Thesis & Capstone Project Guidelines

Graduate Thesis and Capstone Projects
Note: These Guidelines have recently been revised. 

Overview

Within the MSGA and MSGSCC degree programs, the Thesis and Capstone projects provide students with the opportunity of conducting original research and analysis on a topic about which they care deeply. They provide an opportunity to showcase students’ depth of knowledge more so than breadth of knowledge; a chance to learn and make a real, meaningful impact!

Content and Length:
Thesis/Capstone projects should relate to a student’s concentration, but can also be linked to other concentrations.  Projects can be qualitative, quantitative, or both, and should ideally draw, at least in part, upon the research principles learned in Analytic Skills. 

Some CGA students take the opportunity to create and incorporate surveys, carry out field research, conduct interviews, or use participant observation techniques.  Some students also choose to analyze existing data.  These approaches are especially useful for students who are potentially interested in pursuing further study through a Ph.D. program and/or a position involving research and analysis (e.g. at a think tank, NGO, or private-sector employer).  (Note: some projects involving research with human subjects may require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from NYU. Students should feel free to discuss this possible requirement with their advisor.)

Thesis projects should generally be a maximum of 10,000 words, (not including references, footnotes/endnotes, tables and figures), plus an Abstract of no more than 300 words. However, in some rare instances, a student and her/his advisor could agree to a longer paper. 

Please note: to make the project as strong as possible, the thesis should be highly polished, and free of excessive quoting, repetition, extraneous information (i.e.: “filler” or “fluff”), etc. Each word, in short, needs to count.

The length of submissions for Capstone projects will depend on the nature of the project and can be determined by the student(s) and their respective advisor (see below for details).

Approval of Topic and Faculty Supervision:
Thesis preparation must be under the supervision of full- or part-time faculty, and students are responsible for identifying and seeking the agreement of their own faculty advisor.  Discussion of, and deadlines for, the project should be determined by the student and their advisor.

Graduate Thesis/Capstone Proposal and Advisor/Advisee Agreement:
The student is responsible for providing a written thesis proposal to prospective thesis/capstone advisors in advance of the faculty member agreeing to serve as thesis advisor. Proposal structure guidelines are available here.

Once a faculty member agrees to serve as the advisor, and confirms the arrangement via email, a student should submit the email confirmation to the CGA administration via the MSGA Thesis/Capstone Enrollment Request Form. The deadline is usually at the midpoint of the semester prior to the semester in which the thesis/capstone is due. The advisor email confirmation is a prerequisite for registration in the Graduate Thesis course.

Thesis/Capstone Presentation:
In addition to the written thesis/capstone, students must prepare for and participate in a Thesis/Capstone Presentation of no longer than 15 minutes in length. The aim of the presentation is for students to demonstrate their ability to effectively communicate the process and findings of their research. Students should aim to make it clear why they began the project, what they found, and why the results/deliverables matter for Global Affairs. 

A full-time faculty member (other than the student’s thesis advisor) will attend presentations of thesis/capstone projects to serve as grader of the student’s presentation. This faculty member and/or the thesis advisor may ask questions of the presenter, with the aim of clarifying or highlighting information shared during the presentation. 

The presentation will account for 20 percent of the student’s final thesis/capstone grade, with the remaining 80 percent of the final grade determined by the mark given by the advisor of the written thesis/capstone project itself.

Theses/Capstone With Distinction: Depending on the quality of projects in any given year, faculty may decide to designate a small number of exceptional thesis and/or capstone projects as deserving the descriptor “With Distinction.”

Additional Details for Capstone Projects

Overview
Capstone projects are either an individual or group effort toward producing a non-traditional product with a specific real or hypothetical client or end-user in mind. Examples include: , a documentary film intended for use by an organization; a business plan for a new or existing organization; a new educational or training curriculum for an NGO, or a legal brief raising (or responding to) an existing dispute.

The exact details of the project should be determined by the student(s) in coordination with an advisor, and usually, in collaboration with an external organization. 

 It is required that capstone projects make an explicit, identifiable contribution to a particular topic or field within global affairs. 

Additional Guidance & Important Reminders for Students

  • How to find an advisor: Our excellent faculty represent a wealth of professional interests and expertise. To identify common research areas of interest, students should use the faculty bios and the faculty thesis advisor list available on the MSGA academic website; students may also refer to their academic advisors, who may be able to guide them towards a suitable colleague.
  • Only the MSGA department can register students for the Thesis/Capstone course. Registration will only happen once your Advisor/Advisee Agreement has been approved and signed by all parties involved and after a student has filled out the online Thesis/Capstone Enrollment Request Form.
  • Advisors and students should meet periodically to discuss progress. How often meetings occur is at the discretion of the advisor, but should be no less than three times over the course of the thesis/capstone semester.
  • Students must be mindful of all deadlines pertaining to your graduation. If projects are not completed by the date specified, a student may not graduate on time!
  • Although students will have only one official supervisor of their thesis or capstone project, they may seek out any faculty member to request support for their project in that faculty member’s area(s) of expertise; 
  • Any special problems or circumstances should be brought to the department’s attention.
  • It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that students complete the Graduate Thesis/Capstone Boot Camp the semester before they register for GLOB1-GC 3900.
  • Students MUST COMPLETE their Thesis/Capstone projects in the semester of registration for GLOB1-GC 3900. Incompletes and extensions are only granted in extenuating circumstances and must be approved by both the advisor and the academic director.  If a student’s request for an extension is denied and s/he cannot meet the original deadline, the student will be at risk of receiving an F for the course and will be asked to re-register for GLOB1-GC 3900 in a subsequent semester at the full three-credit tuition cost.