Thesis & Dissertation Aids

MSE Thesis & Dissertation Approval Process: This flowchart lays out the various stages of approval your paper will have to pass through once you have submitted it to the MSE dean's office.

Templates: These documents serve as models for formatting a journal-ready thesis, a journal-ready dissertation, a journal-ready 3-article dissertation, a traditional (5-chapter) thesis, and a traditional (5-chapter) dissertation and include all formatting required by BYU and the American Psychological Association (7th edition). Check with your department for specific guidelines. All theses and dissertations that include human subjects need to include a copy of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Letter of Approval to Conduct Research and the stamped IRB consent/assent forms in an appendix.

• Journal-Ready Thesis Template
• Journal-Ready Dissertation Template
• Journal-Ready 3-Article Dissertation Template
• Traditional (5-Chapter) Thesis Template
• Traditional (5-Chapter) Dissertation Template
• Traditional (5-Chapter) Qualitative Thesis Template

McKay School of Education Checklist for Formats and Conventions of Theses and Dissertations: This document describes the important writing and formatting requirements of the MSE and BYU Graduate Studies. Students must submit this completed checklist (electronic or paper) to the MSE dean's office with their thesis/dissertation for approval.

Scheduling Your Thesis/Dissertation Defense Meeting: Check with your department for specific guidelines.

Headings for Theses and Dissertations:  This document outlines the basic heading standards for the McKay School of Education for both traditional 5-chapter as well as journal-ready (hybrid) theses and dissertations.

Creating and Uploading Your Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD):  Please see the Graduate Progress website for information and guidelines regarding your ETD. For further instruction, you can watch video tutorials posted on the Graduate Progress website and sign up for software training classes on the Harold B. Lee Library website. Below are example PDFs to help you see how the bookmarks should appear in your final ETD.

• Journal-Ready Thesis ETD Example
• Journal-Ready Dissertation ETD Example
• Journal-Ready 3-Article Dissertation ETD Example
• Traditional (5-Chapter) Thesis ETD Example
• Traditional (5-Chapter) Dissertation ETD Example

Once your thesis/dissertation has been released for publication on the BYU Scholars Archive website, it will be available for worldwide access. You can search for and download theses/dissertations and faculty publications on this website and access article metrics (e.g., number of downloads). https://education.byu.edu/research/dissertation_aids.html

2023-2024 Graduation Deadlines for the McKay School:

(Check with your department for your program's deadlines.)

December 2023 Graduation Deadlines:
See department for defense scheduling deadline.
Sep. 15: Last day to apply for graduation
Nov. 14: Defense has to be held by this day
Nov. 21: Deadline to submit the electronic MS Word version to the MSE dean’s office
Dec. 5:  Deadline to submit pdf to msegradsec@byu.edu
Dec. 8: ETD upload deadline

April 2024 Graduation Deadlines:
See department for defense scheduling deadline.
Jan. 26: Last day to apply for graduation
Mar. 27: Defense has to be held by this day
Apr. 3: Deadline to submit the electronic MS Word version to the MSE dean’s office
Apr. 16:  Deadline to submit pdf to msegradsec@byu.edu
Apr. 19: ETD upload deadline

June 2024 Graduation Deadlines:
See department for defense scheduling deadline.
May 3: Last day to apply for graduation
May 22: Defense has to be held by this day
May 29: Deadline to submit the electronic MS Word version to the MSE dean’s office
Jun. 10: Deadline to submit pdf to msegradsec@byu.edu
Jun. 13: ETD upload deadline

August 2024 Graduation Deadlines:
See department for defense scheduling deadline.
June 21: Last day to apply for graduation
July 16: Defense has to be held by this day
July 23: Deadline to submit the electronic MS Word version to the MSE dean’s office
August 6: Deadline to submit pdf to msegradsec@byu.edu
August 9: ETD upload deadline

APA for Novices: A Struggling Student's Guide to Theses, Dissertations, and Advanced Course Papers by Sharon Black (2016):

The following open-source book can be downloaded and used as a guide. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you study this information carefully as you begin your writing process. It reflects APA 6th Edition Guidelines. You can view it online or download the full text at https://edtechbooks.org/apa.

The following individuals can be hired to support students in the formatting and writing process. It is not mandatory to hire an editor. Please contact editors concerning prices. Inclusion in this list does not constitute an endorsement by the McKay School of Education.