Overview

Any student earning a master’s degree must contact the EDP Graduate Coordinator the semester prior to graduation. After receiving clearance from the Graduate Coordinator, students apply online to graduate with their master’s on the Graduate School website. 

Note:  Beginning Fall 2014, all EDP doctoral students who were admitted to their doctoral program without a master’s in the field must complete an en-route master’s before they receive their doctoral degree. For more information about en-route master's degrees for doctoral students, see the en-route master's page.

Not all students are required to complete a master’s report or thesis; however, for those who do, the following information should serve as a good guide.
 

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Steps to Completing the Master’s Report/Thesis

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The Graduate School provides templates for reports and theses, which include their formatting requirements. A specific page length is not required; however, between 30 and 70 pages is typical. 

Important: The EDP Department requires APA style formatting for headings, references, and citations of dissertations in Master’s Report and Theses. Everything else will be according to the Graduate School template. APA style guidelines can be found in campus bookstores or on the APA website. The Graduate School’s templates do not necessarily reflect APA style, so take extra care in preparing your report/thesis. 

Writing Master’s Reports and Theses

In universities across the United States, it is common to make the following distinctions (Cone & Foster, 1999):

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• Introduction and Statement of the Problem. This section should provide an overview, laying out the big picture and indicating its importance. The specific focus of the report should also be identified and related to the general area of inquiry, along with the plan or organization of the report.
• Review of the Literature. The review should include general and up-to-date research addressing the topic of the report.  In most cases, pertinent theory or conceptualizations of the topic should also be described. Depending on the nature of the topic, this review may include theoretical articles, published reviews on the topic, and/or empirical studies. Your critical evaluation of the literature is also important.
• Applications to Practice. This section should present an integration of theory/research and practice in your specialization.  If the topic is drawn primarily from the literature outside your specialization, special attention should be paid to exploring and evaluating implications of the topic your specialization. 

En-route Master’s Report

Special information for students preparing an en-route master's report.