Master's level thesis

[nehs]

How hard is a master's level thesis? My school has a choice between a master's level thesis and a comprehensive exam and I'm thinking which one to choose.

Typically, how many semesters does it take for the thesis research?

[hejduk]

How hard is a master's level thesis? My school has a choice between a master's level thesis and a comprehensive exam and I'm thinking which one to choose.

Typically, how many semesters does it take for the thesis research?

Oh how I see myself from 4 years ago wanting to make this very post! I'll be blunt and just say, is there any chance of you continuing on to a PhD, or is the MA your terminal degree for sure? If you have any chance of wanting to pursue a PhD, then definitely go after the thesis. I chose the comp exam route because I thought I'd be living some awesome corporate life, and I ended up getting laid off two days before my wedding.

Now I'm knocking on the door of starting a PhD, and I have no thesis in hand. How worried am I? Very! I've learned to get over my major anxieties of not being good enough or being unprepared, but I know I have some serious work ahead due to not doing a Master's thesis.

I'm interested to see what others say as my opinion is completely due to the circumstances I now find myself in.

[Gelpfrat the Bold]

I don't know how the two would compare in time or difficulty, but one reason to do a thesis would be that you'd have a bit more control over the outcome. Exams are scary because you don't know what you'll be asked, whereas when you write your own piece to hand in, you are in full control of how good or bad it is. I can't tell you much about how much time/work goes into a thesis because my program's requirements and dates are a bit wonky in comparison to other places, but I will say that I'd go the thesis route because it's a great opportunity to focus on something that really interests you, while getting invaluable research and writing experience. You're [presumably] paying good money to pursue your MA, so you may as well take up the unique opportunity of going the thesis route.

[ktel]

I'm about to start an MASc with a thesis, and I believe their suggested timeline for me is a 2 year degree, 1 year for course work, 1 year for thesis. Don't know if you could do a thesis in less time, it depends on what you're doing it in. If you're doing a ton of experiments and writing a thesis, it could take a while.

[nehs]

Thanks so much for your perspective :-)

Well my degree is a MS degree , not MA. Not sure if MS or MA is relevant to the topic here but just thought I would mention it.

Thesis is what I am inclined towards as well. My only concern is I don't want to take an extra year to graduate and start working since I have already quit my job to pursue this degree and would like to return to working soon.

I may want to do a PhD a few years down te line, but not sure if my plan right now. My degree is management information systems ad I would start looking for jobs toward the end I'd my program.

A silly question that comes to my mind: do we pay for the thesis research or is it funded by the dept/project?

[ktel]

Thanks so much for your perspective :-)

Well my degree is a MS degree , not MA. Not sure if MS or MA is relevant to the topic here but just thought I would mention it.

Thesis is what I am inclined towards as well. My only concern is I don't want to take an extra year to graduate and start working since I have already quit my job to pursue this degree and would like to return to working soon.

I may want to do a PhD a few years down te line, but not sure if my plan right now. My degree is management information systems ad I would start looking for jobs toward the end I'd my program.

A silly question that comes to my mind: do we pay for the thesis research or is it funded by the dept/project?

That would depend on if you are funded or not already. I receive funding for 2 years, which covers the course work and the thesis. Resources are provided by the department/my supervisor.

What kind of thesis would you do? My boyfriend recently completed an MEng in Engineering Management, which is a course-based degree with a final thesis-type paper. He compared the various "green building" ranking systems and finished his coursework and paper in 8 months (which is apparently quite unheard of, most do 8 months of course work and then take 2 months to write their final paper). This is an unfunded degree, so he paid tuition, but his final paper (called a "Capstone project") didn't really cost him any money to do.

[phdaspiration]

I would echo some of the previous responders and say that you should definitely do a thesis if there is even a slight chance that you might go on to do the PhD. Also, I found the thesis to be the most educational and rewarding part of my master's degree. Just sayin'

[nehs]

ktel and phdaspiration - thank you

I'm little nervous about doing the research and the thesis because this is my first time but I guess there's a first time for everything

[mandarin.orange]

A silly question that comes to my mind: do we pay for the thesis research or is it funded by the dept/project?

Depends on your discipline, but I applied for grants to fund my M.S. research. Some advisors may have grant money/connections to help out, but it's a good exercise and CV-booster to show you are successful at securing your own funds for research. Check to see if professional organizations in your field have grant programs to fund student research.

Also, a few here have mentioned first year coursework, second year thesis. Things may not be so compartmentalized and you may be expected to define your research project, write a proposal, do the background research, and plan a calendar/strategy for its execution throughout your first year.