Major Research Paper (MRP) and Research Thesis - Guidelines

MRPs/Research Theses are 7,500-10,000 word research papers that demonstrate a high level of scholarship and intensive research. Broadly speaking, they are modelled on research papers that could be submitted to a refereed philosophy journal or conference. MRPs/Research theses are meant to demonstrate research capacities and skills at this level.

The Purpose of MRP/Research Thesis Proposals—and the basis for their assessment:
The MRP/Research Thesis proposal is written before the MRP/Research Thesis. It should demonstrate that the student has a philosophically viable research project, at a suitably high level of scholarship, that is feasible for them to complete and defend. It should also demonstrate ability to research and master a body of scholarship appropriate for the research topic.

The proposal is assessed by the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC). The GSC’s decision to accept the proposal indicates that the student is ready to proceed with writing the MRP/Research Thesis itself, under the guidance of their supervisor(s), taking any feedback from the GSC into consideration.

General Objectives and Guidelines for writing MRP/Research Thesis Proposals:
There is no one formula for writing an MRP/Research Thesis proposal. Like all philosophical writing, it is a solution to a problem of making a complex issue as clear and accessible as possible, with suitable support, within a limited number of words (see below). The audience is a committee beyond the student’s supervisor and the MRP/Research Thesis examination committee.

As a general guideline your proposal should address the following questions (not necessarily in this sequential order):

Typically, a succinct 3-6 sentence thesis statement will encapsulate an answer to all these questions: “The MRP/Research Thesis will claim that P, by drawing on research materials B, in the context set by those materials. It will add something new, N, in ways that are significant and worth caring about.  The reasons for claiming that P are roughly R (or along the lines of R).” Typically, discussion of the scholarly basis and context is no more than 40% of the proposal. Discussion of the claim and an outline of the reasons for it constitutes a substantive part of the proposal, with the remaining elements (what’s new, why it matters) having equal emphasis.  (See our separate guide to writing proposals for further suggestions.)

Format: Proposals are to be no more than 3000 words, including all footnotes/endnotes, but not the bibliography or title. The proposal is double spaced and submitted electronically, preferably as an editable document (DOCX, or RTF), to facilitate review and comment by the committee (PDFs may also be submitted). The bibliography is formatted in Chicago style; generally, it is expected that it will comprise 30-40 items.

Process and Timeline: An initial draft of the proposal is to be submitted to your supervisor by the end of month 9 of your program (May 31 for students beginning in Sep), with the proposal submitted to the GSC by the end of month 12. (‘Fast track’ students arrange a shorter timeline with supervisors.) You will have to see the GPD if your proposal has not been submitted by the end of month 16. Proposals must be approved by your supervisor prior to submission. Submit via email to the GPD, cc’ing your supervisor. The GSC reviews the proposal, assessing it as: Accepted as is; Accepted with minor revisions (to be discussed by supervisor & student, does not need to be resubmitted); Accepted with major revisions (needs to be resubmitted to GSC, for another review); or Rejected.

(These guidelines are also available as a PDF document.) 

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you began the program before Fall 2021, please follow these timeline and formatting guidelines. If you began the program in Fall 2021 or after, please see 3.B. Writing the Research Thesis: Tmelines and Format.

Timeline:
The final version of the complete MRP must be submitted prior to arranging an oral defence. (It is expected that this will happen only after the supervisor approves the MRP, see next section.) Defences may happen at any time during the year. (Note that the total time limit for the completion of the MA program, including course work, is three years. However, the MA program in Option A, with Major Research Paper, is completeable in two years or less, and this should be your target.)

Students wishing to graduate at a particular convocation must meet the following deadlines for research thesis submission (follow these dates, not the ones listed by the Thesis Office):

• Fall Convocation: Traditionally in November
  1st submission prior to defence:  August 1
  Final submission after defence:  September 15


• Spring Convocation: Traditionally in June
  1st submission prior to defence: March 1
  Final submission after defence: April 1

The version submitted after the defence (oral examination) must include all of the changes required by the examiners. The changes may be minor or major; major changes typically take at least several weeks to complete (for more on minor and major modifications, see below, Decision for MRP).

Content and Format:
Concordia University’s Graduate Calendar describes the major research paper in the following way: “This form of master's thesis in philosophy is expected to consider all of the relevant scholarship pertaining to its argument and to make an original contribution to knowledge, in a manner comparable to a journal article.” It is expected that MRPs go through several stages of rewriting in light of comments from the supervisor.

The format of the MRP submitted for oral defence must follow these guidelines (please follow these guidelines instead of the ones provided by the Thesis Office):

• Use endnotes rather than footnotes. Endnotes should be gathered at the end of the document.
• Citation style should follow the most recent edition of The Chicago Manual of Style.
• Double-space all text, including indented citations, block quotations and endnotes.
• The length of the paper should be between 30 and 40 pages (7,500-10,000 words), including endnotes and bibliography.
• The font should be 12 point, easily readable, and widely used, such as Times New Roman, Garamond, Computer Modern, or other similar fonts with serifs.
• All pages must be numbered and have margins of at least one inch on all sides.
• Include a title page with title, author, month/year, and the following, centred statement: “A Major Research Paper in the Department of Philosophy, presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Philosophy) at Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada”. For the exact layout, students should turn to sample pages in the appendix of the Thesis Preparation Guide of the School of Graduate Studies.
  
• On a separate page, include an abstract that summarizes the main argument (max. 250 words)
• The paper should be submitted as an attachment (MS Word or PDF) in an email to the GPD, chair of examining committee (if any), supervisor, and examiner(s). A copy should also be deposited with the Graduate Program Administrator (GPA), who will add it to the student’s file in the department.

To save paper, if a paper version is circulated, it should be printed double-sided.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you began the program in Fall 2021 or after, please follow these timeline and formatting guidelines. If you began the program before Fall 2021, please see 3.A. Writing the MRP: Tmelines and Format.

For Research Thesis deadlines and format, please follow the information listed here: https://www.concordia.ca/gradstudies/students/thesis-based/process.html.

Additional formatting information:

• Use endnotes rather than footnotes. Endnotes should be gathered at the end of the document.
• Citation style should follow the most recent edition of The Chicago Manual of Style.
• The length of the paper should be between 30 and 40 pages (7,500-10,000 words), including endnotes and bibliography.

Concordia University’s Graduate Calendar describes the Research Thesis in the following way: “This form of master's thesis in philosophy is expected to consider all of the relevant scholarship pertaining to its argument and to make an original contribution to knowledge, in a manner comparable to a journal article.” It is expected that MRPs go through several stages of rewriting in light of comments from the supervisor.

The final version of the complete MRP must be submitted prior to arranging an oral defence. (It is expected that this will happen only after the supervisor approves the MRP, see next section.) Defences may happen at any time during the year. (Note that the total time limit for the completion of the MA program, including course work, is three years. However, the MA program in Option A, with Research Thesis, is completeable in two years or less, and this should be your target.)

The version submitted after the defence (oral examination) must include all of the changes required by the examiners. The changes may be minor or major; major changes typically take at least several weeks to complete (for more on minor and major modifications, see below, Decisions for MRPs/Research Theses).

Students wishing to graduate must fill out, sign, and submit a graduation application. Generally, if you have completed all program requirements except for your research paper defence and final research paper submission, you must apply to graduate sometime in January for Spring graduation or in July for Fall graduation through their Student Centre or in person at the Birks Student Service Centre. (For exact dates please refer to the current important dates.)

Students have the right to submit material for examination without approval of the principal supervisor or oral examination committee members. However, MRPs/Research Theses are generally submitted for defence only after the principal supervisor has judged it ready for defence, and this is highly advisable.

When the MRP/Research Thesis is ready for defence, the supervisor contacts the Graduate Program Director (GPD) to discuss the selection of a second examiner (also called second reader), and possibly a Chair of the examination. The examination committee is appointed by the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Philosophy, as represented by the GPD, in consultation with the student’s supervisor. The examination committee is not selected by the student, but students may suggest possible examiners to the supervisor and/or the GPD.

On most MRP/Research Thesis defences (though not Monograph Thesis defences), the supervisor functions as the Chair of the examination. The examination Chair schedules the defence with the help of the Graduate Program Administrator (GPA), calls the examination proccedings to order, formally ends them, and reports results to the GPD and the GPA. The GPA prepares the paperwork for the examination (the Master’s Examination Committee Report and the Graduate Activity Grade Report, and the signature page in the case of the Research Thesis), and the supervisor (or the examination Chair, if different from the supervisor) takes these forms to the examination and returns them to the GPA for further processing (the signature page is kept on file; the Master's Examination Committee Report is kept on file for MRPs and sent to the Thesis Office for Research Theses; the Graduate Activity Grade Report is sent for signature to the Associate Dean, Graduate Studies, once the post-defence revisions have been approved).

A third faculty member is required on examination committees in those cases in which two faculty members serve as co-supervisors. The third faculty member then serves as independent overseer of the examination.

The defence is in principle public, and is advertised by the Department, in particular among faculty and fellow graduate students. It usually lasts 90 to 120 minutes.

A defence begins with the MA student’s summary of the project, and an account of what motivated them to write it (7-10 minutes maximum). Then follow several rounds of questions (2-4 rounds are typical), with the second examiner beginning each round. An examination Chair who is not the supervisor may also ask questions during the defence, though they do not typically have their own round of questions. After the rounds, the Chair invites questions from the audience, if any.

When the examination Chair has closed questions, the examinee (and audience, if any) leaves the room so that the examiners debate the outcome. Typically, the deliberations begin by the second examiner suggesting an outcome.

After the deliberations, the examination Chair invites the examinee back in and informs them of the outcome.

The decision is reported on the Master’s Examination Committee Report, which is to be submitted to the Thesis Office after the defence. The Examining Committee can render one (1) of four (4) decisions, subject to a vote of majority by all members of the examination committee.

The MRP/Research Thesis can be:

1. Accepted as submitted which may include corrections that do not require the supervisor’s approval.
2. Accepted with minor modifications, defined as corrections that can be made immediately and to the satisfaction of the supervisor.
3. Accepted with major modifications. The Master's Examination Committee Report shall include a precise description of the modifications along with a date for their completion of no more than six months. The Examining Committee shall examine the modified MRP/Research Thesis and, by majority vote, determine if the modifications specified in the Examination Committee Report have been completed to the Examining Committee’s satisfaction. If they have, the research thesis may be accepted, and the supervisor will confirm the Examining Committee’s approval to the GPD and the GPA. It is not necessary for the Examining Committee to reconvene. If the Examining Committee is not satisfied that the specified modifications have been made, then the Examining Committee must reconvene to decide if the MRP/Research Thesis is rejected or an additional period of modifications is to be granted. The Chair shall report in writing to the Dean of Graduate Studies the outcome of the Examining Committee meeting.
4. Rejected. This notation is used for an MRP/Research Thesis for which the Examining Committee is not prepared to request either minor or major modifications, i.e., where the work shows serious deficiency, or its validity is in question. Such an MR/Research Thesis may be re-submitted only once, in revised form. Such a resubmission can only be made six (6) months or more from the date of the original defence. Formal re-submission of an MRP/Research Thesis follows the same procedure as an initial submission.

Decision impasse: If the Examining Committee is unable to reach a decision concerning the MRP/Research Thesis at the time of the defence, it is the responsibility of the Chair of the defence proceedings (often the supervisor) to call a meeting of the Examining Committee with the GPD to determine the outcome. The student is not normally required to be present at the second meeting of the Examining Committee. If no agreement is forthcoming at this meeting, the GPD will call a new oral examination that the GPD will chair. At the request of the student, a third examiner may be added to the Examining Committee at the second defence.