What does an ideal thesis proposal look like?
My friend, Marc, a PhD in electrical engineering, described graduate school as being thrown into the Atlantic Ocean with a paddleboat.
I love this analogy, because it captures how so many graduate students feel: struggling to keep their head above the water with no one in sight to come to their rescue.
Honestly, how can you get to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean if:
a) don’t know where the other side is,
b) have little help figuring out how to get there, and
c) wonder what’s the point of getting to the other side anyway?
With so little information and support how can you even begin writing a thesis proposal ?
How can you figure out what research is doable in the amount of time you have, so you don’t have to keep changing projects or get stuck in grad school for an extra one, two or even three years (yikes!)
You may be dreading the writing of your thesis proposal (or if your thesis proposal is already finished, your proposal defense may not be one of your fondest memories), but think of your proposal as an opportunity to design your graduate school experience, and make it what you want it to be.
Is your thesis proposal already finished? No worries.
You can still rescue yourself from the vicious cycle of diving into one dead-end project after another and getting more and more frustrated with each passing year.
So, how do you write your thesis proposal so that you can graduate within a reasonable amount of time and get the training you need for your career?
An ideal thesis proposal is one that is robust and flexible.
You need to design your research so it is not easily swayed by Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong will, and usually at the worst time).
Your thesis proposal is the blueprint for your thesis (and your life in the next few years), so plan a project that can be completed with the available resources in a reasonable amount of time.
Invest sufficient time into this proposal because the more you polish it, the better you will understand the background, the methods, and the research questions.
At the same time your proposal also needs to be flexible so you have other alternatives if your original plan doesn’t work out (instead of panicking and looking for your next project and losing months in the process).
Depending on your school your thesis proposal can range from 5 to 80 (yes, that’s not a typo) pages, but it needs to answer the following three questions
- Where is the other side? (What is the purpose of my thesis? )
- What resources I need to get there? (funding, expertise, information, equipment)
- What steps do I need to take (and in what order) to get to the other side?
It is very rare for students to have answers to all three questions when they begin graduate school.
The irony of graduate school is that you are there to become an expert, but how do you come up with a plan for your thesis if you do not have any expertise to begin with?
How are you even supposed to know what “acceptable” thesis proposal is?
Read on and find out how to write (or rewrite) your proposal so that you get approval from your committee and you get the experience that you want from graduate school to help you move on with your career?
The Five Commandments of an Ideal Thesis Proposal
Commandment #1: Avoid a high risk thesis at all cost
A high risk thesis is one where you rely on luck to get you the results you need to graduate.
How many years of your life are you willing to sacrifice if you don’t get lucky?
A high risk thesis may be a project that is in such a novel field of research that anything that you discover could be publishable.
On the other hand, the methodology for “hot and novel” project is usually not established.
It will be difficult to estimate how much time and funding each stage of your research will take.
Victor, a Chemical Engineer, chose a cutting-edge topic for his doctoral thesis and he struggled with the basic experimental setup for three years without publishing any papers.
In his fourth year Victor considered quitting, but he was fortunate that an experienced postdoctoral fellow joined his group, and they were able to set up the experimental system.
Once the methodology had been established, Victor could collect the necessary data, and graduate within two years.
Without the help of this postdoc, Victor may have dropped out of school or changed to a different projects that could have set him back several years.
If you are already pursuing a project in a novel field, get guidance from as many experts as possible (look outside your department and university too) and do an comprehensive literature search to get a feeling for what is realistic project is for your time-frame and funding.
Commandment #2: Strive for an open-ended thesis question
Another example of a high risk thesis is one where you ask a yes or no question, but the answer is only interesting if it is a yes.
In her second year Molly, a student in Biology, proposed to investigate whether the cells that she worked with produced a particular type of protein.
Fortunately, she soon realized that if the answer came back as a no, her research would not be publishable, and her graduation would be delayed.
Instead of her original idea, she proposed to characterize the types of proteins produced by the cells.
This slight change in her proposal ensured that she would have a publication, because her group had already worked out the methodology for the proposed experiment.
In other words, Molly changed her thesis topic from a close-ended yes or no question (Do these cells produce this protein?) to a more open-ended investigation with a high chance of success (What types of proteins do these cells make?).
The lesson from Molly’s story is that when you propose a question for your thesis, you need to consider all the possible answers that you might find.
If you ask a yes or no question, will your research be publishable either way?
If not, think about asking a more open-ended question that will help you to finish your thesis regardless of what your results are.
Commandment #3: Pick a topic that can be completed with the available resources in a reasonable amount of time.
You have limited funding, and you also need to make sure that your thesis can be completed within a given time-frame.
In addition, you will need support from mentors as you go through each stage of your research.
Even if your project is realistic, you can be stuck in grad school if you don’t get guidance from someone who has expertise in your area.
Ivan, a chemist, picked an exciting topic for his thesis.
The problem was that neither Ivan or his advisor had experience in this field, and Ivan couldn’t get any support to troubleshoot his project.
An entire year went by without any progress.
At that point, Ivan changed his thesis proposal so it was closer to his advisor’s field of research.
It was a difficult decision, because he felt like he had wasted an entire year in graduate school.
Fortunately, after he switched projects, his supervisor was able to give him feedback and he started making progress more quickly.
Commandment #4:Incorporate marketable skills and expertise into your thesis proposal
Some graduate students focus on their thesis research so much that when they get close to graduation they realize that they haven’t diversified their skill set enough to get an attractive job offer.
Think about your progression through graduate school as a pyramid.
You start at the bottom of the pyramid and you take courses to learn the basic principles in your research area.
With each passing year you become more and more specialized, with fewer and fewer people being experts in your field.
By the time you graduate you will be part of a small community of people who specialize in your particular area.
Chances are small that you will find a job in your specific area of expertise.
Don’t make the mistake of narrowing your pyramid too quickly by getting so focused on your thesis research that you miss learning about other areas within your field, which could be important for your career development.
Employers are looking for people with very specific skill sets.
When you have a diverse set of technical skills, you are more likely to find jobs that match your background.
You can find out which skills are most sought-after in different career paths from job ads, alumni and professional networking events.
This information will help you to shape the direction of your thesis or find a side project that will allow you to learn marketable skills.
Commandment #5: Stay flexible and have a backup plan
Your thesis proposal is not set in stone.
Research is uncertain by nature (that’s why it is called research).
If you feel chained to your thesis proposal you will feel frustrated each time you run into an obstacle.
View your thesis proposal as a guide – if you are writing it right now, consider it your best educated guess at what you think will make an original contribution to your field of research.
But, keep in mind that your research will evolve over time.
How could it not, if you are continuously collecting data or information and other groups are also publishing?
If you put pressure on yourself and expect to come up with a perfect proposal or a perfect thesis you may end up stuck on grad school for an extra year or two.
The perfect thesis does not exist.
Research is unpredictable and you would not want your doctoral dissertation to hinge on good luck.
When your results do not come back to the way you expected them, you might even consider quitting grad school altogether.
One way to avoid such a disappointment is to have one or more backup plans.
Mentally go through all the “what-ifs”, and create alternatives.
Having backup plans will reduce your stress because you will no longer have to worry about how your research turns out.
If you get unexpected results, or you reach a dead end, you already have a well-defined backup plan and this can save you months or even years of work.