GEOG 600A - Thesis Proposal

GEOG 600 (GEOG 600A: Thesis Proposal and GEOG 600B: Thesis Research) is one of the options for the culminating experience in the MS in Spatial Data Science (SDS). The thesis should represent an independent body of scholarly work that exemplifies the student's knowledge of the literature, prevailing assumptions about relevant data, and underlying methodologies that analyze the topic. The student's thesis is expected to make an original contribution to the field. This class builds on the research ideas that the students worked on during the SDS workshop. Enrollment in GEOG 600A assumes the student has an existing research question or topic.

The student will be assigned a primary advisor who will be instrumental in guiding the student through and providing feedback toward a successful thesis proposal and thesis. The thesis committee will consist of at least two advisors: primary and secondary. The role of the secondary advisor is to serve as a reader for the various elements of the thesis and provide constructive feedback. The primary advisor can, at their discretion, invite a secondary advisor to join the committee or an invitation to a faculty from the SDS program to become a secondary advisor can be extended. Additional advisors can be invited to become committee members. However, only two advisors are required.

The student and the primary advisor should meet weekly throughout this session to ensure adequate progress on developing the proposal. Meetings with the secondary committee member (or other committee members) can occur as frequently as needed. While the student's primary advisor will be a solid resource for progress, a good master's thesis requires careful preparation, research, critical thinking, and writing on behalf of the student. These steps take time. Allow time for the unexpected.

The main deliverable for GEOG 600A is a thesis proposal. The proposal should outline the necessary steps, data, and methodology expected to complete the thesis and be approved by all committee members before the student continues with GEOG 600B. Ideally, the proposal should build on what was outlined in the SDS workshop. The scholarly proposal should identify the student's research topic, the value of researching this topic, the important literature related to the topic, necessary data, methods you will use in your research, and anticipated outcomes. The student will defend their proposal in front of the committee, which will evaluate the scholarly merit of the proposal. Once the proposal has been approved, the student can advance to conducting the research and writing the thesis document, which is the focus of GEOG 600B.

During GEOG 600A you will complete the following:

• Plan ahead by reviewing the Thesis and Dissertation Deadlines set by the Graduate School regarding important thesis deadlines for GEOG 600B. Some of the deadlines for GEOG 600B come very early in the semester.
• Select a second committee member in consultation with your primary advisor. This can be a Penn State faculty member or a faculty member at another institution.
• Work with your committee to develop a written Thesis Proposal. The committee will determine when you are ready to defend your proposal.
• Defend your proposal to your committee. This does not need to be a public defense.
• Get permission from your committee to move on to GEOG 600B.