GLS Senior Thesis Guidelines

Senior theses must engage topics in the broad range of global studies, rather than confining their analysis by national boundaries or to national or local contexts, without reference to larger, transnational trends or conditions.

The thesis will enter the ongoing intellectual conversation concerning its subject by engaging sources that both inform its subject matter and its method for approaching that subject. When practical, the thesis will include some sources in the language of the junior year site.

By the end of the fall term, students should have developed a thesis outline, annotated bibliography, and an introduction/portion of a chapter (approximately 15–20 pages of finished writing), while the thesis is due in final form on April 15th—see Key Dates below.

• The finished thesis will not exceed 50 pages (or the equivalent, depending on the nature of its subject and approach), exclusive of Abstract, Title Page, Acknowledgements, ToC, Bibliography, and Appendices.

• The finished Process Document for a Creative Thesis will not exceed 15-25 pages.

• Seniors whose thesis will exceed 50 pages (scholarly thesis) or 25 pages (process document) must explain their reasons and receive approval from their Thesis Director and Concentration Chair.

• The Thesis Parameter Petition should be approximately 300-500 words and include the Thesis Prospectus. 

• The Thesis Parameter Petition may be submitted at any point during the academic year, but no later than February 15th.
  

• The written portion of the thesis will feature:
  • Double-spaced lines
  • Standard font (Calibri, Palatino, Times-Roman, etc)
  • Standard margins of 1" top and bottom and 1" left and right. (Directors of creative theses may give students permission to use different margins if they are intrinsic to the effect of, e.g., a collection of poems).

• A traditional thesis will include:
  
  • Abstract
  • Title Page
  • The title page will include, centered horizontally and vertically, and in the following order:
    • the student's name,
    • the name of the project,
    • and the legend "This thesis has been submitted on this day of [date - eg, April 15th, 2013] in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the NYU Global Liberal Studies Bachelor of Arts degree."
  • Table of Contents
  • The body of the thesis divided into chapters
  • References/Bibliography
  • Appendices (optional)

For all dates listed below, if the deadline should fall on the weekend the deadline is automatically extended to Monday.

If a student is clearly not going to finish their thesis on time, then the instructor may, at his or her discretion, submit the grade of INC for the student.* In such cases, it is a necessity that the student fill out an Incomplete Grade Agreement with the instructor, specifying exactly when the outstanding work will be submitted (whether in toto or in installments), what continued direction the instructor will provide, and the consequences for missing deadlines. A copy of the incomplete grade agreement should be submitted to the Liberal Studies Academic Advising Office.

If a student receives an F for the Senior Thesis class—either by failing to make up an INC by the deadline stipulated in the Incomplete Contract (in which case the grade lapses to an F), or because the instructor fails the student outright—they cannot receive the degree (as is the case for any other course that constitutes a degree requirement). However, given the special nature of the Senior Thesis class, students who fail the course do not ordinarily re-take it**; rather, they register for MAINT-UF 4747 Maintaining Matriculation (0 credits) and a zero credit Independent Study (graded Pass/Fail) in which they submit a completed thesis that will be graded by the concentration chair in the area. Students are no longer eligible for faculty direction of their thesis project when completing the thesis in this manner. The diploma will be dated according to the academic term when all degree requirements are completed. In addition, please note successful completion of the Senior Colloquium is a prerequisite for registration in the Senior Thesis course. 

*Note: An instructor may choose to fail a student on the thesis itself but give them a passing grade for the course; in that case, the student has passed the course and gets the degree, so none of the policies articulated here apply.

**Should a student choose to re-take the Senior Thesis course for six credits, rather than an independent study, they must submit a petition for approval through their academic advisor by no later than October 15.

Students who plan to do interviews or surveys as an element of their research must comply with federal regulations governing human subjects research. This may require applying for and obtaining approval from NYU’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) before any such research may begin. Students who are unsure of whether their thesis project may constitute human subjects research are encouraged to speak to their Senior Colloquium Instructor and/or attend the IRB’s drop-in consultation hours to speak to an IRB investigator.