All graduate degrees require some type of written project or thesis project. Students giving a degree-required recital must write annotated program notes in conjunction with the recital.

Writing a thesis or special project requires the student to engage in a considerable amount of self-directed study and writing. Under the best of conditions, it usually takes a minimum of three semesters (including summer work) to finish a thesis. Annotated program notes usually require a minimum of two semesters of work.

For any thesis or project, it is expected that the student will work primarily with his or her academic advisor until a complete first draft is finished. After the student has made revision and changes requested by the advisor, the student should make copies of the complete thesis or project for each member of his or her graduate committee. These copies must be typed neatly in double-spaced thesis format when presented to members of the committee. Depending upon the length of the thesis and the time available to the committee members, the student can normally expect to have written comments back from each member of the committee within two or four weeks. (Students that submit drafts prior to a scheduled vacation period or during the busy period prior to final examination week can expect a slower response.) Students should be aware that faculty may not be available to read thesis drafts while they are off academic contract during the summer months.

It is recommended that students beginning work on such written projects should own a personal computer.   The Music Department cannot provide photocopy services for preparation of drafts. (Copying services may be purchased at UAF Printing Services or at similar commercial services in Fairbanks .)   The University has a number of personal computer laboratories for student use free of charge, but there is a charge for using the printers.  

Graduate students must be realistic in planning the timetable for completing such projects. They must understand that the writing style they use must be precise, direct, and accurate. They should be prepared to do considerable rewriting if their advisor, or other members of their committee, point out problems in their project which are identified in the first project which require changes or clarification.  If significant problems are identified in the first draft of the project, then the student should be ready to prepare as many drafts as required to bring the project to successful conclusion.   To expedite conclusion of the editing process, it is important that the student submits his or her copy to the advisor or committee in as close to final printed form as possible. Students can learn a great deal about the appropriate format for thesis or special project writing by studying as many similar projects as possible before beginning their own project.

The Graduate Student has a number of Powerpoint presentations available to help students avoid common mistakes in the preparation of thesis or project manuscripts.   For further information, please visit the following link.

Also available on this FAQ page, are important deadlines that students should be aware.