Information and advice to assist you in successful completion of your master's thesis.
Thesis/Dissertation Examiner
Sunny Portree, 309/438-2597 sdportr@ilstu.edu
Illinois State University Graduate School Campus Box 4040, 309 Hovey Hall
Normal, IL 61790-4040
Fax 309/438-7912
Graduate School Dates and Deadlines: Important degree completion deadlines (pdf)
Guide for Writers of Theses (2008) (with sample pages)
The Guide now contains samples of all common pages. For sample pages for less-common material (landscape oriented charts, etc.) please consult the format examiner.
Thesis proposal form (ipdf)
Committee exception form (ipdf)
Sample copyright permissions letter for master’s thesis
Department/school format approval form (ipdf) for students from dual-approval departments only
Request for extension of time (ipdf)
All thesis and dissertation students must meet format requirements specific to their programs as well as the university-wide requirements detailed in the latest editions of the Guide for Writers of Theses and Guide for Writers of Dissertations . In the event of a conflict between departmental and university-wide format requirements, the student must follow the university requirements.
The difference between single and dual approval programs lies in who examines the thesis or dissertation for each type of requirement.
For students from single-approval programs, the Graduate School format examiner checks both departmental and university-wide requirements.
For students from dual approval programs, a faculty member designated by the department checks department requirements and issues an approval form that must be submitted when the student takes the thesis or dissertation to the format examiner for the university format check.
All graduate programs are single-approval unless they have elected to become dual approval and filed the election of dual approval form with the Graduate School. Your coordinator or the format examiner can tell you if your program is single or dual approval.
Style Manuals by program : List of each department/school’s style manual preference
Format Tips: Assistance in achieving proper format of page numbers and Contents pages in your thesis or dissertation
The James L. Fisher Outstanding Thesis Award provides recognition for completed theses judged to be of the highest quality in university-wide competitions. A monetary award accompanies this distinction. Nominations are put forward by academic departments/schools and judged in the colleges before the University competition.
NOTE: To be eligible for the fall competition, a student must have received the Master's degree in the December, May or August graduation preceding the submission. Students who have defended their thesis, but not yet graduated, are not eligible. These students would be eligible for the following year's competition.
James L. Fisher Outstanding Thesis Competition (pdf)
