Wnmu.edu

Thesis Preparation Instructions
Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies
2013-2014

Academic programs offering graduate level coursework for the Master of Arts in
Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) may offer a thesis option. A student who is considering the
thesis option, to complete the exit requirements of the MAIS, should confer with the advisors in
each of the chosen fields of study to verify that this is an option and, if so, select a thesis topic
before completing 24 credit hours.
Thesis Committee
A candidate for the MAIS degree may request the advisors in each of his or her fields of study to
serve on the thesis committee. A student completing a thesis should follow the instructions of
the thesis committee concerning the development and preparation of the project.
Thesis Hours

A maximum of six (6) thesis hours may be applied toward the MAIS degree. Once enrolled in
thesis hours, a student must remain continuously enrolled in thesis hours until full completion of
all thesis requirements have been met.
Thesis Grading


Thesis hours completed during the development and preparation of a thesis but prior to its final
completion will be assigned a “PR” grade and will contribute to the “Hours Attempted” and “Hours
Earned” sections of the student’s transcript. The “PR” grade will not, however, contribute to the GPA.
Once the thesis is completed, the thesis committee will assign a Passing or Failing grade (“P” or “F”).
While a grade of “P” will not contribute to the graduate GPA, an “F” grade will contribute to the overall
graduate GPA and will prevent student from graduating.
A form for removal of “PR” for thesis credit must be submitted to the Graduate Division by the
appropriate thesis committee advisors upon completion and approval of the thesis.
Timing of Thesis
Any student who has completed all course work must complete his or her thesis within the following two full academic semesters. Any other exception request to extend beyond two semesters must be made in writing to the Director of the Graduate Division. Thesis Outline A student is required to submit to his or her thesis committee the thesis proposal six (6) months prior to the anticipated completion of his or her graduate program. The student is responsible for completing the following: • Submitting to advisors the thesis proposal six (6) months prior to anticipated completion of the • Submitting to advisors the first draft of the thesis in electronic form ninety (90) days prior to the • Submitting to advisors the final copies and abstract thirty (30) days before the graduation date. Following successful completion of the thesis, a student must submit the thesis in both paper and electronic formats. 1. Paper Submission Process • A student completing a thesis for the master’s degree program must submit two (2) copies of his or her thesis for binding to the Graduate Division. • Both copies of the thesis must be presented with an original signature page signed by all members of the thesis committee, on white 25%-100% cotton or rag paper and not bound or punched. • After the thesis is returned from the bindery, one copy will be placed in the Miller Library for reference only, and the second copy will be retained by the Graduate Division. A full text, electronic version of the thesis will also be made available through the Miller Library electronic catalog. • There will be no charge for binding the two theses to be retained by the University. If the student wants additional copies bound, there will be an additional charge. Payment by money order in the exact amount due must accompany the copies when submitted for binding. No personal checks will be accepted. Contact the Graduate Division for current bindery charges. • For an additional fee, copies of the thesis can be mailed to the student. Fees must be paid, by cash or check, to Western New Mexico University at the time copies are submitted for binding. Contact the Graduate Division for current mailing fees. • The student must submit one (1) electronic copy of the thesis to the University library. For information regarding electronic thesis submission contact Miller Library at 575-538-6408 or Ask a Librarian at http://voyager.wnmu.edu/machform/view.php?id=3. Requirements for Completion The student may be required to satisfactorily pass an oral examination on the thesis, as well as other examinations which may be required. A student must consult with advisors about the oral examination requirement for each field of study. Thesis Format Requirements The Graduate Division requires a title page, an original signature page, and an abstract page for each thesis submitted. A student must submit these documents to the Graduate Division after the thesis has been satisfactorily completed. These documents must be on file to graduate. A student completing a thesis for his or her master’s degree must submit the original title page, signature page, and abstract page to the Graduate Division no later than the last day of classes in the same term he or she plans to
graduate.
Style: You should be familiar with and adhere to the style guide recommended by the graduate faculty in
your programs. Each department, program, or academic unit (in some cases, the college) may require that
theses written by students under its guidance conform to the specific style manual or guide it has adopted.
Student Responsibilities: Ensure that the proper style manual is understood, and general format rules
are followed. You must edit, spell check, revise, and collate the thesis to ensure that there are no
omissions, transposed letters, or other errors.
Word Processing: The final copy of the thesis must be prepared using laser printer technology. The
approved font sizes are 10 characters and 12 characters per inch. The approved font style is Times New
Roman. Print on only one side of the paper. Do not change font styles or sizes in the course of preparing
the final copy of your thesis.
Paper: Final copies of your thesis intended for submission to the Graduate Division must be printed on
white, 20 lb. bond paper with a minimum rag or fiber (cotton) content of 25 percent. The paper must be
free of imperfections.
Margins: Leave a minimum of one-inch margins at the top, bottom, and right side of the page. To leave
space for binding, you should allow 1.25 inches for the left margin. Indent the first word of a paragraph
one-half inch from the left margin. Indent a setoff quotation one inch from the left margin.
Heads: Heads can begin immediately preceding text, except that a head or subhead should not be placed
at the bottom of a page unless it is followed by at least two lines of text. The heads must be internally
consistent. Partially filled pages are not permitted unless they are at the end of a chapter or where there is
not sufficient room to place a subhead and two lines of text.
Spacing: Double space the entire document, including title, quotations, notes, and bibliography, unless
your program specifies otherwise.
Pagination: Text pages should be numbered at the top, starting with the first page of text and using
Arabic numbers. Do not adorn the numbers with hyphens, periods, or any other matter. Each chapter
(e.g., Introduction, Review of Literature, etc.) should begin on a new page. Beginning with the first page
of the text and concluding with the final page of the documentation, paginate consecutively throughout
the manuscript.
Illustrative Material
All illustrative material must be included in both final copies submitted to the Graduate Division office.
Line drawings, graphs, maps, and photographs all are considered figures and should be numbered in a
single, consecutive series in their order of appearance in the text.
Graphics
Computer generated graphics must be laser-jet quality, but upon approval of your graduate advisory
committee and department chair/dean, graphics may be drawn by hand. Hand drawn graphics should be
done in black, permanent ink. Hand drawn graphics may be scanned and computer generated for the final
copy on the same kind of paper used for the thesis. Hand drawn graphics may be reproduced by photo-
offset or xerographic techniques on bond paper. Color graphics should only be included if the color is
necessary to convey specific information.
All tables, graphs, illustrations, and photographs should meet the same margin requirements as the text. If the dimensions of a table or figure necessitate orientation along the vertical axis of the page, the top of this page should be at the bound side of the thesis. In such instances, keys or guides to figures or tables can be placed on a facing page. However, the facing page must be numbered on the reverse side of the caption. Additional formatting information can be found as follows: APA & MLA Forma APA, Chicago, MLA, and Turabian Forma The following is a sample of an APA Research Paper intended only as an example. Details regarding in-text citations, list of references, and manuscript format should be obtained from the TITLE OF THESIS
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES (ENTER NAME)
(ENTER CITY & STATE)
(ENTER DATE)
APPROVED FOR THE MASTER OF ARTS IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES (ENTER DATE)
(ENTER COMMITTEE MEMBER NAME)
(ENTER COMMITTEE MEMBER NAME)
(ENTER COMMITTEE MEMBER NAME)
(Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your research. (Do not indent.) Your abstract should contain at least your research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications of your research and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph double-spaced. Your abstract should be between 150 and 250 words. You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, center the text and type Keywords: (italicized) and then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help researchers find your work in databases.) Adapted from owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01. Chapter I: A Review of the Literature
In March 2004, U. S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona called attention to a health problem in the United States that, until recently, has been overlooked: childhood obesity. Carmona said that the “astounding” 15% child obesity rate constitutes an “epidemic.” Since the early 1980s, that rate has “doubled in children and tripled in adolescents.” Now more than nine million children are classified as obese. While the traditional response to a medical epidemic is to hunt for a vaccine or a cure-all pill, childhood obesity has proven more elusive. The lack of success of recent initiatives suggests that medication might not be the answer for the escalating problem. This literature review considers whether the use of medication is a promising approach for solving the childhood obesity problem by responding to the following questions: 1. What are the implications of childhood obesity? 2. Is medication effective at treating childhood obesity? Understanding the limitations of medical treatments for children highlights the complexity of the childhood obesity problem in the United States and underscores the need for physicians, advocacy groups, and policymakers to search for other solutions. 1 Obesity is measured in terms of body-mass index (BMI): weight in kilograms divided by square of height in meters. A child with a BMI in the 95th percentile for his or her age and Chapter II: What Are the Implications of Childhood Obesity?
Obesity can be a devastating problem from both an individual and a societal perspective. Obesity puts children at risk for a number of medical complications, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, and orthopedic problems (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004, p. 1). Researchers Hoppin and Taveras (2004) have noted that obesity is often associated with psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, and binge eating (Table 4). Obesity also poses serious problems for a society struggling to cope with rising health care costs. The cost of treating obesity currently totals $117 billion per year—a price, according to the surgeon general, “second only to the cost of [treating] tobacco use” (Carmona, 2004). And as the number of children who suffer from obesity grows, long-term costs will only increase. Chapter III: Is Medication Effective at Treating Childhood Obesity?
The widening scope of the obesity problem has prompted medical professionals to rethink old conceptions of the disorder and its causes. As researchers Yanovski and Yanovski (2002) have explained, obesity was once considered “either a moral failing or evidence of underlying psychopathology” (p. 592). But this view has shifted: Many medical professionals now consider obesity a biomedical rather than a moral condition, influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Yanovski and Yanovski have further noted that the development of weight-loss medications in the early 1990s showed that “obesity should be treated in the same manner as any other chronic disease . . . through the long-term use of medication” (p. 592). The search for the right long-term medication has been complicated. Many of the drugs authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the early 1990s proved to be a disappointment. Two of the medications—fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine—were withdrawn from the market because of severe side effects (Yanovski & Yanovski, 2002, p. 592), and several others were classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as having the “potential for abuse” (Hoppin & Taveras, 2004, Weight-Loss Drugs section, para. 6). Currently only two medications have been approved by the FDA for long-term treatment of obesity: sibutramine (marketed as Meridia) and orlistat (marketed as Xenical). This section compares studies on the Berkowitz, R. I., Wadden, T. A., Tershakovec, A. M., & Cronquist, J. L. (2003). Behavior therapy and sibutramine for the treatment of adolescent obesity. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 1805-1812. Carmona, R. H. (2004, March 2). The growing epidemic of childhood obesity. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Competition, Foreign Commerce, and Infrastructure of the U. S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Retrieved from Critser, G. (2003). Fat land. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Duenwald, M. (2004, January 6). Slim pickings: Looking beyond ephedra. The New York Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2004, February). The role of media in childhood obesity. Hilts, P. J. (2002, March 20). Petition asks for removal of diet drug from market. The New York McDuffie, J. R., Calis, K. A., Uwaifo, G. I., Sebring, N. G., Fallon, E. M., Hubbard, V. S., & Yanovski, J. A. (2002). Three-month tolerability of orlistat in adolescents with obesity- related comorbid conditions. Obesity Research, 10, 642-650. Yanovski, S. Z., & Yanovski, J. A. (2002). Drug therapy: Obesity. The New England Journal (Adapted from: Hacker/Sommers, The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2010.

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