Writing a Thesis
Eligibility to serve as thesis adviser
- Advisor: Any faculty member at the rank of lecturer or above in Track A. and holding at least a half-time appointment in the department in which the Master student is enrolled.
- Co-advisor: Any faculty member qualified to serve as advisor, any faculty member from another accredited academic institution in Israel or abroad at the rank of lecturer or above in Track A, any faculty member at the rank of lecturer or above in Track C at the University of Haifa or another accredited academic institution.
- The appointment of a thesis adviser and/or co-supervisor who does not meet the criteria requires a recommendation of the Departmental M.A. Committee detailing the reasons for this appointment and the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies prior to the submission of a thesis proposal for approval by the M.A. committee.
- A student in Track A is required to submit his thesis proposal by the end of the second year of studies, including the summer vacation.
- Should the student fail to submit a proposal on time, and no extension was approved by the Department M.A. Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies, the student’s academic situation will not be considered acceptable, and the student will not be allowed to register for Track A in the third year of studies.
- The thesis proposal will include the research topic, objectives, methodology, and bibliography. Additional details pertaining to the structure, paragraphs, and scope of the project, and the approval procedure will be set by each Departmental M.A. Committee.
- The thesis proposal will be submitted with the approval of the advisor(s) to the Departmental M.A. Committee, which is entitled to approve the proposal, to request modifications, or to reject it.
- If the proposal is approved, a notification will be sent to the Graduate Studies Authority. After confirming that the student’s academic standing is in order and the eligibility of the thesis advisor(s), the student (as well as the advisor, the chairperson of the Departmental M.A. Committee, and the department coordinator) will receive a letter approving the thesis proposal from the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Thesis language
As a rule, a thesis will be written in Hebrew. The Dean of Graduate Studies is entitled to approved a thesis in English on the basis of a request by the student, the advisor, and the chairperson of the Departmental M.A. Committee. If this request is approved, the student will be asked to write an abstract in Hebrew of at least six pages, including key words (and technical terms, if any).
Note: If the paper is submitted to a department in which the language of instruction is other than Hebrew (namely: English Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, or Arabic Language and Literature), the student is not required to obtain the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies.
- The duration of the Master’s degree in Track A and in the Personal Track is three years. The student must submit the thesis for refereeing by the end of three years from the date he/she started M.A. studies. The final date is November 30.
- The duration of studies in the Accelerated Master’s Track is only two years. Students in this track are required to submit the thesis for refereeing by the end of two years from the date they started their studies, and no later than November 30.
- Students who began their studies in the second semester are entitled to submit the thesis by the end of the first semester and no later than the beginning of the second semester. The duration of studies remains identical to that for students who began their studies in the first semester.
- Upon completing his/her studies, and not later than the end of the third year of studies, the student will submit the thesis to the Departmental M.A. Committee after obtaining the approval of the advisor(s) for its submission and after the work has passed a form review in the Graduate Studies Authority.
- Thesis writing procedures appear on the Website of the Graduate Studies Authority, as well as in the Authority’s public files in Outlook. The Authority does not maintain printed copies of these procedures for writing a thesis, and therefore it is incumbent on every student to obtain them independently.
- Thesis refereeing proceedings are confidential and will be coordinated by the chairperson of the Departmental M.A. Committee.
- The referees’ reports will be conveyed no later than one month from the date the theses has been received. If the referee period overlaps the summer vacation, the referees will receive an extension of one month.
- The referee’s evaluation will be forwarded either anonymously or not to the student in accordance with the referee’s request.
- Referee: Any faculty member at the rank of lecturer or above in Track A; any faculty member from another accredited academic institution in Israel or abroad at the rank of or above in Track A.
- The appointment of a referee who does not meet the conditions requires the recommendation of the Departmental M.A. Committee specifying the reasons and the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies prior to being sent the thesis by the chairperson of the Departmental M.A. Committee.
- The final thesis grade comprises an average of the referees’ grades: the advisor’s grade or the average of the combined grade of the advisor and the co- supervisor, added to the grade of the additional referee.
- If the difference between the grade awarded by the advisor and that of the referee exceeds 15 points, the chairperson of the Departmental M.A. Committee, after consulting the advisor(s), will appoint an additional referee. The final thesis grade will then be calculated as the average of the grades of all referees.
- The minimum passing grade for a thesis is 76 (average of the referees’ grades). The minimum passing grade in the thesis defense examination, if any, is also 76.
- A thesis grade may be appealed only in the case of a failing grade (when the average of all referees’ grades is lower than 76). In case of an appeal, another referee will be appointed, and the final grade of the thesis will be the average of all the referees’ grades. A further appeal is not allowed. A thesis defense examination grade may not be appealed.
- Partial or full publication of a thesis before its submission for refereeing is subject to the approval of the advisor(s). The advisor and the student will determine jointly whether it will be a joint publication.
- After the thesis has been refereed, its author has the right to publish it, unless it is subject to limitations as specified in the copyright rules (which appear in the regulations for Master degree and doctoral studies).
- The Departmental M.A. Committee, on the basis of the recommendation of the advisor(s), will decide whether the thesis will be forwarded, as customary, to the University Library. Should the department decide that the thesis cannot be made public in the Library, the chairperson of the Departmental M.A. Committee will convey to the Dean of Graduate Studies the Committee’s decision.
- A student who publishes a thesis, or parts thereof will state that the research was conducted at the University of Haifa in partial fulfillment of the requirements for receiving a Master’s degree.
