Thesis Proposal Development

The proposal development process is one of the most important components of completing the thesis. It is an interactive process for the student and his/her thesis committee members that includes several phases: meeting with the thesis committee chair and perhaps other advisor(s) to select and refine feasible research question(s) and design; forming a thesis committee; conducting a literature review; developing a proposal; and obtaining IRB approval for the study. It is expected that this phase of the thesis will be completed by October 1 of the second year.

In most cases the format of the thesis proposal will mirror the format of an NIH proposal (1 Page for specific aims) and separate sections for Significance, Innovation, and Approach.  Typically the proposals will be no more than 3-5 pages.    Many students use, or revise the proposals developed as part of the Methods 1 (primary data) or Methods 2 (secondary data) course.   As noted above, thesis committee members need the opportunity to comment upon and see revisions of the proposed plan prior to signing the Thesis Committee Form.