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thoughts about school.
I've been getting conflicting advice about the necessity and/or wisdom of writing a master's thesis.
I'll be able to finish my coursework this fall, so if I wanted to write a thesis, I could spend the whole spring on it. That's not a bad concept, apart from I've been having trouble even beginning to think of what to write the thing on. And on the one hand, it really seems like not writing a thesis will hurt my master's degree (it can't really hurt my chance of getting into a PhD program, because I'd have to submit those applications before I'd even begun writing it, due to the university's requirement that a student not even submit a thesis proposal until passing her comps). There are people who agree with me on this. On the other hand, though, there are those who tell me that a thesis-less MA is worth no less than an MA with a thesis, and that killing oneself to get a master's thesis written is a waste of time and energy that ought better to be saved for one's doctoral thesis. If you don't need to write a thesis, they say (and I don't; that is, I can get the master's without it, and there's no topic burning a hole in my thoughts, singing to me and begging to be written about), then don't. The don't-write-a-thesis crowd tends overwhelmingly to be senior to the write-a-thesis crowd.
Anyone have more thoughts? I'd feel a lot better about making a decision either way if I already knew where I was going for the PhD.
I'll be able to finish my coursework this fall, so if I wanted to write a thesis, I could spend the whole spring on it. That's not a bad concept, apart from I've been having trouble even beginning to think of what to write the thing on. And on the one hand, it really seems like not writing a thesis will hurt my master's degree (it can't really hurt my chance of getting into a PhD program, because I'd have to submit those applications before I'd even begun writing it, due to the university's requirement that a student not even submit a thesis proposal until passing her comps). There are people who agree with me on this. On the other hand, though, there are those who tell me that a thesis-less MA is worth no less than an MA with a thesis, and that killing oneself to get a master's thesis written is a waste of time and energy that ought better to be saved for one's doctoral thesis. If you don't need to write a thesis, they say (and I don't; that is, I can get the master's without it, and there's no topic burning a hole in my thoughts, singing to me and begging to be written about), then don't. The don't-write-a-thesis crowd tends overwhelmingly to be senior to the write-a-thesis crowd.
Anyone have more thoughts? I'd feel a lot better about making a decision either way if I already knew where I was going for the PhD.
no subject
But an MA is an MA, it doesn't say anywhere on the piece of paper whether or not your wrote a thesis, and it can be awfully tough to get a thesis written in one semester. Even if it's the only thing you're doing.
For what that's worth.