Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
University of Oregon
Cranbrook Academy of Art
On the topic of a masters thesis/dissertation...
To all grads, current grads and anyone of concern..
I recently finished my undergraduate studies and plan to start masters in a year or two at most. Its a little overwhelming and intimidating knowing that I don't know what I'd like to focus my thesis on. I seem to have way too many interests, seem to get excited and jump from one issue to another, and certainly not nearly an expert in any one of them.
It seems like most students entering masters have a general idea about what they'd like to focus their research on, and in some cases, have a draft even before starting grad school ><
Any advice, comments, suggestions, help based on your own experience would be greatly appreciated... Where do I start? How do I start? I would like to read up and have a fairly good idea of what I want to research in school in a years time. I'd hate to start grad school without any clue.
thanks
don't pick from the ether. what are your interests already? what intrigues you? what have you noticed about your predilections in design process, building type, or theoretical emphasis that might make you lean one way or another?
first, in a lot of places you don't even have to do a thesis any more. maybe it's not for you.
then, think of thesis as not just a project that you're going to solve and finish. it can be more open-ended. for me it was a coalescence of a lot of things swirling around in my head that i wanted to focus as a direction.
my first thesis was an amalgamation of a lot of things i identified as my interests and it's still a touchstone for me, reminding me where i came from, how i've evolved, and what's still relevant. it was also a hot mess. who cares?
since i had the opportunity to do a second thesis - and it was after 10 yrs of practice - the second time around was more disciplined and focused. it was a good project and it still influences my thinking, but in a much lesser way. it was possibly TOO disciplined to be more than just a big project, so it didn't have legs in the same way the first one did.
maybe my dissatisfaction with the first one made it more meaningful as an ongoing consideration?
At this stage most people already have an idea of what they want to write about, or at least they know the direction. There should be some kind of passion that drives your interests. If you don't have it then the best thing to do is talk to your lecturers so they can help you identify good ideas. you should either follow your passion or take the practical approach and do some research and get advice on choosing the best topic for your thesis.
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