You’re writing a Master’s thesis, congrats! There are a few options when it comes to completing your MALAS Program of Study (POS): you can take a comprehensive exam, complete a project, or write a thesis (the coolest option). This happens after you have finished 27 units, or 9 classes, of study and you’re totally and completely prepared to tackle this definitely-not-intimidating capstone paper!
...Okay, so it can definitely be intimidating, but that’s where this handy-dandy guide will help you know what to expect from the MALAS thesis process. I’ve been there, and trust me, it’s really an incredibly rewarding experience.
Like I mentioned, the first real step is to decide to write a thesis to complete your POS to begin with. A lot of cohort members will choose to take the exam, which is also a great option and may suit you better depending on what exactly you personally would like to achieve from your time in MALAS. Full disclosure, I was intending to take this option originally. It wasn’t until an essay I had written for another MALAS course was accepted into an international conference that I began to really enjoy writing again. As a former English major who’d become somewhat disconnected from my love of writing, I’d had a new-found sense of pride in my work, and a thesis was the perfect way to showcase that.
And by the way, I encourage you to take full advantage of academic conferences. They’re excellent opportunities to network, share your work, get published, and even win some cash. MALAS can even help fund your journey like it did for me, expanding your culture-craving consciousness beyond the classroom.
So what exactly is this thesis thing anyway? The MALAS thesis is an extended and extensive piece of writing, generally somewhere between 50-80 pages long that showcases your talents as a student of culture. Let your curiosity guide you and search for inspiration in unlikely places as you begin to brainstorm topics for this epic text. Don’t discount anything, and whenever you’re unsure or afraid you might be veering into unstable territory where none of your ideas seem to align, the solution is simple...ask for help! One of the biggest differences I noticed from undergrad to grad school was that the professors you work with are always there to help and guide you, but they won’t hold your hand. As a Master’s student, you have to take responsibility for your own progress and take the initiative to find the best friends and mentors for your own goals. Luckily for you, you chose MALAS, which unbiasedly has the best and coolest profs around. For instance, the idea to write a thesis didn’t actually come from me, but from a friendly, almost off-handed suggestion from one of my mentors as I sat in their office one day talking through one of my essays.
“It sounds like you have a solid basis for a thesis already,” they said. I did? It hadn’t really even crossed my mind. Could the multiple essays I’d written, revised, and studied so much over the last few semesters really become one cohesive thesis? (Spoiler alert: the answer is yes).
The point is, approaching the MALAS thesis can be daunting, but you aren’t alone, and you shouldn’t approach it that way either. Ultimately it is your own work (and it’s going to be so awesome when it’s finished), but you’ll have so much great support along the way if you’re willing to ask for it.
You’ve decided to write a thesis, and there’s still a lot to go over before you’ll get to hold that sweet finished product in your hands (which is one of the most rewarding feelings ever), but you’re off to a great start. Understanding that this is an extensive, long-form, and cohesive piece of literary research is an important place to start, and now it’s time to begin brainstorming ideas and drawing upon inspiration. MALAS is awesomely unique in that it allows you to pull from any area of interest, so let loose and follow whatever threads lead you to exciting concepts you know you’ll be able to sustain throughout your entire thesis. Reigning in and refining those ideas will come later in the writing and editing phases, followed finally by the publishing phase in which your final thesis will be presented to SDSU’s own Montezuma Publishing for, you guessed it, publishing. You must have your thesis approved by both your chosen committee and Montezuma Publishing to successfully complete your thesis course and receive credit.
“Committee? Montezuma Publishing?” I hear you saying. Don’t worry, I’m getting ahead of myself, and we’ll dive deeper into those in a later post; this is after all just the basics! And the fun is just beginning…
So, are you ready to begin?
Thanks for sharing.
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