MA - prof wants proposal?

[tendaysleft]

Hey all,

So I'm applying to art history MA programs, and I've been attempting to contact professors about my research interests to see if they would support my application/be my advisor upon acceptance. One professor, upon receiving an email outlining my interests (not a short email, but not overly long - a paragraph or two) asked for a proposal. Does she mean... a thesis proposal!? I'm not really sure how to deal with this. Should I actually be putting together a cogent proposal? Has anyone else experienced a request like this? (Isn't this kind of asking for a lot, for an applicant to an MA program?)

I'm really enthusiastic about working with this person, so I'd really like to send her something, but I'm also not sure what a thesis proposal is supposed to contain, or how long it should be. I've only had to write a single one during my entire undergraduate career, and that was a full year ago. Does anyone have any advice/suggestions/examples on what a tentative thesis proposal should contain?

Thanks a bunch!

[tendaysleft]

Hey all,

So I'm applying to art history MA programs, and I've been attempting to contact professors about my research interests to see if they would support my application/be my advisor upon acceptance. One professor, upon receiving an email outlining my interests (not a short email, but not overly long - a paragraph or two) asked for a proposal. Does she mean... a thesis proposal!? I'm not really sure how to deal with this. Should I actually be putting together a cogent proposal? Has anyone else experienced a request like this? (Isn't this kind of asking for a lot, for an applicant to an MA program?)

I'm really enthusiastic about working with this person, so I'd really like to send her something, but I'm also not sure what a thesis proposal is supposed to contain, or how long it should be. I've only had to write a single one during my entire undergraduate career, and that was a full year ago. Does anyone have any advice/suggestions/examples on what a tentative thesis proposal should contain?

Thanks a bunch!

Also, if I posted this topic on the wrong board, I apologize! Let me know if it should go somewhere else.

[losemygrip]

It's absurd to ask an entering student for a thesis proposal, but that doesn't mean some maniacal faculty member won't do it. I would ask for clarification, and if s/he genuinely wants a THESIS proposal before you've even started the program, I would skip even applying there.

[tendaysleft]

It's absurd to ask an entering student for a thesis proposal, but that doesn't mean some maniacal faculty member won't do it. I would ask for clarification, and if s/he genuinely wants a THESIS proposal before you've even started the program, I would skip even applying there.

That's a good point--perhaps it would be best to ask her exactly what she means by "proposal". I did email her a pretty thorough description of my interests (I thought) but maybe she just wanted something more specific or in-depth.

[asdf123]

The professor might just be asking you to send him/her your statement of purpose/personal statement directly (the one you're planning to submit with your application) -- I'd take it as a good sign (that something you said in your email piqued the professor's interests enough to want to see more).