SEARCH:
HOME | GATEWAYS | ACADEMICS | ADMISSION | DIRECTORIES | VISIT | LOG IN | SITE INDEX

Home | Gateways | Academics | Admission | Directories | Site Index

SEARCH:

• Department Links ▼
  • ERE Home
  • Engineers Without Borders (EWB)
  • Faculty & Staff Directory
  • ERE Calendar
  • Mission and Objectives
  • ERE Facilities, Equipment & Data Resources
  • ERE Advisory Council
  • Contact Us
• Undergraduate Programs ▼
  • Undergraduate Program Overview
  • B.S. in Environmental Resources Engineering
  • B.S. in Forest Engineering
  • Student Advising
  • ERE Courses
  • Undergraduate Research
  • Computer Recommendations
  • Communication Guide
• Graduate Programs ▼
  • Overview of Graduate Study
  • Option Areas:
  • Ecological Engineering
  • Environmental Management
  • Environmental Resources Engineering
  • Geospatial Information Science & Engineering
  • Water Resources Engineering
  • Current Graduate Students
  • ERE Courses
• Careers & Alumni ▼
  • ESF Career Services Jobs Database
  • Internships in Environmental Resources Engineering
  • Preparing for the FE Exam
  • Finding a Humanitarian Experience
  • Alumni Scholarship

Guidelines on MS / PhD Proposals

Department of Environmental Resources Engineering

SUNY ESF

 

A thesis/dissertation proposal should include descriptions and logical articulation of a manageable research plan, with sections presented in the following order:

• Cover page

  The cover page includes a tentative research title, your name and affiliation, degree program, major professor and steering committee members, and submittal date.

• Summary

  One-page with 4 ingredients: 1) the problem you will study and its importance; 2) the methods you will use and the reasons you choose them; 3) the results you expect and methods you will use to analyze them; and 4) the intellectual merit and broader impacts of your research.

• Research Problem and Objectives

  Clearly define your research objectives (2-3 for M.S.; 3-4 for Ph.D.) to address research problem(s). This section demonstrates complete literature review and your critical thinking in identifying research problems and proposing research objectives and hypotheses. Ph.D. students strive to propose hypothesis-driven scientific inquiry in addition to task-based applied research.

• Justification of Proposed Research

  This section presents the rationale of your objectives. Elaborate on the research gaps and needs that your research will fill, or the significant debates or controversies that your research will shed light on. Identify 2-3 external funding programs to which your proposal may be submitted for funding.

• Methodology

  This section provides overall description of your approach, materials, and methods. You have to describe methodology to address each objective and test each hypothesis. You should address: 1) the methods you will use; 2) the field/lab experiments you will perform to test your hypotheses and achieve the objectives; 3) the materials you will use; and 4) the methods to analyze data. Briefly justify the selection of a specific method/process/material/model if it's a significant one. If you have obtained preliminary results, incorporate them into description of the methods devised, tools/techniques to adopt or develop, and study sites/resources to use. You must identify available resources (e.g. study site, instruments, software, etc.).

• Expected Products and Outcomes

  Clearly state the products (outputs) and outcomes to be produced by your research in the context of intellectual merit and broader impacts, in particular, unique contributions to a body of knowledge, education, and/or outreach.

• Schedule

  Give specific dates or periods with milestones for research, manuscript/thesis writing, committee meetings, and defense. A timetable is sufficient. Keep your overall scholarship timeline in mind.

• References

  Follow the Instructions to Authors in a prestigious journal of your field on citation in the text and reference list; be consistent in style throughout your proposal. Length varies with research topics.

Additional Instructions:

• The above format is required unless modifications are approved by your Major Professor.
• A proposal may be 5-15 pages in length (font size 10+ pt; single line spacing; 1" margins) plus cover page, 1-page summary, a reference list, and appendices (budget justification, support letters, detailed description of a method, etc.).
• Proposals are adaptable plans which help you to formulate research ideas, seek funding and available resources, and guide your research process. Access to technical resources and availability of research expenditure can be constraints. It’s expected to expand and refine your proposal. So draft your first version as early as possible (even without all the sections), seek feedback from your major professor and steering committee, and revise it!