Thesis proposal and defense

(Ph.D. students only) Students must complete their thesis proposal and defense by the end of their third year of graduate studies. The thesis proposal is a written document including an introduction putting the topic in the context of previous work in the literature and why the work is important and novel, a defined thesis statement (hypothesis, goals and objectives of the work), a description of results to date, a timeline of study with milestones, and a description of how the student has contributed to the creation and/or direction of the project. The defense consists of an oral presentation of the proposal to the committee followed by a discussion of both the presentation and the written document.

Thesis Defense:

The Thesis Defense Request Form must be submitted to the department head at least one week prior to the defense. Thesis defenses should be informally scheduled with the student’s committee at least several months in advance, at which time it should be foreseeable that the publication requirement will be fulfilled by the time the Thesis Defense Request Form is due. https://www.mines.edu/graduate-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/60/2018/03/ThesisDefenseRequest.pdf

Formatting your thesis correctly is important. The Grad Office will no longer be reviewing the format review, and will instead provided better templates in Word and LaTex. They also encourage you to work with the Writing Center and your Committee on formatting.