Master's Thesis Writing Guidelines

MA Program

1. Requirements for obtaining the Master's Degree

[MA Program in International Relations]

To obtain the Master's degree — "MA (Master of Arts) in International Relations" for the MA Program in International Relations, MA Program students must complete a minimum of 1.5 years or a maximum of four years of study, earning at least 30 credits. To obtain the 8 credits of Project Research, the student should submit the master's thesis upon completion of the prescribed research guidance in the Project Research, and pass the thesis evaluation and the final oral examinations.

It is strongly recommended that all the required credits for completion be obtained before the master's thesis plan submission.

[NOTE]
An MA Program student, who desired to complete in 1.5 years, should consult the Project Advisor (there is no particular format to submit).

Required Credits for Completion (2007entrants or later)
Program	Core Courses	Basic Courses	Advanced subjects	Courses offered by other institution	Project research/ Master's thesis	Total
MA Program in International Relations	22				8	30

2. Qualifications for Submitting the Master’s Thesis

In order to submit a master's thesis, a student must fulfill the following conditions:

The student obtained or will obtain the prescribed credits.
The student has paid the equivalent of 2 years' worth of tuition and fees by the time of the submission of the thesis.
The student has already submitted the Master's Thesis Plan to the Project Advisor.

3. Deadline to Submit the Master's Thesis Plan

Students who are expected to complete the Master's Program in September must present the Master's Thesis Plan to the Project Advisor in March of the submission year. Students who are expected to complete the Master's Program in March must present the Master's Thesis Plan to the Project Advisor in September of the year before the thesis submission. As the deadline will differ depending on the projects, each student should reconfirm the deadline with the Project Advisor in advance.

4. Master's Thesis Plan

The Master's Thesis Plan should be edited and printed by downloading from MA Program > Format.
The student must consult his/her Project Advisor on the content of the Master's Thesis Plan.
The volume of the Master's Thesis Plan should be 3 pages in A4 sized paper including the research plan and references. The style and layout should follow the guidance of the Project Advisor.
Two deputy-examiners will be nominated based on the content of the Master's Thesis Plan.

5. Deadline to Submit the Master's Thesis

Students who are expected to complete the Master's Program in September must submit the Master's Thesis, the Summary, Master's Thesis Title Registration Form, the attestation form of Authorship, and the electronic files, to the Project Advisor in June.
Students who are expected to complete the Master's Program in March must submit the Master's Thesis, the Summary, Master's Thesis Title Registration Form, the attestation form of Authorship, and the electric files, to the Project Advisor in December(the previous year).
As the deadline will differ depending on projects, each student should reconfirm the deadline with the Project Advisor in advance.

Materials submitted	Number
Summary and Master's thesis (should be bound in one folder purchased by each student)	1 (Original) 2 (Copies)
Summary for the publication "Master's Thesis Summary"	1
Thesis Title Registration Form	1
Attestation of Authorship	1
Electronic File	1

6. The Master's Thesis and the Summary

Student must present three copies of the Master's Thesis — one original and two copies, and specify the original when presenting them.
The Master's Thesis should be prepared on A4 sized paper. Large figures and tables should be folded into the size of the thesis.
Japanese or English can be used in writing the thesis.

The thesis and the summary should be arranged in the binder (to be purchased by each student) in the following order. The designated form for the front cover and spine label can be downloaded from MA Program > Format. These forms should be pasted on the binders. The student is recommended to make an additional copy for himself, in order to prepare for the final oral examinations.

1. An inside front cover: A blank sheet of white paper		*1
2. Summary of the Master's Thesis		*2
3. A blank sheet of white paper		*1
4. Master's Thesis	main title	*2
	table of contents
	contents
	references
	appendix (optional)
5. An inside back cover: A blank sheet of white paper		*1

*1 : Should be prepared by the student
*2 : Format is available in the "public folder" in MA Program > Format.

To write the thesis and the summary, the student should follow the instruction of the Project Advisor as the styles differ in each academic field. If there is no specific instruction for the thesis style, the student should follow the format in MA Program > Format.
The volume of the thesis should be made according to the following instructions, and the number of characters should be written on the designated form for the front cover.
The number of words in Japanese is approximately 24,000 characters, whereas the number of words in English is approximately 8,500 words, excluding titles, contents and references.
The summary should be made as follows.
[Japanese] A4 sized paper 1 page, approximately 3,500 characters
[English] A4 sized paper 1 page, approximately 1,400 words
The formats for the thesis and summary are available in MA Program > Format.

7. Presentation of Master's Thesis and the Summary of Master's Thesis on Electronic File

Present your Project Advisor the Master's Thesis and the summary of Master's Thesis on the Electronic File according to the procedures given below during the designated period.

File Format	All the text, figures and tables should be able to be read on the PC in GSAPS. [Recommendation] Microsoft Word 2003 or latter Adobe Acrobat Reader Ver.4 or latter
Media	CD-R FD (3.5 inch 2HD) USB memory * Should be PC Compatible
Deadline	Should be confirmed with Project Advisor

The Master's thesis and The summary will be made public.
Present the layout in perfect form when editing the file as the office does not perform editing.
The Master's Thesis is never lent out or returned even if the author requests so. Accordingly, as mentioned above, students must prepare one copy of the Thesis for themselves.

8. Master's Thesis Examiners

Master's thesis examiners: one chief examiner and two deputy-examiners.

9. Master Program's Final Examinations

The Final Oral Examination is scheduled in the end of July of the submission year for the September completion, and in the end of January or beginning of February of the next year for spring graduation. The timetable will be posted on the bulletin board.
Students are allowed to bring a copy of their theses and references into the examination room.

10. The Requisite for Approval of Reduction of Program Completion Time (MA Program Only)

When students fulfilling the following pre-requisites come forth with approval from their Project Advisor, the result of the consultation between the students and their Project Advisor is forwarded to the faculty Meeting. The final approval is determined by the faculty meeting of GSAPS. There is no format should be submitted.

[MA Program in International Relations]

A Student is considered to be able to complete the program within 1.5 years in consideration of his grades in the first academic year, the Master's Thesis Plan, and his working thesis. Please note that the equivalent of 2 years' worth of tuition and fees is due by the time of the submission of the thesis.