October 27, 2008 Graduate School of Commerce
Major in Business Administration (MBA Full-Time Program / MOT Program)
Degree Thesis Writing Guidelines
1. Graduation Requirements
<MBA Program (Full-Time) / MOT Program>
To earn the MBA degree (Major in Business Administration, Waseda University), program candidates must earn all the credits that count towards graduation. Candidates must earn a total of 46 credits and above for all the regular courses and the Project Research. The Degree Thesis evaluation and the final examination (oral defense) will count for 4 credits. The total number of credits that count towards graduation requirements must be 50 and above in total. The Scholarship Average (S.A.) must be 0.7 and above. Please refer to the 'Graduation Requirement Chart' below.
The Degree Thesis should be based upon the knowledge acquired at lectures and seminars, one's project research and its findings, results and findings from specialized research themes, other research and academic papers, business plans and case studies. The Degree Thesis should be written and completed using the designated format (to be distributed separately). The Degree Thesis for the MBA Program (Full-Time) and the MOT Program may be written in either Japanese or English.
MBA Program (Full-Time) / MOT Course
Graduation Requirement Chart (Number of Credits)
Specialized Research Program Elective Compulsory Courses Specialized Courses Courses offered by other institutions P r o j e c t R e s e a r c h D e g r e e T h e s i s Total MBA (2-year) <Note 1> 22 ~ 24 16 ~ 6 4 50 MBA (1-year) <Note 1> 22 ~ 24 16 ~ 4 4 50 MOT (2-year) <Note 2> 22 ~ 24 16 ~ 8 4 50 MOT (1-year) <Note 2> 22 ~ 24 16 ~ 4 4 50 NOTE
For MBA/MOT students, the minimum S.A. requirements for completion is 0.7.
If this requirement is not fulfilled, the grade of Degree Thesis will be changed to F (failure) once, and then the enrollment period will be extended. In this case, the student should follow the next thesis submission schedule again (from Degree Thesis Plan submission).
<Note 1>
MBA Program – "Basic Statistics", "Basic Accounting" and "Management Game I" are compulsory subjects. <Note 2>
MOT Program – "Basic Statistics", "Basic Accounting", "Management Game I" and "Management and Technology I" are compulsory subjects.
* Extracts from Curriculum/ Syllabus of GSC 2007. For details, please refer to the Curriculum/ Syllabus of the Academic Year.
2. Requirements for Submission of Degree Thesis
In order to submit the Degree Thesis, a student must fulfill the following requirements. .
(1) Earned or will obtain all the prescribed credits.
(2) Paid the equivalent of 4 terms' tuition and fees (2 terms for 1-year program) before the submission of the Degree Thesis.
(3) Submitted the Degree Thesis Plan to the project advisor.
3. Deadline for Submission of Degree Thesis Plan
Students who are expected to complete the MBA Program in September must submit the Degree Thesis Plan to the Project Advisor in March of the expected graduation year.
Students who are expected to complete the MBA Program in March must submit the Degree Thesis Plan to the Project Advisor in September of the year BEFORE the expected graduation year.
As the deadline will differ depending on the projects, each students must reconfirm the deadline and the submission venue with the Project Advisor in advance.
4. Preparing the Degree Thesis Plan
(1) Please download from the homepage of WASEDA University Business School the designated forms for the Degree Thesis Plan. Please print out the designated forms and submit the plan using them.
http://www.waseda.jp/wbs/ --> For Students --> MBA Program --> Format
(2) Student must consult his/ her Project Advisor on the contents of the Degree Thesis Plan.
(3) The Degree Thesis Plan should be about 3 pages in A4 sized paper, including the research plan and references. For the style and layout of the thesis plan, please follow the instructions of the Project Advisor.
(4) Two deputy examiners will be decided based on the contents of the Degree Thesis Plan.
5. Deadline and Submission of the Degree Thesis
Students who are expected to complete the MBA Program in September must submit the Degree Thesis, the Thesis Summary, the Registration Form for MBA Degree Thesis Title, the Approval Form for the Degree Thesis Be Made Public and the electronic media (Diskettes, CD-Rs, USB Memory Sticks, etc.) to the Project Advisor in June.
Students who are expected to complete the MBA Program in March must submit the Degree Thesis, the Thesis Summary, the Degree Thesis Title Registration Form, the Approval Form for the Degree Thesis Be Made Public and the electric files (Diskettes, CD-R, USB Memory Stick, etc.) to the Project Advisor in December.
The deadline will differ depending on the projects. Each student must reconfirm the deadline and the submission venue with the Project Advisor in advance.
Materials for Submission Number
Summary and Degree Thesis (must specify Original copy)
1 (Original ) 2 (Copies) Thesis Summary
(for use in the “Degree Thesis Summary” Series)
1 copy
Registration Form for MBA Degree Thesis Title 1 copy
Approval Form for the Degree Thesis Be Made Public 1 copy Electronic Media (Diskettes, CD-R, USB Memory Stick, etc.) 1 set
6. Degree Thesis and Summary
(1) Student must submit three copies of the Degree Thesis — ONE original and TWO copies. Please specify the original at submission.
(2) The Degree Thesis should be written on A4 sized paper. Large figures and tables should be folded into the size of the thesis.
(3) Language medium of thesis: Japanese OR English
(4) The thesis and the summary should be arranged in a binder (to be purchased by each student) in the following order. The designated forms for the front and back cover pages can be downloaded from the homepage of WASEDA University Business School. Please complete the forms and attach them to the binder accordingly.
http://www.waseda.jp/wbs/ -> For Students -> MBA Program -> Format
The original thesis and the two copies should be put into one set for submission. Students are also strongly advised to make an additional copy for himself/ herself, in order to prepare for the final oral defense examinations.
(1) Front Page Cover: One blank sheet of white paper To be prepared by the student (2) Summary of the Degree Thesis Available for download on
http://www.waseda.jp/wbs/ For Students -> MBA Program -> Format (3) One blank sheet of white paper To be prepared by the student
(4) Degree Thesis Main Title Table of Contents Contents References Appendix (optional)
Available for download on
http://www.waseda.jp/wbs/ For Students -> MBA Program -> Format
(5) Back Page Cover: One blank sheet of white paper Should be prepared by the student
(5) To complete the thesis and the summary, the student should follow the instructions of the Project Advisor as the writing styles differ in each academic field. If there is no specific instruction on the thesis format, students should follow the format, available for download on http://www.waseda.jp/wbs/.
(6) The volume of the thesis should be arranged in accordance to the following instructions. The number of characters must be written on the designated form of the front cover. Spacing is not included in the total word count.
Japanese 25,000 characters and above English 9,000 words and above
* EXCLUDES: Main Title, Table of Contents, References and Figures & Graphs Please note that 'Business Plan' and 'Case Studies' will be included in the evaluation. (7) The summary should be made as follows. It will be made public.
Japanese 1 page, A4 sized paper, about 3,500 characters English 1 page, A4 sized paper, about 1,400 words
(8) The formats for the Degree Thesis and summary are available on the homepage of WASEDA University Business School. Please print them out and use them accordingly. http://www.waseda.jp/wbs/ -> For Students -> MBA Program -> Format
7. Degree Thesis and Summary - Electronic Media Submission
(1) Please submit the Degree Thesis and the Summary on an electronic medium (diskettes, CD-R, USB, etc.) following the procedures below to the Project Advisor BEFORE the deadline.
File Format All the texts, figures and tables should be made readable on Windows computers on campus.
Recommended Software Microsoft Word 98 and above Adobe Acrobat Reader Ver.4 or latter Electronic Media ・ CD-R
・ FD (3.5 inch 2HD) ・ USB Memory
* Should be Windows Compatible Deadline Please confirm with the Project Advisor
(2) The summary will be made public.
(3) The Administrative Office will NOT offer any editing services. Please submit the layout/ file as officially instructed.
8. Degree Thesis Evaluation
The Degree Thesis will be evaluated by ONE chief examiner and TWO deputy examiners. 9. MBA Program Final Examinations: Oral Defense
(1) For students who are expected to graduate in September, the Final Examination will be held at the end of July the same year. For students who are expected to graduate in March, it will be held at the end of January or the beginning of February.
(2) Students are allowed to bring a copy of their theses and references into the examination room.
(3) After submission of the Degree Thesis, under no circumstance will it be returned or lent out, even at the request of the author. Please keep a copy for future references.
10. Completion of the MBA/MOT Program in Period below Official Enrolled Years Under the WASEDA University Graduate School Regulations, Chapter 13, Clause 3, a student may complete his/ her course under the official enrolled years if determined suitable and approved at the respective Faculty meeting. Please note that this regulation DOES NOT apply to the Graduate School of Commerce, Two-Year MBA (Major in Business Administration) Full-Time Program and the MOT Program.
