MA THESIS IN INTERNATIONAL GENERAL GUIDELINES RELATIONS: SOME The MA Thesis in IR is conceived to be an original piece of work in which a student is required to apply basic methodological skills acquired in the IR Research Methods to carry out an independent scholarly research in any topic of interest to the candidate. Students should aim at doing an original research that does not infringe any third party intellectual property rights, making sure that any materials (ideas, views, tables, charts, maps, etc) from other sources are properly acknowledged. To be effectively guided in the thesis writing, each student should be assigned a suitable Supervisor who should be broadly knowledgeable on the subject of inquiry. Assigning of Supervisors is the responsibility of the IR Program Coordinator but students are also allowed to use their initiative to approach any faculty they would like to supervise them subject to the approval of the Coordinator. Every student should ensure that he/she already has a supervisor prior to the commencement of the Semester when they hope to write their thesis. The thesis Supervisor only provides scholarly and methodological guide but it is ultimately the responsibility of the student to produce an acceptable scholarly work. The thesis belongs to the student and not the Supervisor and likewise the intellectual property rights. The thesis is a one semester project and students are encouraged to work hard enough to complete the project within the stipulated period. It is also in the best interest of a student to complete their thesis and entire study program in record time. The IR Program will provide all the necessary scholastic and moral support to enable every registered student produce a first class MA thesis. A student is allowed to change his/her thesis Supervisor if they feel they are not getting adequate or desirable supervision. In such a circumstance, the student should first discuss the matter with his/her supervisor (only if the student feels comfortable to initiate the discussion) or take the matter directly to the Program Coordinator. At a Master’s degree level, students should aim to write works that are publishable at least in parts (e.g. as journal articles or chapters in edited books). In publishing any part of the MA thesis, a student is obligated to duly acknowledge the University, clearly stating that the publication is developed from his/her MA degree thesis in International Relations at the United Stated International University in Nairobi, Kenya. Procedure for submission of theses proposals A completed thesis proposal has to be submitted to the Program Coordinator with a signed endorsement Note by the Supervisor. The endorsement Note is the evidence that the Supervisor has authorised submission of the completed proposal. This proposal should have the name of the Supervisor on the Title Page. The Program Coordinator should deliver the submitted thesis to the IR Graduate Program Committee for quality assurance review. The review process should be completed within 2 weeks with the evaluation report and submitted proposal returned to the Student’s Supervisor by the Program Coordinator. The Supervisor should ensure that his/her supervisee duly completes any recommended corrections before beginning his/her research. The Graduate Program Committee reserves the right to insist on a re- 1 submission for further evaluation of any thesis proposal considered to be extremely poor and below MA standard or whose research area is not within the international relations research area. In such a circumstance, re-evaluation report should be delivered by the Committee within one week. Masters theses proposals should be of 7000-8000 words including the following thematic headings: statement of problem, objectives of study, literature review, hypotheses, significance of study, methodology, ethical considerations in the research, study time plan, and references. The research proposal will be assessed by the student’s supervisor and the final proposal should be decided by the Program Committee. The thesis writing is guided by the following requirements: All theses must have 5 chapters, including Introduction and Conclusion/Recommendations. Each chapter should be appropriately divided into subchapters using suitable titles or headings. Chapter 1 of the thesis should be generally titled ‘Introduction’ and has to comprise the following sub-chapters: 1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 1.5. 1.6. 1.7. 1.8. Statement of Research Problem Objectives of Study Significance of Study Literature Review Hypotheses Theoretical Framework of Analysis (optional) Methodology Ethical Considerations for Human Subjects of Research (only for fieldwork oriented studies). Three chapters must be devoted to data interpretation & analysis (Chapters 2, 3 & 4). The 5th chapter should focus on summary of research findings and conclusion. Recommendations can be part of the last chapter but this is optional. There should be a comprehensive Bibliography at the end of the thesis. Referencing format must be APA/Harvard Style, which could be combined with an Endnote for any inclusive illustrations. How to use APA/Harvard Style: (source is acknowledged inside the text alongside the quotation with name of author, year of publication, and page indicated – e.g. Smith, 2006, p. 24). In APA/Harvard style, compilation of all referenced sources is done at the end of the work in alphabetical sequence starting with author’s surname as follows: For a book: author’s surname, other names or initials, title of publication – in italics or underlined, place of publication, publishers, year of publication. For a journal article: author’s surname, other names or initials, title of publication – in inverted comas, title of journal - in italics or underlined, volume/serial number, year of publication, page range of article – e.g. pp. 40-64.) Endnotes can only be used for any additional or complementary illustration, and also for referencing of primary sources of data collection, such as interviews with respondents. Endnotes should not be used for referencing of secondary data/information. Endnotes are optional but if used, they have to be inserted between the Conclusion and Bibliography. 2 In preparing your Bibliography, entry citations are arranged in alphabetical order and the author’s surname comes first as in the format below (the author could be an organization or institution [e.g. UNDP], not just a human person): In preparing your Bibliography, entry citations are arranged in alphabetical order and the author’s surname comes first as in the format below (the author could be an organization or institution [e.g. UNDP], not just a human person): For Books Surname Forename, Title of Book (Place of Publication, Publisher, date of publishing). Example: Omeje, Kenneth, High Stakes and Stakeholders: Oil Conflict and Security in Nigeria. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006. For an Author’s Chapter in an Edited Book Surname Forename, Title of chapter, name of book editor, title of Book (Place of Publication, Publisher, date of publishing), page range of chapter. Example: Omeje, Kenneth ‘Understanding Conflict Resolution in Africa’, in David J. Francis (ed.) Peace and Conflict in Africa. London: Zed Books, 2008, pp. 68-91. For Journal article Surname Forename, ‘Title of Article’, Title of Journal, (Volume of journal) Vol. 33, (Serial Number) No. 59, (Year) 2008, (article page range) pp. 36-48. Example: Smith, John ‘Ethnic Conflicts in Kenya,’ Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 33, No. 59, 2008, pp. 36-48. Total Word Limit for the entire Thesis: 15,000 – 20,000 words, including Bibliography. Each student must indicate the total word count of the thesis on the top right hand side of the Abstract page. All appendices should come after the bibliography. The final thesis should be typed double-spacing and with a generous margin. Typesetting of text should be in Times New Roman on 12 point font. All indentations of lifted quotes have to be on 10 points font, and a 5cm indented margin on the left and right hand sides. Further, lifted indentations should be typed in single spacing. Any quote exceeding two normal [relatively short] sentences should be indented as a lifted quote. The first draft of every completed thesis must pass through an IR Graduate Program Committee for quality assurance review before final submission. The quality assurance review will focus on issues of intellectual substance, methodological rigour, use of 3 English and referencing stylistics. The Graduate Program Committee of 3 to be constituted by the Coordinator should be headed by a Chair. The Final Thesis should include: A title page (comprising Project title, student’s name, Reg. Number, Department, University, name of Project Supervisor), An Abstract of 200 – 250 words Dedication (optional) Table of Content, List of Tables (if any) Maps & Graphs (if any), List of Abbreviations (if any) List of Appendices (if any) Acknowledgements (optional) – all in the specified order. All these preliminary inclusions should precede the project chapters 1 – 5. The completed thesis is due for submission in Week 10 (first draft) and Weeks 13-14 of the Semester (final version). Permission can be granted for late submission if there is an acceptable mitigating circumstance. Part-time students are allowed to extend their thesis writing beyond one semester, but they should aim to complete it within the second semester. Procedure for Submission of Completed Thesis A completed thesis has to be submitted in two stages. The first stage is submission of 1 draft copy of thesis to the Program Coordinator with a signed endorsement Note by the Supervisor. The endorsement Note is the evidence that the Supervisor has authorised submission of the completed work. This first draft should not have the name of the Supervisor on the Title Page. The Program Coordinator should deliver the submitted thesis to the IR Graduate Program Committee for quality assurance review. The review process should be completed within 2 weeks with the evaluation report and submitted draft manuscript returned to the Student’s Supervisor by the Program Coordinator. The Supervisor should ensure that his/her supervisee duly completes any recommended corrections before submission of the final thesis. The Graduate Program Committee reserves the right to insist on a re-submission for further evaluation of any thesis considered to be extremely poor and below MA standard (i.e. below the required pass mark of 80% or B). In such a circumstance, re-evaluation report should be delivered by the Committee within one week. The second stage is the submission of the final thesis to the Dean through the IR Program Coordinator. The final submission must include the name of the Supervisor. All reviewed and approved completed thesis must be bound in hard black cover and submitted in soft copy and hard triplicate (3 copies). Spiral binding is only allowed for the first draft submitted for quality assurance review. 4