MALS students are required to complete a thesis under the supervision of three faculty advisors. The thesis may take the form of academic or applied research, or it may be a creative work.
Once you've completed six courses, you'll begin working on your thesis proposal. To get started, review the MALS Thesis Proposal Guidelines.
Once your thesis proposal has been approved, you may apply for a one-time MALS Thesis Research Grant up to $500.00 to help with with expenses incurred during off-campus thesis research.
Upon approval of your thesis proposal, by the MALS Curriculum Committee, you may request to be registered for MALS 137: Thesis Research during pre-enrollment; the MALS Registrar will enroll you when Course Registration opens. Enrollment in Thesis Research requires you to complete a Thesis Research & Residency form to communicate the number of terms you anticipate taking to complete your thesis research and writing. This form should include the approval of your thesis advisor.
You may register for MALS 137: Thesis Research for up to 4 terms (one academic year) without paying tuition. These 4 terms may, or may not, be consecutive. However, if your registration in thesis research extends beyond 4 terms, regular tuition (and scholarship) will apply (see the MALS web site for further details: https://mals.dartmouth.edu/academics/thesis). Thesis research is graded credit/no credit (CT/NC).
There are several steps to submitting your thesis, starting months before graduation. Make sure you read the directions for submitting your thesis well in advance.
To learn about other MALS students' thesis topics, feel free to click on the titles of the theses here to view the abstracts and full texts.
As of Summer Term 2026, students will be required to give a formal defense of their thesis to the MALS Community and their thesis committee. This will be a registered course (MALS 411) and will be graded and added to both the transcript and bill. Please see the new MALS Thesis Grading Rubric.
The Byam Shaw-Brownstone Thesis Excellence Award is awarded annually in recognition of the outstanding thesis in each MALS concentration (General Liberal Studies, Creative Writing, Cultural Studies, and Globalization Studies).