Before Writing

• Discuss your MS topic with your advisor.
• Iterate on the topic until your advisor approves of the scope and topic.
• In collaboration with your advisor, identify a second reader.
• Create a GitHub repository where you will keep your thesis document.
• A UIUC MS thesis LaTeX template can be found at: https://physics.illinois.edu/academics/graduates/thesis-templates/.
• Meet the format guidelines

Rules of the MS Thesis

There are many rules. From the grad handbook:

The thesis should be a creative work of potential use to the nuclear, plasma, and radiological engineering community. The scope should permit completion within a reasonable time frame. The thesis must be deposited with the Graduate College Thesis Office. Publication is encouraged.

Review Process

Enable chapter-by-chapter review of your thesis by your advisor. A great way to do this with Prof. Huff is the following workflow:

• Create a GitHub respository in your own GitHub user space.
• Work on this document in your repository. Feel free to use feature branches and merge into master, or just commit directly to master as you go.
• At some point, you decide that a part of your masters thesis is ready for Prof. Huff’s review (e.g. the literature review chapter)
• Tag the repository at that state. (e.g. ch1-draft-1)
• Create an issue like “Review Chapter 1” and assign Prof. Huff to that issue. Note the repository tag in the issue description.
• Prof. Huff will, within a week or two, conduct a review on the TAGGED REVISION.
• When Prof. Huff has completed the review, she will close the issue you assigned to her and will open one or more NEW issues, assigned to you, detailing the changes which must be made (you may choose to give Prof. Huff collaborator permission on this repository to allow this).
• Respond to the review issues via discussion on the github issue. Prof. Huff can review your solutions to those issues by reviewing pull requests, and/or by evaluating your progress in later stages of review.

When your advisor approves, share the thesis with your second reader. Both the thesis advisor and the second reader should be given a month with the document.

After Writing

• Add yourself to the degree list.
• File your thesis with the graduate school.
• Complete any other degree-related beurocracy.
• Add the thesis to ideals.