Thesis Details

The Committee
Your thesis committee consists of your thesis advisor, one other Geography/Geosciences department faculty member and a faculty member from outside the department. Once you have chosen your committee you will need to complete the Committee Appointment Form and turn it in to the department’s Director of Graduate Studies (all three members must sign the form). All three members will also need to sign off on your completed thesis.

Formatting
A thesis requires specific formatting created and approved by the Graduate School. More information on formatting procedures can be found on their website. Specific directions on how to format the signature sheet are available on page 16. Some time prior to turning in the final thesis the student must contact  to set up a formatting review of their thesis. The department does not review formatting procedures.

Scheduling the Thesis Defense
The student is responsible for contacting all members of the thesis committee to schedule the defense. To officially schedule a defense the student must complete the Scheduling a Defense Form at least 3 weeks prior to the date of the defense to allow time for room scheduling.
The deadline for the defense is in accordance with the Graduate School guidelines (at least 14 days prior to the date to turn in the completed thesis). This guideline is in effect to allow all paperwork to reach the Graduate School in time and allow the student to make any changes suggested by the committee. If you are unable to defend by the date provided on the graduate program calendar and unable to defer to the next semester you will need to contact Courtney Kerr to request an extension. Copy the department’s Director of Graduate Studies on this email.

The Defense
The thesis defense is usually scheduled for approximately 1 – 1.5 hours, allowing time for a presentation by the student and follow up questions by the committee and other invited persons. The exact format of your presentation and the follow up portion should be discussed with your thesis advisor.

Former Graduate Theses
The University of Louisville’s Ekstrom Library maintains a digital collection of thesis research for former graduate students in the Applied Geography program, which may be accessed here.