The purpose of this Handbook is to help students of the ITP successfully complete their thesis efforts to enable them to graduate and leave a legacy of quality documents in our library. The Handbook contains the ITP guidelines for content, style, and process. References are made to University requirements and Graduate School requirements as needed. Faculty members feel that the thesis synthesizes the coursework and affords the student an opportunity to reach out into a specific area of interest and generate a level of expertise not possible any other way. The thesis subject area often defines the career direction for the student, so it is imperative that the subject be carefully selected.
Employers regard the thesis as a differentiator when selecting students.
It consists of a thesis statement, which is a position on an issue, and the body of the document then proceeds to methodically substantiate this position taken. Analysis is the student s orginal work and should be based on facts accumulated from reliable sources, all of which must be cited. To do a good job of analysis, you will have to have laid a solid foundation based on methodical and exhaustive research. The thesis statement must be limiting enough that it can be adequately addressed in 120-150 pages, although that is not a limit, but rather a typical length. The ITP stresses interdisciplinary studies and, therefore, recommends that each student include policy, business, econcomic, and technology aspects in studying the topic chosen.