Department of Planning,
Public Policy and Management
GRADUATE PROGRAMS FINAL PROJECT GUIDELINES
All master’s students must complete a final research
project. The goals of the final research project are for
students to learn about an issue in substantial depth;
apply their analytic skills; write a concise, professional
report; and orally present their findings.
Late in your first year of study, you should identify a
research question of relevance to decision-makers in
the public sector. Under the guidance of faculty
advisors, you develop a research methodology, analyze
appropriate data, and report findings in an accessible,
accurate, and actionable manner. The written final
project can take the form of a master’s thesis or a
terminal project.
Master’s thesis vs. Terminal Project
• Both are based on original research
• Both should provide new knowledge for the field
• A thesis involves a more fundamental research
question, while a terminal project is more applied.
• Thesis deadlines are set by the Graduate School,
which are earlier than terminal project deadlines.
• The thesis manuscript must conform to Graduate
School guidelines, because the thesis becomes part
of the University of Oregon Library collection
SUPPORTING COURSES
PPPM 690: Research Colloquium is designed to get
you started with the final project. The class will
explore research topics, discuss literature reviews,
explain different methods and help you to refine your
topic. During this time, you should begin talking with
faculty about your ideas and potential topics. The
research colloquium classes will help you get started,
but gradually your committee will help take over this
role and guide you through the process.
The colloquium classes are:
• Spring Year 1: PPPM 690 (1 credit)
• Fall Year 2: PPPM 690 (2 credits)
RECOMMENDED TIMELINE
Spring Term Year 1
• Enroll in PPPM 690 (1 credit)
• Attend 2nd year defenses
• Begin exploring the literature
• Develop preliminary research question
Summer After Year 1
• Further explore topics with professionals
• Continue reading and exploring potential
with professors or professionals
Fall Term Year 2
• Enroll in PPPM 690 (2 credits)
• Develop a literature grid
• Prepare a full three-page proposal and seek
approval from prospective committee chair
• Submit human subjects application if
applicable
• Identify other committee members and get
feedback from them on proposal
Winter Term Year 2
• Enroll in Terminal Project or Thesis
• Collect data and start analysis
Spring Term Year 2
• Review outline with chair
• Prepare draft for feedback
• Submit draft to chair by week 5 or 6
• Revised draft to committee by week 8
• Schedule defense for week 9 or 10
• Submit final terminal project by week 11
• Create poster for PPPM awards ceremony
MPA vs. CRP Requirements
Public administration and planning are both practice-
based fields in which research must be translated into
succinct and well-written documents accessible to busy
decision makers. You should highlight key literature
and research findings, rather than including all
information you collected. Appendices may be used to
incorporate supplementary information.
MPA: The final product is limited to 20 double spaced
pages of text, excluding tables and appendices.
CRP: The final product should be succinct, but there
are no specific length requirements. You should
discuss final product format with your advisor.
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 THE RESEARCH PROCESS
Step 1: Develop a Researchable Question
Identifying a researchable question is an exploratory
process that takes time. This is your first research
project, and need not be your last. In developing a
question you should choose a question that:
• is feasible within your time frame and budget;
• is narrow and doable, even if it does not
encompass all aspects of what you are interested
in; and
• you can answer with the quantitative and
qualitative skills you have learned.
You should begin thinking about your topic in your
first year during Research Colloquium by:
• getting to know your professors’ areas of expertise
and discussing potential research. Faculty may
have data and possible research projects for you;
• talk with your internship supervisors, mentors or
professionals about possible research projects that
would benefit the agency;
• read peer reviewed literature in your area. Use
scholar.google.com or library databases related to
the area (e.g., Medline, ArticleFirst, etc.); and
• brainstorm with students and/or faculty.
Step 2: Review Literature and Finalize Question
Reviewing the literature and finalizing your research
question is an iterative process. As you read more, you
will learn about research gaps, refine your research
area, and narrow your review of the literature. During
this process you should identify:
• the research that has already been conducted in the
field and its findings;
• research gaps, which are often detailed in the
introduction and discussion sections;
• the methods other researchers have used; and
• the datasets that authors use.
In the fall of your second year you will enroll in 2
credits of Research Colloquium. You are required to
review at least 20 peer reviewed articles for this class.
You should systematically identify the research
question, data, research design, findings and further
questions for study using a literature review grid that
can be downloaded on the PPPM web site,
http://pppm.uoregon.edu/downloads/doc/mpa_lit_review_grid.doc
. an approach to review and feedback.
• In the proposal you should synthesize the
literature describing what is known and the new
issues or gaps you are trying to address.
• Not all of the articles that you read will be
included in your literature synthesis; just discuss
those directly relevant to your research question.
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Step 3: Secure a Faculty Chair
All students must have a faculty chair who will work
closely with you throughout your project:
• Chairs must have an appointment in PPPM as
tenure-track or participating faculty.
• If you choose the thesis option, the chair cannot
have rank of instructor.
Before you seek a chair, write a one-page description
of your project that clearly explains: the relevance of
your research, the research question, and your
proposed methods. Email your description to a
potential chair and request an appointment.
Step 4: Finalize Proposal
Once you have discussed the project and methodology
with your chair you need to write a more detailed
three-page proposal, see example online at
http://pppm.uoregon.edu/downloads/doc/mpa_proposal_example.doc
with two sections:
• Introduction: outline your rationale for the
project, clearly state your research question, and
synthesize the existing literature.
• Methods: Describe how you intend to conduct
your research, including data, variables (or data
collection categories) and a plan for analysis.
In developing your proposal:
• check with your advisor to see if they prefer
electronic or paper documents.
• Carefully edit your documents. Your advisors will
offer comments and suggestions, but not copy edit.
• If you need help with writing, go to The Writing
Lab in the basement of PLC, Room 72 (346-3226).
Step 5: Finalize Proposal and Committee
Your committee chair will provide feedback on the
proposal and will complete the PPPM proposal
assessment form. The proposal shall be revised,
addressing the comments. Once the proposal is
assessed as being “on track” for professional
competency each of the three domains (analytic
approach, substantive knowledge, and writing), you
must find other committee members. A project must
have at least 1 additional committee member. A thesis
must have 2 additional members (1 of whom must be
university faculty). Next you should:
• review proposal with other committee members;
• discuss with the committee, meeting frequency and
Step 6: Human Subjects Approval (if relevant)
If you plan on collecting data from human subjects,
you will need to complete a proposal for conducting
research on human subjects:
http://www.uoregon.edu/~humansub/ .
 DEFENSE
Students must orally present and defend their research
to their committee and the larger PPPM community. In
preparing for your defense you should:
• Schedule a 1-hour time block with your committee
(mid-Spring)
• Reserve a room and equipment with Zudegi
• At least one week before your defense, prepare an
abstract and presentation date/location for Zudegi
to send on PPPM listserves.
For your defense you should prepare a Power Point
presentation. The presentation should take a
maximum of 20 minutes; there should be no more
than 15 slides. The presentation should mirror the
organization of your paper, with slides on:
• Background & rationale
• Research question and methods
• Results
• Implications and conclusions
After your presentation your committee will ask you
questions about your research followed by audience
questions. Everyone will be asked to leave the room so
that the committee can discuss the project. One of three
outcomes results from the student’s oral review:
a. The committee accepts the project
b. The committee requests that you revise certain
parts of the project. This is a common outcome.
c. The committee rejects the project. This seldom
occurs if you work closely with your committee.
You will be invited back into the room to discuss the
committee decision and the necessary changes.
Remember to bring the PPPM Final Project/Thesis
Defense Assessment form to the defense.
Poster Presentation
You are required to create a poster for display at the
PPPM Department Annual Awards Ceremony in June.
The posters, which summarize the key aspects of your
research, will be displayed at the cocktail party prior to
the awards. You will have a chance to discuss your
work with peers, alumni, faculty, and community
members.
In the middle of spring term, PPPM will run an
information session on how to create a poster using
PowerPoint and the AAA Output Room. Resources on
poster presentations generally and how to print them
can be found on the thesis/exit project resources for
current students on the PPPM Webpage.
ORGANIZATION OF THE PRODUCT
A good thesis or terminal project should be brief, clear,
and concise. You may use friends or relatives to review
the work, but often a professional editor is necessary
for critical feedback. Names of editors on campus are
available at the Graduate School.
Although formats can vary, the recommended sections
of the document include:
1. Abstract: 200-word summary of project
2. Introduction (Chapter I). Overview of topic and
context
3. Literature Review (Chapter II). A good literature
review analyzes themes in the literature and
findings that are especially relevant to the project
and identifies gaps or problems in the existing
literature. It also shows how your project will add
to that literature.
4. Methodology (Chapter III). Describe your
methods used in your research (from proposal).
5. Results (Chapter IV). This important part of the
document presents the findings from your
analyses. One word of caution: data analysis takes
time, conscious concern, and the desire to
understand findings.
6. Conclusion and Recommendations (Chapter V).
Keep the summary short and simple. At this point,
you should tell the reader what you intended to do;
what you did; what you learned; what further work
needs to be done; and what implications do the
findings have for policy and practice.
7. Bibliography and Appendix. Generally follows
the final section or chapter.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
• You should deliver and schedule reviews of your
work on a regular basis.
• You are responsible for deadlines and for keeping
the committee informed.
• Each committee member should be queried about
how they prefer to work with you.
• A finished product requires several drafts reviews
and revisions.
• The mechanics of preparing and submitting a final
draft usually can take two to three weeks.
• You should not expect a committee to review and
comment on a chapter in less than ten days unless
you make special arrangements.
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 THESIS CHECKLIST
‰ Committee (3 members)
• Chair: regular or participating PPPM faculty
• Second UO faculty member
• Third committee member
‰ Course work
• You must register for 9 credits o Thesis
(PPPM 503), which are generally spread across
two or more terms
• Once a student starts taking thesis credits,
registration is expected in PPPM 503 each
subsequent term.
• The Graduate School requires students to
enroll in a minimum of 3 credit hours in the
final term of study.
• At least one of the 3 credits in the final term
must be Thesis (PPPM 503).
‰ File for your degree at the start of the term in
which you plan to graduate
(http://gradschool.uoregon.edu/graduation_resources.html )
‰ Final thesis document
• Once approved, create an unbound hard copy
using the format and procedures outlined in the
Style and Policy Manual for Theses and
Dissertations available online here
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~gradsch/thesis_resources.html .
• Create a copy in PDF format and Email it to
your committee and Linda Dent.
• Check with your committee to see if they
would like hard and/or electronic copies.
• Hand in the signed Final Project/Thesis
Defense Assessment Form to Linda Dent.
‰ A thesis must meet the deadlines of Graduate
School (usually Tuesday of dead week). This date
is fixed and irrevocable.
TERMINAL PROJECT CHECKLIST
‰ Committee (2 members)
• Chair: regular or participating PPPM faculty or
instructor
• Second committee member
‰ Course work
• You must register for 6 credits of Terminal
Project (PPPM 609), which are generally
spread across two or more terms
• Once a student starts taking Terminal Project
credits, registration is expected in PPPM 609
each subsequent term.
• The Graduate School requires students to
enroll for a minimum of 3 credit hours in the
final term of study.
• At least one of the 3 credits in the final term
must be in Terminal Project (PPPM 609).
‰ File for your degree at the start of the term in
which you plan to graduate
(http://gradschool.uoregon.edu/graduation_resources.html)
‰ Final terminal project document
• Once approved, create a spiral bound signed
copy for the Department (Linda Dent) by
Wednesday of finals week. If you don’t meet
this deadline you must enroll in the next term
and reapply for graduation. You may want to
use the graduate thesis template.
• Create a copy in PDF format and Email it to
your committee and Linda Dent.
• Check with your committee to see if they
would like hard and/or electronic copies.
• Hand in the signed Final Project/Thesis
Defense Assessment Form to Linda Dent.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1. MPA Students should review the document Supplementary Information for MPA Research Projects
(http://pppm.uoregon.edu/downloads/doc/exit_thesis_mpa_supp.doc )
2. Timeline: See an expanded Thesis/Exit Project timeline at: http://www.uoregon.edu/~schlossb/resources.htm
3. Thesis format: See Style and Policy Manual for Theses and Dissertations available online at
http://gradschool.uoregon.edu/?page=styleManualContents
4. Project and Thesis Forms: http://pppm.uoregon.edu/index.cfm?mode=current&page=forms

Department of Planning, Public Policy & Management Telephone: (541) 346-3635

School of Architecture and Allied Arts Fax: (541) 346-2040
119 Hendricks Hall, 1209 University of Oregon E-mail: pppm@uoregon.edu
Eugene, OR 97403-1209 http://pppm.uoregon.edu/
updated: Nov.18, 2008
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