International Undergraduates Graduation Thesis Guide
I． Objective and Requirements for Undergraduates Graduation Thesis
1.1 The Graduation Thesis is the final important academic assignment for students to complete in order to graduate from University. It is also a comprehensive practice for them to study realistic problems and apply fundamental theories, professional knowledge and general skills. Our objective is to cultivate and test students’
independent abilities to identify, analyze and solve problems.
1.2 The Graduation Thesis requires students to solve professional practical problems by employing fundamental theories and basic skills. To guarantee the quality of BFSU undergraduates’ graduation theses, all schools and majors have to follow respective teaching plans, cultivate students’ academic writing and research skills in accordance with their aptitude, emphasize students’ independent problem solving abilities, and broaden students’ scope of knowledge while developing creative thinking.
II． Requirements for Eligibility to Compose Graduation Thesis
2.1 Earn all required credits within prescribed schooling years.
2.2 Successfully pass the final graduation examination.
2.3 Follow the teaching plans and meet listed requirements below:
Students majoring in languages must obtain average grades of 75 or above for compulsory core courses from the 5th semester to the 8th semester.
Students majoring in non-language must obtain average grades of 70 or above for compulsory core courses from the 5th semester to the 8th semester.
III． Principles of Topic Selection
3.1 Selection of topics for the graduation thesis has to comply with teaching objectives and orientation of the major. Topics selected should be in accordance with students’
major, be covered by core courses of the major, and be of theoretical and practical value and reflect students’ creative thinking.
3.2 Graduation thesis topics should be as specific as possible; avoiding general and vague subjects, to help ensure students finish composing the thesis on time.
3.3 Schools, departments and the academic affairs office director are required to maintain a strict standard on reviewing topics for graduation theses to ensure accuracy, profundity and extent of the content. Each student should compose his/her own graduation thesis. If it is necessary for two or more students to collaborate, their supervisor should submit a report to the Academic Affairs Committee or Graduation Thesis Guidance Team for approval. However, it is mandatory for each student to undertake part of the thesis writing.
3.4 A method of combining students’ self-selection and supervisors’ guidance is adopted in selecting graduation thesis topics. Students write a draft thesis under guidance of a teacher specialized in the particular field of study. The thesis supervisor’s opinion should be consulted before finalizing the assignment. Once the topic is set, no change is allowed to be made in principle.
3.5 Students eligible for composing graduation theses should determine the topics of their graduation theses before the end of the 7th semester. A proposal, table of content, abstract, list of references and literature review should also be prepared for submission to the Academic Affairs Committee or Graduation Thesis Guidance Team for approval.
IV． Content and Format Requirements
4.1 Content Requirements
Content should follow proper ideology and avoid contentious political and religious statements
The thesis should link theory with practice, provide proper and sufficient arguments and clear logic, and use standard, fluent language.
Students should complete their theses independently. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden.
4.2 Academic Criteria
The thesis should be written in Chinese or English according to specific requirements. The body of the Chinese thesis should contain no fewer than 5,000 Chinese characters (about five A4 pages). The body of the English thesis should contain no fewer than 6,000 English words (about 20 A4 pages). Upon submission, an abstract with no fewer than 500-800 Chinese characters, or 400-700 English words should be enclosed.
Sources of quotation should be clearly indicated at the end of the thesis, along with references (including names of the author, book/article, publishing house, year of publication, etc.). The minimum number of references is determined by each school, based on characteristics of different majors.
A4 sized paper is the only acceptable paper for the graduation thesis to be printed on. Theses in Chinese have to be printed with Simplified Chinese Version Microsoft Office Word, rather than with the traditional Chinese version or the Chinese version in a foreign language platform. The Song typeface is required.
English theses have to be printed in Times New Roman font. Font size for the title should be 16, in bold; font size for body should be 12. Font size for subtitles will be prescribed by each school. Line spacing should be 1.5. Page margins should be set as windows default.
“Beijing Foreign Studies University Graduation Thesis” should be printed on a yellow cover page for Chinese theses; a white cover page should be used for English theses (printed on A4 paper).
A hardcopy and softcopy must be handed in together when submitting the final version of the graduation thesis.
4.3 Binding Sequence
Chinese Front Cover (offered by university)
English Front Cover
Beijing Foreign Studies University Bachelor Thesis Guidance Manual
Table of Contents
Abstract in Chinese/English
Body
References
Back Cover (offered by university)
V． Graduate Thesis Supervision
5.1 Undergraduate graduation theses should be supervised by teachers academically titled as lecturer (or higher academic title), or teachers with Master’s or Doctor’s Degrees or with certain scientific research background or working experience.
5.2 Number of theses for supervisors: A minimum of two theses for each Lecturer (or teacher with Master’s or Doctor’s Degree); A minimum of three theses for each Associate professor (or teachers with higher academic titles). In principle, each supervisor should not supervise more than 8 undergraduate final theses.
5.3 Supervisors should teach students in accordance with their aptitude, attach importance to cultivating students’ comprehensive abilities and set high standards and strict requirements for students to adhere to scientific principles and academic norms.
5.4 Supervisors must hear students’ detailed ideas about thesis writing at least once.
5.5 Supervisors should guide students in reviewing literature in Chinese or other languages in accord with thesis requirements.
5.6 Supervisors should guide students through the process and method of thesis research and writing (key sentences writing—table of content designing—draft—finalization) to ensure that students complete thesis writing successfully and accordingly.
5.7 Supervisors should provide students with timely answers to questions regarding the process of thesis writing, two opportunities to have a direct discussion, and detailed revision opinions.
5.8 Supervisors should always pay attention to the phases of thesis writing for each student and conduct regular check-ups and supervision.
5.9 Supervisors should guide students in preparing for their thesis defense.
5.10 Supervisors should be prudent in reviewing theses and filling out the 'International Undergraduate Students Graduation Thesis Guide Manuel', which includes supervisors’ comments on topic selection, literature review, the first draft, the final thesis, grading and so forth.
5.11 As reflection of the supervisors’ guidance, the 'International Undergraduate Students Graduation Thesis Guide Manuel' should be reviewed and updated throughout the whole process.
5.12 The 'International Undergraduate Students Graduation Thesis Guide Manuel' should be filled out in pen with neat and clear writing.
VI． Graduation Thesis Defense
6.1 The graduation thesis defense is arranged after students have had their theses revised two to three times (at least two times) by supervisors.
6.2 Defense ratio: 20% of International Undergraduate students will be required to defend their theses. The scope of defense attendants is decided by schools or departments. It is suggested that authors of distinguished papers or suspected unqualified papers partake in the defense.
6.3 Defense Arrangement: Each school (department) should set up several defense teams according to these topics, with no fewer than three members in each team. A team leader will be nominated by the School’s (department’s) Academic Degree Committee.
The School’s (department’s) Academic degree committee should report the list of members of each team to the Academic Affairs Office before the defense.
6.4 Defense Content: Students will state the intention and purpose of the topic selection, key theory and summary of the thesis, references and so on (language used should be the same as that used in writing the paper). The defense team will raise at least two questions. Language used to answer these questions will be decided by school (or department). The time limit for each defense is 20 minutes.
6.5 Follow-up work: the defense team will come to an agreement through discussion after the defense. The team leader should direct team members to carefully fill out the
‘defense’ part of the 'International Undergraduate Students Graduation Thesis Guide Manuel', e.g. defense record, comments of the defense team, defense grade, etc.
VII． Assessment of the Thesis
7.1 There are four grade levels for undergraduates’ graduation theses: Distinction, Good, Pass and Fail (note: International Business School grades undergraduates’ graduation theses out of 100).
7.2 It is the supervisor’s responsibility to fill out the 'final thesis' part of the 'International Undergraduate Students Graduation Thesis Guide Manual' with comments, remarks and grades after reviewing the final thesis paper. The defense team will comment on and grade the defense. The final grade will be given by the school’s (department’s) Academic Degree Committee, by averaging the two grades mentioned above. This is the grade that will be recorded in the 'final result of the thesis' part of the 'International Undergraduate Students Graduation Thesis Guide Manuel'.
7.3 Distinction theses should be reviewed strictly by the supervisor who is also required to carefully fill out the 'BFSU distinction thesis application form' with comments and recommendations, highlighting why the thesis stands out from the rest. As for the suspected unqualified theses, the supervisor should also provide explanatory comment (in attached papers).
7.4 All theses graded as Distinction or Fail and Subject to Dispute in the final assessment should be re-evaluated and discussed by the school (department) academic degree committee. A secret ballot may be adopted to decide the final result.
VIII． Selection of distinction graduation theses
8.1 Criteria: Distinction theses should meet the following conditions:
A new and interesting research topic or opinion on a certain topic has been presented in the thesis.
The Topic is selected scientifically; the argument is made creatively and supported with sufficient evidence; the presentation of the ideas is clear; the logic is strict; the analysis is innovative and in depth; the conclusion is convincing; a certain academic level is attained; insightful views and creativity is exhibited.
The language use is accurate and clear. No grammatical and spelling mistakes.
The whole structure of the thesis is complete. Each part is organized rationally and the format is correct. Proper binding is appreciated.
During thesis defense, the narration is precise and insightful, expression is fluent; professional theory is well understood; fundamental knowledge is firm and strong; the research method is fresh and the defense result is distinctive.
8.2 Quota: The number of excellent graduation theses should not exceed 8% of the total amount of International Undergraduate theses.
8.3 Award: The student awarded with an excellent graduation thesis will be presented with a “BFSU excellent international undergraduate students’ graduation thesis”
certificate.
8.4 Selection method and organizational leadership:
The selection of distinction graduation theses is lead by the president in charge of university teaching affairs. The Department of Academic Affairs Office is responsible for the overall process. Each School’s (Department’s) Dean who is in charge of school
(department) teaching affairs will lead the selection on school (department) level. The list of excellent graduation theses is generated via the following process: Supervisors nominate theses according to the selection method, taking consideration of the performance in thesis assessment and defense. Supervisors then fill out the 'BFSU distinction thesis application form', and submit it to the graduation thesis guide team for review. Once determined, the list will be forwarded to the Teaching Affairs Department of the University and on to the University Degree Committee for final confirmation.
IX． The conservation of graduation thesis
9.1 A hardcopy of the international undergraduate graduation thesis could be archived and kept by each school (department) for five years.
9.2 The softcopy of the thesis will be collected by each school (department) and submitted to the university education and technology center to burn CDs, which will be delivered to the Academic Affairs Department to submit to the school library.
9.3 The 'International Undergraduate Students Graduation Thesis Guide Manuel' should be completed by each school (department) and be archived and conserved by the Academic Affairs Department.
9.4 The graduation thesis should be handed in duplicate. One copy is kept in with the school (department) and the other copy is kept with the ‘bachelor degree application name list of BFSU’ in the student’s transcript record.
This regulation is valid from year 2015.