Should I write a thesis for my MA?

January 5, 2009 9:37 PM

Should I write an MA thesis?

(Asking anonymously in case any of my professors use Metafilter)

I'm a graduate student in an MA International Relations program that requires either a comprehensive exam or a thesis in order to obtain a degree.

After graduation, my primary interests are working in journalism, consulting/analysis or State Department/UN-related work. I have no plans to continue on to a doctorate in the field.

I could definitely use some advice on the worth of writing a thesis from people who have been there before.

Is there any point to a thesis for an MA student who is not going on to doctoral-level work?

posted by anonymous to Education (11 answers total)

At my university in my field, we advise MA candidates not to write theses unless they have a strong desire to do so. Given your ambitions, I'd imagine that the exam route is the way to go.

But the best opinions- and the only ones that really matter- are those of the faculty in your program. Have a chat with some of them and the advanced students and even alumni to find out what is recommended for your career goals.

MA programs don't come cheap, and you should use your cash investment in the program and the university's resources to the fullest.
posted by vincele at 9:48 PM on January 5, 2009

Is there any point to a thesis for an MA student who is not going on to doctoral-level work?

I think this depends upon your plans after graduation, and whether it will be beneficial in your field to have a record of publication. I wrote a thesis for a previous graduate program even though I did not plan to continue on for a PhD in the field, because I knew that a) I might want to continue to independently write and research in my subject after graduation, and writing experience/a writing sample would be good to have, and b) I knew that a record of publication is also a good thing to have.

If your career interests are in journalism, consulting and analysis, I think it would be tremendously beneficial to have an impeccably-researched, well-written study on an international relations topic under your name. Not only are you in the happy position of having professors to help you with the writing and editing process, but once you have a finished thesis, you can polish it to a shine and submit it for publication as a journal article. This would testify to your stamina as a writer and fact-checker, but would also serve the double purpose of lending a certain authority to you as a consultant or analyst if your paper gets picked up by a reputable publication.

Short answer: yes, writing a thesis is a harrowing, maddening process, and it's a lot of work--but it's probably worth doing, in my estimation.
posted by teamparka at 9:52 PM on January 5, 2009

Especially if you're not doing a PhD, your thesis will help prove your expertise in a particular area of your field and give you valuable experience. When you're applying for a job as a policy analyst, consultant, journalist, or anything else that depends on others finding you credible as an authority in your field, you'll want to be able to establish your expertise quickly. If instead of saying "I have a degree in IR, and I focused on Eurasian breakaway republics," you can instead say, "I have a degree in IR, and wrote my thesis on South Ossetia and its impact on Georgian national security policy," that will be more impressive.

Plus, writing a long research piece is hard, and it'll be good for you to do it the first time while you're in school instead of down the line when you have to write book chapters and don't have the same resources available. And if it's any good, you may be able to get someone to publish all or part of it somewhere, which will help in any career you may embark on.
posted by decathecting at 9:58 PM on January 5, 2009 [2 favorites]

I wrote a thesis for my M.A., and am very glad I did. it means nothing for me professionally or career wise. It's nice to look back on that program, and not have it just be a blur of classes, but rather to be able to point to one long written research paper of my own as the "product" of that degree.
posted by jayder at 10:14 PM on January 5, 2009

After you finished your BA, did you initially have plans to go on to do your Masters? The reason I ask is, don't sell yourself short on an invaluable experience that could be your only ticket in, if your plans change. I'm learning this one the hard way...taking loads of extra coursework and doing a Masters when I could have gone straight into a PhD program, but I didn't apply myself as much as I could have because I seriously thought I would never enter a classroom ever again. Hahahaha.

I would seriously consider doing a thesis. It will leave doors open for you, whereas the exam boxes you in to only achieving your one immediate goal.
posted by iamkimiam at 10:19 PM on January 5, 2009

To expand a bit on my answer, I assume that anon will be writing papers during her M.A. program that demonstrate her expertise in her areas of interest. M.A. theses are too long to submit for writing samples to prospective employers. For a field like IR networking based on a series of research papers might have more benefit in the long and short term. Even for the goal of eventually publishing something, the 30 page research paper at the end of term will be closer to form for submission than the M.A.

From my perspective as a historian, the MA thesis is becoming obsolete in the US in many fields. Whether IR is one of them, I don't know.

(To be sure I wrote a MA thesis-- in Japanese at a Japanese university. The only good that came out of that experience was the "wow factor" it produces at cocktail parties.)

Even if anon were set on going into a phd program, my advice would be the same: stick to writing a series of 20-30 page papers, for samples or eventual publication, and network like mad.
posted by vincele at 10:38 PM on January 5, 2009

I think writing a thesis could allow you to set yourself apart from other job-seekers based on your choice of topic in a way that taking exams couldn't. It worked for me - I wrote a thesis for my MSc program and I believe it's what got me my current job. I didn't have a choice, a thesis was a requirement, but I did get to chose my subject. I chose one that was on a topic I had realized during my program that I wanted to specialize in. Then when the time came to look for a job I put my thesis topic down on my CV in a fairly prominent way. My future boss asked me about it several times during the interview and seemed really interested in what I had done. Sure enough, I got a job offer from him.
posted by hazyjane at 11:11 PM on January 5, 2009

For what it's worth, when I was in my master's, I was advised that the only reason to do a thesis is if I *weren't* going to a PhD program. Basically, if you're not going on, this is an opportunity to do intensive, supervised research. So it depends on two things, I think (besides your personal feelings about it, which you should also take into account): will it help you in your career? And, do you have a supervisor who will genuinely help you succeed? I would say don't bother if the second isn't true, because if you are stuck doing a research project on your own, it might as well be when you are actually on your own, and getting paid for it. But if you have a good supervisor it can be a great learning process that will really help you if you have to do intensive research for future jobs.
posted by carmen at 5:46 AM on January 6, 2009

The general feeling in my program was that if one is not doing a PhD, do a thesis (echoing carmen above.) However, my advisor was somewhat disorganized, which led to serious delays and eventually, I ended up doing exams instead of the thesis - despite it being written. So YMMV. Make sure all the ends are in place - if you need two or three advisors, make sure they're all on board and efficient enough to get it done. If not, you could be strung along like I was.
posted by cobaltnine at 5:50 AM on January 6, 2009

If you are going into a writing career then I couldn't imagine why you wouldn't write a thesis. This could help you to define what you want to focus your career on. You could definitely put that on your resume that you wrote an in-depth article on "XYZ". If it interesting enough then you could get it published without too much more effort.
posted by JJ86 at 9:11 AM on January 6, 2009

Everyone should write a thesis at every opportunity.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:24 AM on January 6, 2009