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The format of the thesis must adhere to the guidelines specified by the University's Thesis and Dissertation Manual.
Prior to scheduling a defense, the candidate must use iThenticate, the university-provided plagiarism detection software, to check their work. The advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies should receive a copy of the iThenticate report prior to submitting the final thesis draft.
The thesis defense will be scheduled only after the candidate’s advisor has determined that a defense is appropriate. A copy of the thesis must be made available to thesis committee members at least two weeks prior to the thesis defense. After a successful defense with the thesis committee, the thesis must be approved by the thesis chair, the Chairperson of the Department of Communication, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Dean of the Graduate College.
In addition, once the oral defense of the thesis is achieved, the M.A. Oral Defense of the Thesis Form must be completed, signed by all committee members, and a PDF of the final thesis must be submitted to the Department of Communication's Graduate Program Coordinator, who will forward it to the Graduate College.