The thesis is an intensive scholarly experience for students who desire to formally conduct an in-depth research activity. A thesis is completed by one student under the supervision of a thesis advisor (or committee chair) and advisory committee.
Three to six credit hours of N993 may be used toward the course requirements for the MSN degree. The student must negotiate the total number of credit hours that a thesis will receive with the committee chair prior to registering for N993.
To receive a final grade for N993, the student's thesis must be completed successfully and approved by the advisory committee. An S (satisfactory) or IN (incomplete) may be given until the final paper has been written and successfully defended.
A grade of S indicates that the student has made satisfactory progress in the work related to the thesis or research project. When a thesis is completed, any credits awarded the grade of S may remain.
An IN grade indicates that the student has not made sufficient progress in work associated with the thesis. An IN grade must be changed to an H, P, L or S grade within one year or the grade reverts to an F.
A graduate student is academically ineligible to continue in the Graduate School if a grade of F has been given. The student may be reinstated upon initiating a petition to the Graduate School. Students are responsible for keeping track of
IN grades.
- Select a Focus
Students are encouraged to begin discussing ideas for the master’s thesis requirement upon entry into the MSN program. It is advantageous for students to pursue scholarly endeavors that build on or relate to ongoing faculty research or areas of interest.
Students are encouraged to meet with faculty to explore ideas for extensions of the faculty member's research or related interests that might serve as the focus for the scholarly endeavor.
Discussions with clinical preceptors and fellow graduate students are also excellent ways to identify everyday practice questions that can be the focus of a research experience.
The Research Support Center and Center for Research on Chronic Illness Web sites contain more information about UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing faculty research, including
a list of ongoing funded research and faculty research interests and activities.
- Find a Committee Chair
When a potential focus has been identified, the student identifies faculty members with related expertise and interests. The student should schedule a meeting with a faculty member to discuss the idea, determine if their interests are well matched, and explore
the possibility of an advisor agreement to chair the activity.
The committee chair is the graduate faculty member that works closely with the student to develop and aid in successful completion of the scholarly activity. For the thesis, the committee chair must be a "regular" member of the School of Nursing
Graduate Faculty with permission to chair theses.
In general, all tenured and tenure-track faculty at the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor and professor are automatically regular members of the Graduate Faculty. In addition, some experienced fixed term faculty with doctorates may receive
regular graduate appointments. The student may request, at the discretion of the program, a thesis advisor who is a fixed-term faculty member but does not have a regular graduate appointment or a faculty member of another institution.
Supervision of a thesis is a significant faculty responsibility. Students are asked to keep in mind that faculty may decline to serve as a chair because they do not have the expertise necessary or time available that best fits the student’s desired
focus and time line.
The Office of Academic Affairs can help students identify eligible members of the graduate faculty to serve as committee chairs for master’s papers or theses. If a student cannot find a faculty member who is willing to serve as chair of the advisory
committee or faculty to serve as committee members, the student should discuss this with their faculty advisor.
- Form an Advisory Committee
Once the focus and scope of the planned research has been determined, the committee chair and student mutually will identify potential faculty to serve on the advisory committee. The student then contacts potential faculty and obtains their agreement to serve
on the committee.
The research advisory committee for a thesis must include at least three members. A majority of the committee members for a thesis must be regular members (tenured, tenure-track or fixed-term with regular appointment) of the Graduate Faculty. The following
criteria apply to the composition of the thesis committee:
- A committee chair that is a regular member of the School of Nursing Graduate Faculty with permission to chair a thesis committee. At the discretion of the program, a student may have a research advisor who is a fixed-term faculty member with permission
to chair theses or someone from another institution.
- Two additional members, at least one of whom must be a regular member (tenure, tenure-track or fixed-term with a regular appointment) of the Graduate Faculty.
- At least two members of the committee must be from the student's advanced practice area.
- If the student has a minor field of study, at least one member of the student's thesis committee must be from the minor program. In the case of a joint minor offered by two departments, one faculty person can represent the minor field of study if both departments
agree this is feasible.
Faculty members from other UNC-Chapel Hill departments or schools with Graduate Faculty appointments may serve on master’s theses committees and do not require special appointments.
If a non-UNC-Chapel Hill faculty member or someone without a graduate appointment is needed on a committee:
- The student should obtain a copy of the individual's curriculum vitae and give it to the committee chair.
- The committee chair should submit the vitae with a request for a special graduate school appointment to the Director of Master’s Programs in the Office of Academic Affairs.
The Director of Master's Programs will review the prospective appointee and forward nominations for special appointments to the Graduate School. In general, appointees with special appointments shall be appointed for terms of two years in length, though
such terms may be renewed indefinitely.
- Submit the Committee Composition Form
When the chair and advisory committee have been selected, the student prints or obtains a copy of the Master's Paper/Thesis Committee Composition Form and gets all members of the advisory committee to sign the form.
If a committee member must be replaced, the committee chair should work with the student to identify an appropriate replacement. Although no formal permission is necessary to replace a committee chair, it is recommended that the student discuss the reasons
for this change with that chair. The student may choose to discuss this change with the Director of Master's Programs.
The student must secure agreement of the new and continuing committee member(s) to serve on the research advisory committee. The student must obtain a new Master's Paper/Thesis Committee Composition Form and have it signed by all members of the newly
formed advisory committee.
The student must submit the form to the Office of Academic Affairs for approval by the Director of Master's Programs. The student and committee chair will receive a copy of the form approving the membership of the research advisory committee from the Director
of Master's Programs.
- Develop the Proposal
(a) Determine a timeline & handling of costs
The student will meet with the committee chair and set a schedule for regular appointments and outline a realistic time frame for the endeavor. Remember, students register for NURS 393 during the semester that they plan to complete the activity and submit
the final written report.
Plans to handle costs (e.g., printing costs, transcription of interviews) should be included during the development phase. If there is no source of funding available for the endeavor, any costs associated with endeavor are the responsibility of the student.
(b) Write the proposal
In conjunction with the committee chair, the student develops a written proposal including references and appendices for the research activity. Advisory committee members are consulted as appropriate during the development of the proposal.
The chair will determine the general content, organization, and format of the paper. The most commonly used standards are those found in the fifth (or most current) edition of the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association.
A thesis must meet the minimum requirements of the UNC-CH Graduate School, including filing a formal written manuscript with the Graduate School in a format consistent with the standards of the Graduate School.
The committee chair will determine when you will share a draft of your proposal with committee members. Development of the proposal is an iterative process, and may require several drafts before submitting the document to the research committee. The committee
chair will handle any disagreements among committee members about the proposal.
If applicable, you will also develop the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Process proposal (see Institutional Review Board Process) with the assistance of the committee chair. This includes:
- Obtaining written permission for data collection in the agencies involved in the study as well as for the use of instruments that require permission for use.
- Submitting IRB materials to the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing IRB.
- Obtaining written approval from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing IRB prior to initiating data collection.
- Schedule and Complete a Proposal Defense
Some thesis committees have a pre-proposal meeting, a proposal meeting, and a final meeting for the defense of the research after the study is completed. Others have only a meeting to approve the proposed research and a final meeting for the oral defense of
the findings.
At a minimum, the committee must approve the proposal at a committee meeting and must have the opportunity to consult with and assist the student. Each committee member must examine and approve the completed written paper and participate in the final oral
defense of the thesis.
The chair is responsible for determining that the proposal is ready for evaluation. When the committee chair has approved the proposal for defense, the student arranges a proposal defense meeting of one hour (up to two hours) with the entire committee.
Each committee member must receive the final draft of the proposal at least one week before the proposal defense meeting. While minor changes may be made in the proposal at the defense meeting, it is assumed that the thesis advisory committee will approve
the proposal largely as defended.
In cases where the proposal is not adequately developed, a second proposal defense meeting will be held. A student passes the thesis proposal defense upon approval by at least two- thirds of the committee members.
- Submit Signed Proposal Defense Form & IRB Tracking Form
Upon successful completion of the proposal defense, the student will submit the required forms to the Office of Academic Affairs. It is strongly recommended that the committee chair and student keep a photocopy of all forms for their own files.
If the master’s activity requires IRB approval, the stamped IRB tracking form must be submitted with the approved proposal to the School of Nursing IRB (see Institutional Review Board Process).
- Carry Out the Proposal
(a)General considerations
It is the student’s responsibility to keep the committee chair and advisory committees up-to-date on the timeline for the activity. Any changes made to the timetable must be made in conjunction with the chair and the student involved in the effort.
It is anticipated the students will stay in close communication with each other and the committee chair about any known or unforeseen commitments that may alter the timeline.
(b) Assistance with data analysis
Students have various forms of support within the School of Nursing for data analysis. Assistance with qualitative analyses traditionally is handled in consultation with the student's research advisory committee.
Assistance with quantitative analysis is handled first in consultation with the student's research advisory committee and then, if needed, from the teaching assistants in the Research Support Center (RSC). RSC support is, however, in the form of assistance
only; students must assume the majority of the responsibility for conducting their analyses.
While students may have data entered for analysis by other persons, students are responsible for the accuracy of the data and for doing their own analysis. Any violation of this standard will be considered a violation of the student honor code. Students
are expected to work with the committee chair or a designated member of the research advisory committee to interpret the results.
(c) Writing & format of the final report
The committee chair in conjunction with the advisory committee will determine the specific publication style used for the thesis. When using a style manual, all specifications for published documents must be followed. The Graduate
School Guide to Theses and Dissertations will take precedence over the specifications of a particular style.
A thesis must meet the minimum requirements of the UNC-CH Graduate School, including filing a formal written manuscript with the Graduate School in a format consistent with the standards of the Graduate School.
Numerous drafts may be required before the final report is ready for a final defense or final approval by the committee. In general, two weeks is needed for the committee chair to read and critique each draft of the paper. The student will also visit with
each committee member to discuss the final draft as needed during this phase.
- Schedule and Complete a Final Defense
The final paper must be defended with the advisory committee prior to final approval by the committee.
When committee chair has approved the final report for defense, the student arranges a final defense meeting of one hour (up to two hours) with the entire committee. The student will coordinate a date, time and place (reserve a room in the School of Nursing)
for the proposal meeting (if required) with all committee members. The final oral defense of thesis may be open to the public or limited in attendance to the candidate and the committee.
During the final defense, the student will give a brief overview of the study (15 to 20 minutes), including the major findings and the significance of findings to practice. Questions from committee members that relate to the master’s paper are appropriate.
Committee members evaluate the student's ability to communicate the findings and demonstrate critical thinking in regard to all aspects of the activity.
The committee may require at the time of the final oral defense (but no later) alterations and corrections that should be relatively minor changes agreed to by a majority of the committee members. The committee chair is responsible for verifying that the
changes required by the committee have been made and may delegate the responsibility to the committee member(s) who requested the changes.
A student passes the final defense upon approval by at least two-thirds of the committee members. The Graduate School considers the vote of the committee final.
- Submit Required Form Designating Successful Completion of Thesis
Upon successful completion of the final paper defense, submit each of the required forms described below to the Office of Academic Affairs. Forms must be completed and submitted for each student who has completed the master’s paper.
The committee chair may ask the student to submit these forms to the Office of Academic Affairs. It is strongly recommended that the committee chair and student keep a photocopy of all forms for their own files.
Form to be submitted:
Master's Comprehensive Examination or Approved Substitute Report, Part III: Report of the Master's Degree Final Oral Examination. The signatures of the committee chair and all committee members
are required.
- Submit the Final Paper
Once the advisory committee approves the final written report, the student makes all final changes and has them approved by the committee chair and committee members, if necessary.
It is the student’s responsibility to have the paper in the agreed upon format by the established deadlines. The final paper must be turned in by the School of Nursing's internal deadline for submission of theses, which typically falls about one week
before the University's published thesis deadline.
For a thesis, the student submits one copy of the completed paper to the Office of Academic Affairs for review by the Director of Master's Programs or a designated proxy. A title page with the original signatures of all advisory committee members must be
included.
The thesis copy for binding is submitted by the student to the Graduate School in time for the University's published thesis deadline. Fees are paid by the student for permanent binding of the thesis in accordance with the information published in Guide
to Theses and Dissertations.
The student and committee chair will determine a timeline. The timeline should include specific dates when activities and drafts of the paper will be due. Please note that IRB approval (if applicable) may take up to 4-6 weeks and must be factored into the
agreed upon timeline.
Each student is responsible for meeting the established deadlines. Failure to meet deadlines may delay the student’s date of graduation.
A thesis must meet the minimum requirements of the UNC-CH Graduate School, including filing a formal written manuscript with the Graduate School in a format consistent with the standards of the Graduate School. These standards are published in the Guide
to Theses and Dissertations. The approved thesis must include on the title page the original signatures of all advisory committee members for final submission to the Graduate School.
All students are encouraged to disseminate the results of their scholarly endeavor. Avenues for dissemination include presentations to staff in the site where the activity was conducted; local, regional and national presentations or posters; and publication
of results, independently or collaboratively with faculty.
The University guidelines for co-authorship should be followed and discussed by the student and committee chair as early as possible in the planned experience.
