Thesis Defense

Graduate

Starting in Summer Term 2026, students are required to give a formal defense of their thesis . This will be considered a registered course (MALS 411) and will be graded, recorded on the transcript, and will incur tuition fees. Please refer to the new MALS Thesis Grading Rubric for additional details. Creative Writing theses will be defended publicly, while Globalization Studies and Cultural Studies theses will be defended privately, with only the student's Thesis Committee present. The MALS 411: Thesis Defense occurs in the final term before students submit their thesis to graduate.