Just curious. Does anybody know why some schools require a master's dissertation, while others do not? It does not seem to be consistent with accreditation.
I think it's more like a project. San Francisco State University, an AACSB accredited, where I got my M.B.A. requires it. I also had to present and defend in front of my committee. Maybe it's an AACSB thing.
Re: Re: Master's Dissertation I went to the University of Tulsa and they did not require it (they are AACSB).
Note 1: In the US the common reference is masters thesis and doctoral dissertation. In UK and similar the term thesis is applicable to both masters and docotral level. Note 2: Cal state Hayward offfered the option of a comphrensive exam or a thesis. I did the thesis. Also had to defend it to my committee, but one at a time and not in a formal setting (of course that was 20 years ago).
Thesis I got my Master's at Hayward a couple years ago. They required a thesis, to be critiqued and approved by a committee. I never got the critique, did no rewrite, and waited too long for my satisfaction to receive word of acceptance. Those attending UCLA had both comps and thesis to complete, but no defense.
My program at UMass-Lowell was 33 credits and gave the option of 9 courses with a thesis, or 11 courses without a thesis. I chose the non-thesis option, since I was under a severe time limit to complete the degree. Also, I only actually went to Lowell twice (once to show them my original DD-214, the other to pick-up my diploma), and I wondered about faculty support for an off-campus student during the thesis stage. UMass-Lowell now offers my program completely online, but I don't know if the online students have the option of a thesis or not.
OK, I went to the University of Tulsa, and they did not require a dissertation, but was AACSB.... does that say something about the program?
In the UK, most (but not all) master's degree programmes, in most subjects, require a project of some sort, usually termed a dissertation but rarely a thesis. The term 'thesis' is, more or less, used exclusively for doctoral degree research submissions. There are some exceptions. Some of the newer 'professional doctoral' programmes require a thesis that is substantially shorter in length than the word limit for a PhD. Some DBA and EdD programmes, for example, require a 40,000 words thesis or 2 x 20,000 words submissions. Some academics think such submissions are 'doctoral dissertations'! Typically, a taught master's (dissertation and course work) dissertation wil be 12,000-20,000 words in length depending on the subject/major and the degree of course work required. Othere taught master's may require the upper end in terms of word length. A research master's e.g. MPhil, MLitt, MA) is, typically, 30,000-50,000 words in length. AJJ
As usual, law degrees are different. My LL.M. at the University of London is a "taught" masters. It requires the D/L version of coursework in four subject areas. The student must pass each subject by means of a three hour written essay exam. No thesis. Internal students face the same requirements. It is possible to substitute a "master's essay" for one subject if the student can identify a suitable supervisor. The essay would be about 25,000 words.
There is no "hard and fast" rule regarding the requirement of a thesis for a masters program. It is completely up to the school to determine the degree requirements and the name of degree (M.A., M.S., M.Ed., etc.) that will be awarded. Some years ago, I conducted a study of masters programs in my discipline (instructional technology) and found no correlation between the degree requirements (number of units, thesis, etc.) and the type of degree awarded. Some degrees required a thesis, some an applied project, some a written or oral comprehensive exam and some required just coursework. I found M.Ed. programs that required a thesis and some M.A. and M.S. programs that required coursework only. Most required 30-36 semester (45-54 quarter) units. Terminal/professional masters degrees (e,g, MBA, M.Div. M.P.T.) require many more units than an M.A./M.S./M.Ed. Tony Piña Faculty, Cal State U. San Bernardino
