MA thesis proposal?

[tendaysleft]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of applying to art history MA programs, and in emailing POIs I've come across a situation that I don't really know how to deal with. After I explained my general interests to a particular POI, she wrote me back asking me for a proposal. Is this a common thing for a prof to ask of an MA applicant? Have any of you experienced this at the MA level?

At any rate, I want to oblige her because I'm really enthusiastic about her advising me, but I've only ever had to write a tiny one-page essay proposal during my whole undergrad degree. Does anyone have any advice around the level of detail it should have, the length, and the sort of content it should include--like should I include citations, things like that?

Any and all advice is very appreciated!

[tightlywound]

I'm guessing that she's looking for something more like your statement of purpose, which should include a general description of your research interests; should probably not be more than 1000 words (confirm on department website); and should not include citations. You can confirm that with her.

Good luck!