Automated Template C: Created by James Nail 2013V2.

Example masters proposal for SSE with helpful descriptions of required content

By

Joseph Ray Carroll

A MSc Project Proposal

Submitted to the Faculty of

University of Kurdistan Hewler
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of MSc
in Petroleum Engineering
in the Department of Natural Resources and Engineering Management

University of Kurdistan Hewler, Erbil, Kurdish Region, Iraq

 Copyright by

Joseph Ray Carroll

2
 RECOMMENDATION BY THE SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE

I have read the proposal and agree to supervise Joseph Ray Carroll. Further, I

found this proposal sufficient for the requirements of the MSc degree. In my judgment,

the proposal project is academically, logistically, administratively and financially

feasible.

Role Name Signature Date

Research
Supervisor
Committee
Member
Committee
Member
Committee
Member
Committee
Member

Remarks:

i
 APPROVAL FROM DEPARTMENT CHAIR

Remarks:

Name:____________________________

Signature:_________________________

Date: _____________________________

ii
 APPROVAL FROM DEAN OF SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Remarks:

Approval from Dean (YES/NO): ______________________

If the Dean does not approve, the following are reasons why:

Name:____________________________

Signature:_________________________

iii
Date: _____________________________

iv
 ABSTRACT

This is where the body of the abstract goes. The abstract is limited to 150 words.

An abstract very briefly summarizes the entire paper. Someone should be able to read the

abstract and determine the paper’s main purpose, method, and outcome. Do not cite any

references or place any figures or tables in the abstract.

This document serves as a template for MSc project proposals in the School of

Science and Engineering. The spacing, font, and other formatting in this paper should be

followed. Notice that in this Word document, the Styles are already created for each type

of text. Use these styles for appropriate sections in the paper prevent formatting errors.

The “Table of Contents,” “List of Figures,” and “List of Tables” are fields that can be

automatically updated to match the document. Therefore, they are not entered manually

but inserted using the List of Figures and Tables command in Word. A More thorough

document on specific formatting instruction is currently being prepared by Joseph

Carroll, but for now, this example can serve as a template for formatting.

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

RECOMMENDATION BY THE SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE...................................i

APPROVAL FROM DEPARTMENT CHAIR...................................................................ii

APPROVAL FROM DEAN OF SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING..........iii

ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................iv

LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................vii

LIST OF FIGURES..........................................................................................................viii

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................1
II. PROBLEM STATEMENT AND DELIVERABLES.......................................2

2.1 Problem Statement.................................................................................2

2.2 Objectives and Deliverables..................................................................2

III. PROBLEM SOLVING METHODOLOGY......................................................3

3.1 Overview................................................................................................3
3.2 Data collection method..........................................................................3
3.3 Data analysis method.............................................................................3
3.4 Etc…......................................................................................................3

IV. PROJECT PLANNING.....................................................................................4

4.1 Tentative timetable.................................................................................4

4.2 Resource Requirements.........................................................................4
4.3 List of Contacts......................................................................................5
4.4 Publication plan.....................................................................................5

REFERENCES....................................................................................................................8

APPENDIX

A. APPENDIX TITLE FOR APPENDIX A (MUST BE IN INVERTED

PYRAMID AND ALL CAPS)..........................................................................9

A.1 Sample level 1 subheading in appendix...............................................10

A.1.1 Sample level 2 subheading in appendix.........................................10
A.1.1.1Sample level 3 subheading in appendix...................................10

vi
A.1.1.1.1 Sample level 4 subheading in appendix.......................10

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Tentative timetable.............................................................................................7

Table A.1 Table title Sample 2 in appendix.....................................................................12

viii
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Masters vs bachelor salary.................................................................................3

Figure A.1 Figure title sample 2 in appendix.....................................................................13

 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This section introduces the topic. It presents the background to the problem area

to provide readers a familiarity with the topic so they can understand your proposal. A

strong background and support of the problem is very important as it gives significance to

your work.

Describe the problem or questions your work will address and briefly address the

overall solution you propose. You will go into the problem and solution in more detail

later, so do not be long and drawn out in the introduction. This ensures readers are very

clear on the importance, background, objective, and scope of your proposed work.

1
 CHAPTER I

PROBLEM STATEMENT AND DELIVERABLES

I.1 Problem Statement

Clearly state the problem that your proposed work will answer. This statement

should be focused and concise. A problem statement should focus on the issues you plan

to solve and provide a realistic scope for the project. This section can provide more

details that were not included in the introduction. If you can clearly define the specific

problems you aim to solve and the parameters that govern them, you have succeeded in

this section.

Throughout the document, insert figures where necessary. There is an old saying

that goes, “a picture says 1000 words.” Figures can greatly enhance understanding of a

project. For example Figure 2.1 shows that employees with a masters degree earn more

than those with only a bachelors degree.

2
Figure I.1.1.1.1.1.1.1 Masters vs bachelor salary

Notes: sample notes for figures. Not all figures need notes, most of the time a simple title
is sufficient along with a description of the figure in the body of the text. Notice this is a
“Note” style format in word.

If you need to start a new paragraph after a figure, this is here so you can see how

to format the next paragraph. Remember that you must always refer to and describe any

figure that you have include. Do not include a figure without referencing or describing it

in the paper before you include the figure.

I.2 Objectives and Deliverables

The objective and deliverables are what you will produce, deliver, or show at the

end of the project. Accessing the fulfillment of these deliverables at the end of the project

is a way of determining the success of the project. You can format this section with a

brief introduction followed by a numbered list.

1. Present clear solutions to each detail of the problem statement

3
2. Keep in mind that the objectives and deliverables are made before the

problem is actually solved. So they may adapt and change as you begin

solving the problem.

3. After starting the project, you may find that an objective is unachievable

for various reasons. That’s ok. Document your attempt to solve the

objective so when someone else tries to solve the problem at a later time,

they can learn from your experience.

4
 CHAPTER II

PROBLEM SOLVING METHODOLOGY

II.1 Overview

Here you will outline the general research plan and methodology you propose to

accomplish the study objectives. There may be some uncertainties in the methodology

since you may not exactly know how to accomplish the objectives of study yet. This is

ok; the research methodology may be subject to change during the project. You can

divide up this section into appropriate subsections of your choosing that fit the nature of

your project. Below are some examples.

II.2 Data collection method

How will you collect the data? Where will you collect the data? What tools will

you use to collect the data?

II.3 Data analysis method

Describe any general algorithms you may use in the data analysis or reduction

method. What type or format of data will be collected? What software will you use to

analysis the data?

You may need to show equations throughout this project proposal. Here is an

example of how to format equations in this project proposal paper. You can refer to

5
specific equations within the paragraph; for example Equation 1.1 shows an equation that

you commonly used in data analysis.

n
( x +a ) =∑ n x k an−k
n

k=0 k
() (1.1)

∞
nπx nπx
n=1
(
f ( x )=a0 + ∑ an cos
L
+b n sin
L ) (1.2)

If the equations are inserted in the middle of a paragraph, you can continue the paragraph

after equations with a tab on first line after the equations as done in this sentence.

II.4 Title of any other sections you with to include

Include any other sections in this chapter that are appropriate for describing your

research methodology. These may be specific to your project. Make sure that you include

a page break before starting a new chapter so that each chapter starts on a new page.

6
 CHAPTER III

PROJECT PLANNING

III.1 Tentative timetable

Keep in mind the timetable is only tentative. However, it is still important to plan

out the project timeline. This will help you gain an idea of the feasibility and time

restraint of the project. Also keep in mind that some activities may not be able to be

performed in series, but rather have to be conducted in parallel.

Table III.1.1.1.1.1.1 Tentative timetable

Activity Deadline
Literature Review 10 Jan 2015
Field data collection 1 Mar 2015
Data analysis 15 Mar 2015
… …
… …
Note: You can make put additional notes about the table here if you need to.

III.2 Resource Requirements

In this section, you can simply give numbered list of the resources required to

complete the project. Include any material or software that needs to be purchased and its

estimated cost, travel requirements, etc…

7
III.3 List of Contacts

Write a list of the people that you will need to collaborate or work with to

accomplish the project. You do not need to find out all their contact information at this

stage; just list what you know. Briefly describe the purpose of the contact. Even if you

don’t know a name, include their title, field, and/or company. It’s very important and

beneficial to collaborate with helpful people rather than try to attack problem in isolation.

A bulleted or numbered list is a good format for this section.

 James Welsh

o Description: James has a masters in Mechanical Engineering and

works for an engineering firm. He has expertise in heat transfer

calculations.

o Phone: ### ### ### ####

o Email: sample@sample.com

 Jeremiah Deang

o Description: Jeremiah is a PhD student at Mississippi State

University who has extensive experience in bio-material testing.

o Phone: ### ### ####

o Email: sample2@sample.com

III.4 Publication plan

It is important to publish your work for the benefit and advance of society. List a

journal, conference, or company documentation in which you aim to present/publish your

8
work. Be sure to include any deadline for the paper submission if there is a deadline for

submission. Example…

Conference paper for:

Society of Petroleum Engineers. Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition.

28-30 September 2015. Houston, Texas, USA. Deadline for paper submission: 26

January 2015.

9
 REFERENCES

You may choose to use either Harvard or IEEE referencing based on your departments
preference. Only use one referencing style in this paper.

The other requirements are that each reference is single-spaced and are separated by 1
blank line (as is preset in this template)

You can use the citation manager within Word to automatically manage the references
for you.

10
 1.

APPENDIX TITLE FOR APPENDIX A

11
 2. Sample level 1 subheading in appendix

An appendix is not necessary, but it can be used if needed. An appendix is a place

to include any documents, data sets, or other information that you refer to in the paper,

but is too large to insert in the body of the paper.

3. Sample level 2 subheading in appendix

4. Sample level 3 subheading in appendix

5. Sample level 4 subheading in appendix

Sample appendix text

Table A.1.1.1.1.1 Table title Sample 2 in appendix

12
 6. Figure title sample 2 in appendix

The only restriction for Appendix pages are that they must use the standard

margins as in the rest of the document and must be generally consistent with the layout of

their contents.

13