Graduate Programs - Dissertation and Thesis Information

The George Mason University Library is in charge of collecting and publishing theses and dissertations written by George Mason University graduate students. All students writing a thesis or dissertation must refer to the guidelines on the Library Website.

Master’s Thesis

Master’s students may elect the thesis option, which offers 6 credits for independent research and writing under the supervision of a faculty member in lieu of 6 credits of elective course work. Students who wish to take the thesis option must select a committee and have a basic thesis proposal approved by the committee prior to being allowed to register for ECON 799. The thesis proposal does not have to be as in depth as a dissertation proposal, but must give the committee members enough information about the proposed topic for them to make informed decisions about whether or not they wish to participate on the committee.

For more information about the thesis option, see the Master’s Program Notes.

Doctoral Dissertation

All doctoral students are required to take at least 12 credit hours of dissertation credit and successfully defend and submit a complete doctoral dissertation in order to be eligible for degree conferral. Students may take any combination of ECON 998 (proposal) and ECON 999 (research) credits to satisfy the minimum dissertation credit requirement. Although students may take as many credit hours of dissertation as they need to complete the dissertation, no more than 24 credit hours of dissertation credit may be applied to the doctoral degree. Students who have entered the dissertation stage of the program must maintain continuous enrollment until graduation.

For more information about the doctoral dissertation, see the Doctoral Program Notes. Additional links are provided below for your convenience.

CHSS forms, procedures, and policies

Dissertation and Thesis Web Guide