Resources for Literature and Languages Graduate Programs: Thesis or Capstone?
As a graduate student seeking an MA/MS from the Department of Literature and Languages, you must complete a final project consisting of either a thesis OR a capstone portfolio, which you will propose, develop, defend and submit to the Graduate School. This page explores the two options and gives information about how to complete them.
Comprehensive Exams – To Thesis or Not to Thesis?
At the end of your coursework, you will either complete a year-long thesis or a one-semester capstone course resulting in a master’s portfolio. As you take courses and build toward graduation, you may naturally begin to identify research topics that interest you. Whether you choose the thesis or non-thesis option, your final project should represent the culmination of your previous research; it is not recommended to begin researching an entirely new topic with which you have limited previous experience.
Dr. Shannon Carter has created a slideshow and recording explaining the differences between the two options and why, ultimately, our department strongly suggests completing the capstone rather than the thesis. Before making your decision, we strongly advise you review these materials.
Capstone Option (36 Credit Hours)
Designed for educators and working professionals, this focus provides a thorough understanding of literature and languages. Completing the capstone (non-thesis) track can help open doors to careers in education, journalism and writing.
If you choose the capstone route, you will take ENG 595 at the end of your degree. Within that course, the culminating project for the MA/MS in English at East Texas A&M will be a major portfolio showcasing your work and demonstrating how the artifacts included in your curated collection demonstrate your mastery of the student learning outcomes for our program.
The Capstone Project
If you choose the capstone route, your qualifying exams are built into ENG 595 through an Annotated Bibliography project. Your instructor will provide specific project requirements and expectations within the course.
Your “Master’s Portfolio” combines reflective commentary with the following components:
- General introduction to the portfolio
- Annotated Bibliography
- Another example of the writing you’ve done during the course of your MA/MS program with us
- Introductory remarks before both the Annotated Bibliography and the artifact you’ve selected from another course that frames it for the reader (1-2 pages per project featured in your portfolio).
Your Capstone Team
You will complete this portfolio in consultation with the ENG 595 instructor (usually the Director of the Master’s Program in English, who serves as your advisor) and a faculty specialist.
- A faculty advisor is a professor assigned to provide guidance to a student throughout their degree program. The faculty advisor helps the student select courses, ensures they fulfill program requirements and offers academic and career advice. They serve as a mentor and main point of contact for the student. The Director of the Master's Program in English serves in this role for all English MA/MS students.
- A faculty specialist is a professor who has particular expertise in a certain field or specialty area within the broader academic discipline. For example, an English program may have faculty specialists in rhetoric, creative writing, technical communication, linguistics or literature. Students take courses from, and can consult with, faculty specialists to gain deeper knowledge of a specialty within the academic discipline.
Some key differences are:
- Faculty advisor: Provides overall guidance on a student’s full degree program
- Faculty specialist: Provides specialized knowledge in a particular subfield
- Faculty advisor is assigned to a student, while faculty specialists teach courses students select
- Students see their advisor more regularly than any one specialist
So, in summary, a faculty advisor oversees a student’s entire curriculum and progress, while faculty specialists contribute specialized expertise in areas of interest to the student. Both play important mentoring roles.
Registering for ENG 595
If you choose the non-thesis option, you must register for ENG 595: Research Literature and Techniques. This three-credit course requires an extensive investigation into a topic agreed upon by the student and the advisory committee. Final grades are assigned on a satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U) basis. In addition to mastering research techniques, the comprehensive exam required for graduation is taken while completing this course.
Find Your Section
Each Fall and Spring, the Department of Literature and Languages offers two sections of ENG 595. These sections differ in registration requirements and course content. Be sure to register for the section that aligns with your degree plan.
ENG 595: Master's in English
- Must have completed 24 graduate-level credit hours before entry
- Can be taken concurrently with an additional course
- Listed on the Schedule of Classes as MA/MS-ENG Students
ENG 595: Master's in Applied Linguistics/TESOL
- Must be taken in your final semester
- Can be taken concurrently with an additional course
- Listed on the Schedule of Classes as MA/MS-ENG APPL Students
How to Register
The Department of Literature and Languages requires all students to obtain a permit in order to register for ENG 595. When you have identified your section, request your permit below.
Thesis (30 Credit Hours)
If you choose the thesis option, you will:
Step 1: Choose an Advisor
When you have completed approximately 18 hours, you should decide upon and ask a faculty member in your specialty (literature and culture OR rhetoric and writing) to serve as an advisor who will direct/chair your comprehensive exams. All students entering the master's program are advised initially by the Master's Program Director or by an area faculty advisor. For Applied Linguistics students, your primary advisor will direct/chair your comprehensive exams.
Although your advisor will function in various capacities, some of the most important roles are to ensure that your research is equal to the demands of a graduate program, that your work reflects the nature of the program and that you are prepared to take the necessary exams, write and defend your proposal and write and defend the thesis or capstone. A good advisor is your mentor, supporter and problem solver, and someone who will offer fair and helpful critiques of your work as a way to assist you in your development as a scholar and researcher. You should meet regularly with your advisor to discuss and select courses appropriate for your degree program. You should also discuss your academic and career goals with your advisor on a regular basis.
Step 2: Register for ENG 518
ENG 518 – Thesis
Hours: 3-6
Thesis. Three to six semester hours. Required of candidates seeking the 30-hour Masters. Graded on a satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U) basis.
Step 3: Exams
Next, you must prepare for and take written and oral exams. Doing so consists of multiple steps:
Reading List
Once you confirm your comprehensive exams chair, you will work with that faculty member to determine the rest of your committee as well as the reading list for your comprehensive exams. Reading lists can vary by project and disciplinary area (for example, Literature lists usually include both primary and secondary texts, which is less likely in Rhetoric lists); however, they average 50–75 texts.
Written Exam
Once your director has approved your reading list, you will schedule a week to take the written exam (20–25 pages). The exam asks you to respond to question(s) related to and synthesizing your specific fields of study. Please consult with your comprehensive exam director for more specific expectations.
Oral Exam
After you submit your written exam, you will schedule an oral exam/defense with your committee. The oral exam (60-90 minutes) should occur within a month of completing the written component. During the oral exam, you will engage in a conversation with your committee with exam questions based on what you wrote in your written exam.
After successfully passing the oral defense, your advisor will complete the Master’s or Specialist Degree Comprehensive Exam Form for the graduate school.
Exam Deadlines
Unlike the thesis phase, which we’ll discuss next, the department, rather than The Graduate School, oversees comprehensive exams. For this reason, there is no specific Graduate School deadline you must meet in order to pass exams in a specific semester.
Step 4: Thesis
The Graduate School offers a detailed guide on completing the thesis. As you navigate your thesis, you are encouraged to check in with your advisor and develop a backwards calendar to help set goals for timely completion of your degree. A backwards calendar identifies a fixed deadline in the future and helps you work backwards to determine what steps need to happen first in order to meet that deadline.
A few things to keep in mind:
Formatting Your Thesis
The Graduate School prefers five-chapter theses, including introduction and possibly a conclusion. That being said, different disciplines write different kinds of theses. If your program follows one emphasis and you have a friend in another emphasis, don’t be surprised if the layout and content of your theses differ drastically. For example, Rhetoric and Linguistics often have a chapter dedicated to a literature review and another to methodology while Literature theses more often include that information throughout the thesis rather than in one concentrated section.
The Graduate School has a very specific template that you need to use for both your thesis proposal and thesis (which can be found on the thesis website above). If you do not follow it exactly, they will request you revise your document. This process relates to how your thesis is printed for the library and uploaded to thesis repositories; it should not be considered a reflection on your skills as a writer, researcher or thinker.
Deadlines
When submitting forms and documentation to the Graduate School, make sure to do so several days before the deadline if you want them to be accepted for that semester (the Graduate School suggests at least five days beforehand). Each form must be approved by several people before the deadline, and you may need to contact your committee directly to make sure your submission goes through in time.
The Graduate School deadlines are as follows:
Fall
Last Friday in October: last day to submit Notification Form for the Final Thesis Defense (must be submitted seven days before thesis defense)
First Friday in November: last day to submit completed thesis
Fourth Friday in November (adjusted for Thanksgiving): last day to submit thesis proposal
Spring
- Last Friday in March: last day to submit Notification Form for the Final Thesis Defense (must be submitted seven days before thesis defense)
- First Friday in April: last day to submit completed thesis
- Fourth Friday in April: last day to submit thesis proposal
Summer
- Third Friday in June: last day to submit Notification Form for the Final Thesis Defense (must be submitted seven days before thesis defense)
- Fourth Friday in June: last day to submit completed thesis
- Fourth Friday in July: last day to submit thesis proposal
General Guidelines
You must submit your thesis in the Notification Form for the Final Thesis Defense, meaning you cannot officially schedule your defense until you have finished the thesis and gotten approval from your advisor and committee. Generally, committee members will need 2-4 weeks to read and approve your thesis before approving your submission.
You are required to receive proposal approval from the Graduate School/TDS at least one semester prior to the semester in which you plan to graduate. You cannot submit your final thesis in the same semester in which you receive proposal approval.
For a step-by-step outline of the thesis process, visit the Graduate School webpage. For questions or concerns regarding any of the steps, please contact Thesis and Dissertation Services in the Graduate School.
