Folklore Studies - MS

For electives, students may choose any graduate courses offered within the History or English departments, including folklore classes.  Students may also take one elective course from outside the History Department, with approval from the Folklore Program chair and the Director of Graduate Studies.

• Students who decide to complete a Plan B thesis must take 9 credits of open elective courses (3 courses).

• Students who decide to complete a Plan A thesis must take 6 credits of open elective courses (2 courses).

Students must choose to complete either a Plan A or a Plan B thesis. Students who decide to complete a Plan B thesis must register for 3 credits of thesis work. Students who decide to complete a Plan A thesis must register for 6 credits of thesis work.

The Folklore program strongly encourages students to complete a Plan B thesis.

Plan B: For a Plan B thesis, students must write a single research paper that is modeled on a publishable journal article. For the Folklore program, the minimum page requirement for a Plan B thesis is 25 pages, although most tend to be 30-50 pages. The length of a Plan B thesis is determined by the discretion of the thesis committee chair.

Plan A: For a Plan A thesis, students must write an extensive research project that consists of several chapters. For the Folklore program, a Plan A thesis must be a minimum of 50 pages, although most tend to be 50-100 pages. The length of a Plan A thesis is determined by the discretion of the thesis committee chair.

NOTE:

Students who wish to complete a Plan A thesis must complete their thesis proposal defense by April 15 during the second semester in the program. Students who do not complete a thesis proposal defense by this date will not be eligible to complete a Plan A thesis and must complete a Plan B thesis.