master’s Examination

The master’s examination for the thesis option consists of an oral exam and is a test of the student’s knowledge of the field. It is the final validation of performance for that degree. The master’s examination is taken after submitting the Application to Graduate form and during the autumn or spring semester or summer term in which the student plans to graduate. The oral exam must take place on Campus during announced university business hours, Monday through Friday 8 am – 5 pm. A student is only admitted to the examination after approval of the thesis draft by the master’s examination committee.

A Master’s Examination Committee

The master’s examination is administered under the auspices of the Graduate Studies Committee. The responsibility for the examination rests with the student’s master’s examination committee. The master’s examination committee is composed of at least two Graduate Faculty members including the student’s advisor. The advisor of a master’s student must hold membership at the category M level or higher in the student’s graduate program. Non-Graduate Faculty members may be appointed to the master’s examination committee by approval of the Graduate Studies Committee and by petition to the Graduate School. Non-Graduate Faculty members are in addition to the required two current Ohio State Graduate Faculty members.

B Attendance

The advisor serves as chair in the oral portion of the master’s examination. The student is expected to deliver a public presentation at the beginning of the exam on the topic of their thesis work. The public presentation should be no longer than half an hour and the entire exam is limited to less than 2 hours. Except when video conferencing is involved, all members of the master’s examination committee must be present during the entire examination and are expected to participate fully in questioning during the course of the examination and in the discussion and decision on the result. While the general part of the exam is limited to the student and the committee, others may attend the public presentation part of the examination.

D Video Conferencing

All master’s examinations involving video conferencing must adhere to the Graduate School’s guidelines for video conferencing.

Ref: Graduate School Handbook sec 6

Semester-based degree requirements, SU12-SU19

For graduate students who entered the graduate program in or after Summer term 2012 through Summer 2019.

I 30 graduate semester credit hours are required for an MS degree.

A Of these 30 credits, at least 15 must come from graded graduate level courses.

• Of these 9 credits in MSE, at least 4 credit hours MUST be taken at the 6000 level or greater in MSE.
• Of these 9 credits in MSE, 5 may be taken at the 5000 level or greater in MSE.
• Of these 15 credits, up to 6 credit hours may be taken in MSE or out of MSE--it is understood that any non-MSE credits are to be related to the student's area of materials study (hard sciences and/or engineering) unless previously approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.

B At least 15 credit hours may come from other courses, besides those listed in A1 and A2, to bring the total graduate credit hours to 30 or greater.

• Autumn and Spring enrollment in MSE 7895 (Graduate Seminar and Colloquium, 1 credit) are required of all MSE graduate students. Credits earned while enrolled in 7895 will apply towards the 30 credit hour total for the Master's degree.
• Instructional Assistant service. Of these 15 credit hours, at least 4 credit hours are to be from MSE 6193.01 earned while assisting faculty with instruction of MSE courses. Students earn 2 credits per term of service as an Instructional Assistant . Students will attend a university training workshop in support of this curricular requirement. [ More about IA service credits ]

II   Presentation and defense of an acceptable thesis.

Courses that apply toward the degree:

• MSE courses at the 5000 level or above that may be taken for graduate credit.
• Non-MSE courses at the 5000 level or greater in the hard-sciences, math, and engineering that may be taken for graduate credit.

Updated SU12 & AU13

• Of these 9 credits in MSE, at least 6 credit hours MUST be taken at the 6000 level or greater in MSE.
• Of these 9 credits in MSE, 3 may be taken at the 5000 level or greater in MSE.
• Instructional Assistant service. Of these 15 credit hours, at least 2 credit hours are to be from MSE 6193.01 earned while assisting faculty with instruction of MSE courses. Students earn 1 credit per term of service as an Instructional Assistant . Students will attend a university training workshop in support of this curricular requirement.

Quarter-based degree requirements

For graduate students who entered the graduate program prior to Summer term 2012.

I 45 total graduate credit hours are required for an MS degree.

A Of these 45 hours, at least 21 must be graded graduate level courses.

• Of these 21 hours, at least 15 credit hours MUST be taken in MSE (thus allowing for up to 6 hours of non-MSE study to count toward fulfillment of an MSE Master's degree--it is understood that all 6 hours are to be related to the student's area of materials study unless previously approved by the Graduate Studies Committee).
• Of these 15 hours in MSE, at least 6 credit hours MUST be taken at the 700 level or greater in MSE.

B At least 24 credit hours may come from other courses, besides those listed in A1&2, to bring the total graduate credit hours to 45 or greater.

• Of these 24 hours, no more than 6 credit hours of MSE 795 (Graduate Seminar and Colloquium) may apply towards this 24 hour total (though registration in MSE 795 is required for AU, WI, & SP quarters, regardless of the total number of 795 credits a student has earned).
• Instructional Assistant service. Of these 24 hours, at least 4 credit hours are to be from MSE 894 earned while assisting faculty with instruction of MSE courses. Students earn two credits per term of service as an Instructional Assistant . Students will attend a university training workshop in support of this curricular requirement.
• Of these 24 hours, at least 15 credit hours are to be from MSE 999 (Research in Materials Science and Engineering).
• MSE courses at the 600 level or above that may be taken for graduate credit.
• Non-MSE courses at the 500 level or greater in the hard-sciences, math, and engineering that may be taken for graduate credit.

Updated 9/08 rev 4/98

Additional information

• Mark Cooper , MSE Graduate Studies Coordinator 614-292-7280
• Graduate School 614-292-6031

Graduate School Handbook

• Master's Degree (sec 6)
• Master's Examination (Sec 6.2-6.3)
• Thesis Submission (Sec 6.4)
• Summary of MS Graduation Requirements

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• 1 Introduction
• 2 Governance of Graduate Study
• 3 Advisors and Examination Committees
• 4 Registration
• 5 Master of Public Health Degree Programs
• 6 Master of Health Administration Degree Program
• 7.1 General Degree Requirements
• 7.2 Course Requirements

7.3 The Thesis

• 7.4 Graduation
• 7.5 Time Limit
• 7.6 Master’s Degree on the Basis of Candidacy for the PhD
• 8 Doctor of Philosophy Degree Programs
• 9 Combined and Dual Degree Programs
• 10 Graduate Minors and Graduate Certificates
• 11 Waiver of a Course and Transfer of Graduate Credit
• 12 Academic Standards
• 13 Graduate Associate Appointments
• 14 General Information

Graduate Student Handbook

The thesis is an integral part of the MS degree, allowing the student the opportunity to investigate a topic of personal interest and importance to the field, and to integrate and synthesize from the knowledge and skills presented in the program. 

The details concerning Graduate School policies regarding the thesis, including format, typing, deadlines, etc., are available online .

In general, a thesis requires:

• Identification of a topic area and an advisor (in the Division/Program) willing to guide the preparation of the thesis;
• Formation of an examining committee; composed of at least two CPH faculty members, including the advisor—both committee members must have M or P Graduate Faculty status in the College of Public Health and at least one must have a primary appointment in the College;
• Where appropriate, selection of a third member of the examining committee, who may be from outside the CPH;
• Written and oral presentation of the thesis prospectus to the examining committee for approval ( see Appendix J );
• Completion of the thesis described in the approved prospectus;
• Satisfactory defense of the thesis before the examining committee, and
• Electronic submission of an approved (advisor-signed) copy of the full thesis and abstract to the Graduate School.

The student has primary responsibility for topic selection and formation of the Master’s Examination Committee.  It usually will be the case that the proposed topic area will make clear who could serve as an advisor, and the committee will be formed by consultation between the student and advisor.  However, the student must be aware that a faculty member may refuse to serve as advisor of committee member for a topic that is thought to be unworkable or that lies outside the faculty member’s area(s) of expertise.

The thesis prospectus sets out the plans and methods of the proposed thesis research.  It ordinarily includes:  a) discussion of the background of the problem and an introductory survey of the relevant literature;  b) a statement of the scope of the proposed work, including how the study adds to the stock of knowledge;  c) a statement of the hypotheses or objectives of the study; and  d) a discussion of the data to be collected and the methods to be used in their analysis.

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