Institutional Guidelines For Thesis and Dissertation

Institutional Guidelines for Thesis and Dissertation
Institutional Guidelines for Thesis and Dissertation, 2nd edition

University Research Committee
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statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Vice
President for Academic Affairs, University of San Carlos, Cebu City 6000, Philippines.
© 2022 University of San Carlos
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Table of Contents
I. Rationale 1
II. Writing the thesis proposal 2
A. Preparation
1. Starting the thesis proposal 2
2. Selecting the thesis adviser 3
3. Selecting the thesis committee 3
4. Thesis counseling 4
5. Approval of a working title 4
B. Writing the proposal
1. Literature review 4
2. Theoretical framework 5
3. Formulating the introductory section 5
4. Formulating the methodology 6
5. Ethics review requirement 7
6. Citations and references 7
7. Format of the thesis proposal manuscript 8
C. Proposal hearing 8
D. Approval of the proposal 10
III. Conduct of the research
A. Data gathering 11
B. Data processing and presentation 11
C. Data analysis 11
D. Citations and references 12
IV. Thesis manuscript and oral examination 13
A. Preparing the final thesis manuscript 14
B. Preparing for oral examination 14
C. During the oral examination 15
D. Format of the final thesis manuscript 15
E. Anti-plagiarism measure 16
F. Period of completion (for graduate students) 17
G. Submission of the final thesis manuscript 17
H. Publication requirement 18
V. Protecting intellectual property derived from theses and dissertations 19
VI. Glossary 21
VII. List of appendices 24
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I.
II. Rationale
According to the horizontal typology of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED),

universities are primarily distinguished from colleges and professional institutions by the
production of knowledge through research and development (CHED Memorandum Order no.
46, s.2012). More recently, the CHED issued Policies, Standards, and Guidelines (PSGs) for
Graduate Programs (CHED M.O. no. 15, s.2019), as well as numerous PSGs for various
undergraduate programs addressing the commensurate changes after the full implementation of
Senior High School.
Culmination of graduate and undergraduate programs is typically marked by the conduct and
completion of a research project which is documented in a thesis (or dissertation) manuscript.1
Thesis writing is a demonstration of a student’s ability to conduct independent research after
completion of the required course work. Thesis writing initially documents this process and
emphasizes the student’s ability to engage in scholarly research and generate new knowledge,
creative works, designs, and/or innovative technologies.
These guidelines are designed for the University community, and in particular graduate and
undergraduate students, outlining the entire process of writing a thesis or dissertation, from
conceptualization of the problem, design of the methodology, data gathering and interpretation,
to finally drawing conclusions from the findings and generation of appropriate recommendations.
After completion of the thesis manuscript, the student should be able to disseminate the work in
professional meetings and conferences and eventually reach a wider audience through
publication in appropriate scholarly journals.
These guidelines are divided into five major sections: (1) writing the thesis proposal, (2) thesis
proper, (3) oral examination, (4) submitting the thesis manuscript, and (5) protecting intellectual
property derived from theses and dissertations. These guidelines are written in broad strokes to
encompass the diversity of academic disciplines within the University of San Carlos. Schools
and departments may develop their own discipline-specific guidelines in conformity to these
institutional guidelines.
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Thesis is the term typically used for the requirement for a master’s or undergraduate degree, while a dissertation is
used for the corresponding doctorate requirement especially in the U.S. system. In Europe and elsewhere, this
distinction is not applied, and the term thesis is generally used. Both terms are employed in this document but in
some cases the word thesis is used to mean either or both.
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III. Writing the thesis proposal
Undergraduate students who have completed the pre-requisite courses as indicated in their
program prospectus can begin to work on their thesis proposal. Graduate students must have
completed at least the core courses of their program and passed the comprehensive
examination to begin the preparation of their thesis or dissertation proposal. Students from all
levels must be officially enrolled in a research or thesis course where they are guided by their
professor or instructor in the conduct of research and in writing the proposal. The overall
proposal process is illustrated in Figure 1 and elaborated in the text.
Figure 1. Flow chart of the thesis proposal process.
A. Preparation
1. Starting the thesis proposal
(a) Thesis work officially begins when the student enrolls in a research or thesis proposal (or
counseling) course. Students should consult with their respective Department Chairs for
proper guidance. Typically, the Department Chair initially evaluates the student’s
academic records to verify that he or she has completed the pre-requisites prior to the
conduct of a research project.
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(b) The student typically begins by identifying a research problem that should ideally be
covered by the research agenda of the University, the School, or the Department.
Currently, the University Research Agenda revolves around the science, technology, and
management of human, food/health, water, energy, and waste resources in Region VII,
while keeping ethical, humanist, transformative, and Catholic perspectives. Identifying a
problem can be challenging for a beginner although this process is facilitated in a
research course with the help of the professor or instructor assigned. Students may also
need to read published literature related to the proposed problem to assess whether
further contribution can be made to advancing knowledge in the field.
2. Selecting the thesis adviser
(a) Once the student has identified a research problem, the student selects a thesis adviser
from among the faculty members of his/her department, preferably one with the desired
content expertise on the research topic. To aid students in the selection of a thesis
adviser, departments are encouraged to publish a regularly updated Bulletin of
Information where degrees and research expertise of faculty members are listed. This
bulletin should include a list of affiliated scholars especially if a certain department only
has few full-time faculty members. Some departments may opt to allow the Department
Chair or the graduate coordinator to select the thesis adviser. The prospective adviser
must sign an official Notice of Acceptance form (Appendix A), endorsed by the
Department Chair, and approved by the School Dean to formally begin advisership of the
student.
(b) In exceptional cases, a faculty member appointed as a thesis adviser may withdraw,
resign, or retire from service. The faculty member must formally inform the Department
Chair through a Letter of Withdrawal (Appendix B) and it is the responsibility of the
Department Chair, in consultation with the student, to search for a replacement adviser.
(c) If the thesis adviser fails to formally inform the Department Chair of such a withdrawal, it is
the responsibility of the Department Chair, in consultation with the student, to search for a
replacement adviser.
3. Selecting the thesis committee
(a) The thesis committee, or the panel of examiners, is convened for both the thesis proposal
hearing (Section II.C) and the oral examination (Section IV.C). The thesis committee is
composed of qualified faculty members of the Department (or other Departments), each of
whom must have a track record of research, i.e., has conducted research other than a
thesis, has some funded research, and has research publications.
(b) When expertise on the research topic is inadequate within the Department’s or the
University’s faculty, a qualified, external thesis panel member, e.g., from other universities,
industry, or government, may be recruited. External panelists must have at least an
earned degree equivalent to the level of the degree applied for by the student and have
the corresponding research expertise as specified in Section II.A.3(a).
(c) Thesis committees are typically composed of the thesis adviser, a committee chair, and
one to three panel members depending on the level, i.e., undergraduate, master’s, or
doctorate (Table 1). This committee may or may not include an external panel member or
an external reader. Members of the thesis committee must be familiar with the University’s
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policies on research, including research ethics and intellectual property rights. It is
recommended that the thesis committee chair be a full-time faculty member of the
University. Depending on competence and specialization, the Department Chair or the
research instructor may serve as the thesis committee chair.
Table 1. Composition of the thesis committee

Level Thesis adviser Committee chair Panel members Total members
Undergraduate 1 1 1 3
Master’s 1 1 2 4
Doctorate 1 1 3 5
(d) At the undergraduate level, members of the thesis committee are approved by the
Department Chair. At the graduate level, members of the thesis committee are
recommended by the Department Chair and approved by the School Dean.
(e) The thesis committee deliberates on the merits of the thesis proposal manuscript and the
proposal hearing presentation. Committee members may also provide guidance to the
student when such advice is sought.
4. Thesis counseling
(a) Graduate students must formally enroll in thesis counseling (or its equivalent) every
school term and document every engagement with their thesis advisers. For this purpose,
a counseling logbook must be kept recording each transaction indicating date, time, place,
and topic discussed (Appendix C), to be countersigned by the adviser.
(b) Undergraduate students can expect guidance from the professor or instructor teaching the
research or thesis proposal course, although they may and should also seek the guidance
of their adviser. Normally, the instructor defers to the thesis adviser’s expertise especially
with regards to the content of the thesis. Undergraduate students should continue to
engage in thesis counseling with their respective advisers during the conduct of their
thesis (Section III).
5. Approval of a working title
A tentative, working title should be approved by the thesis adviser and documented by the
instructor assigned to teach the thesis proposal course. In some cases, department guidelines
may also require the submission of a concept map showing the overall plan of the student.
B. Writing the proposal
1. Literature review and theoretical framework
(a) Review of related literature. Once the working title of the thesis is approved by the thesis
adviser, the student should begin to work on the review of related literature, which informs
him or her of the current state of knowledge about the research problem. This review
should clearly place the proposed research topic in its relevant research context and
should demonstrate the proponent's awareness of similar or relevant research reported in
the literature. Typically, a preliminary review is conducted prior to the actual writing of the
introductory section and the refining of the problem statement to provide a more coherent
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rationale of the study. Reviewing the literature continues until the completion of the thesis,
or even after its completion, since the researcher must keep abreast with recent
developments related to his or her research problem until the publication of such work.
(b) Theoretical framework. From the related literature, the proposed research may follow up
terms or trends to develop in a theoretical framework, where applicable. This framework
indicates the relationship of theories with the problem through descriptive narratives,
mathematical language, or schematic diagrams. This framework should not simply include
a list of summaries with some annotations but must be an integrated statement that
explains why these studies or theories are important to the planned research.
(c) Access to information. The student’s access to the Internet and to library resources is
crucial. Scholarly journal articles are generally considered as primary sources of
information, except in Law where statutes and jurisprudence are considered as primary
sources and scholarly articles are only secondary sources. Subscribed titles can be
accessed directly by the student online or through the Serials Library; the University has a
limited subscription base since subscription to scholarly journals is expensive. The
University's Library Information System provides access to subscribed journals through its
databases, which include EBSCO, Science Direct, ProQuest, and others, as well as an
online public access catalogue system (OPAC) of its entire collection. Websites of
publishing companies (e.g., Elsevier through Science Direct and Clarivate through Web of
Science) generally only provide free access to abstracts of research articles published in
journals and indexed in their respective databases. Thus, it is important for the student to
know where to access full-text articles for free. Public search engines and databases such
as Google Scholar, PubMed, PubChem, and Public Library of Science (PLOS) are
examples of valuable resources that students can access for free, downloadable full-text
articles.
(d) Citations. A student must demonstrate his knowledge on the chosen topic by the number
of citations listed. While there is no prescribed number of citations, the more relevant and
recent the citations are, the better is the quality of information provided. Typically, citations
going back five years are considered acceptable, unless seminal work (beyond five years)
relevant to the current problem must be cited. Unpublished works, except for technical
reports of government agencies, as well as non-peer-reviewed works (so-called “gray
literature”) are not acceptable sources of information because these did not pass through
the rigorous process of peer-review, hence are considered lacking in credibility. Also,
personal communication must be avoided unless the source is a well-recognized expert in
the field and his/her views and opinions are highly respected.
2. Formulating the introductory section
Once the student has substantial information from the review of related literature, he or she can
begin writing the introductory section of the thesis. The introductory section consists of a brief
rationale of the study, the statement of the problem (or objectives of the student, including
specific objectives), an optional statement of hypotheses or assumptions, significance of the
study, scope and limitations of the study, and definition of terms, if necessary.
(a) Rationale of the study. The rationale of the study sets the tone of the thesis. This is
typically written as an abbreviated review of related literature that logically presents why
the study is conducted. This logical presentation should parallel the more exhaustive
review, which is either written as a separate chapter (for undergraduate theses) or
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immediately following the rationale of the study (in graduate theses). The rationale of the
study should cite references to substantiate facts and previously published efforts to
address the research problem.
(b) Statement of the problem. The rationale of the study (and review of related literature, in
typical graduate school format) should logically lead to the formal statement of the
problem which states the main research question that the thesis will attempt to answer.
The research problem should address a research gap in the field of study. This statement
is followed by specific objectives of the study, or more specific questions subsumed by the
main problem. Ideally, the specific objectives must use more specific verbs to define the
sub-problems.
(c) Statement of hypotheses/assumptions. For empirical theses, the student may include a
statement of hypotheses, which should express a possible solution to a problem or the
expected results of the study. The hypotheses can guide the research toward a certain
direction including the kind of data to be collected and methods of data analysis, thus
facilitating the conduct of the actual research work. The thesis adviser may also ask the
student to include a statement of assumptions, which describe untested positions, values,
or beliefs that are assumed in the study.
(d) Significance of the study. The significance of the study expresses the necessity and
importance of the research conducted and who stands to benefit from its findings. A useful
guide for writing the significance of the study is the Department of Science and
Technology’s 6Ps and 2Is, namely publication, people, product, patent, partnerships and
places, and policies as well as social and economic impact.
(e) Scope and limitations of the study. This section describes the constraints, i.e., time or
logistics, that have kept the research focused on the specific topic and not more
comprehensive. The scope defines the coverage of the research, while the limitations
enumerate other related aspects of the research that may contribute to the study but are
not addressed in the current study due to the constraints involved.
(f) Definition of terms. When necessary, e.g., if the thesis is multi-disciplinary, this section
describes the exact meaning of all terms used in the statement of the problem or
objectives of the study.
3. Formulating the methodology
(a) Specific areas of discipline use specific methodological approaches which the student
should have learned from the research course or from pre-requisite courses. Based on the
objectives of the study, the student begins to design methodologies, whether
experimental, descriptive, a survey, a case study, qualitative or quantitative research or
both, but always based on the standard procedures of the discipline.
(b) If a new method is developed by the student, i.e., in method development studies, this
must be anchored on sound scientific or theoretical basis.
(c) Statistical methods used, if any, need to be described. The University has a Statistics
Center which accepts consultations and offers various services to student and faculty
researchers.
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(d) For the thesis proposal, the methodology must be written in future tense. Methodology
must be instructive and detailed enough for an interested researcher to duplicate or
perform. Long procedures (e.g., standard methods) that have been well-defined in the
appropriate literature, however, may only be described briefly in this section, with
appropriate references cited.
(e) In this section, important details like sampling method, sample size, respondents,
description of the place where the study will be conducted (preferably with a map and/or
GPS coordinates), the period when the study will be conducted, the instruments and
materials to be used, the statistical treatment employed in the analysis, etc., must be
indicated or described. An experimental method should clearly spell out the variables
between experimental and control samples. Presentation of the data either in tables
and/or figures may be described.
4. Ethics review requirement
(a) Guiding principle. Ethics review in this section applies to both human participants and
living animals. Care must be taken that in the conduct of research no human rights or
confidences are violated. Should the study involve the use of human subjects as
participants in research or living animals that need to be sacrificed, it is mandated under
R.A. 10532 (the Philippine National Health Research System or PNHRS Act of 2013) to
have the research protocol reviewed first by an established a Research Ethics Committee
(REC) or an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), respectively. It is
considered research misconduct to proceed with a study where human and animal
subjects are involved without the approval of these respective committees.
(b) Determination of the requirement for an ethics review. Requirement for an ethics review
shall be determined by the thesis committee during the proposal hearing. A sample ethics
review assessment form is appended and recommended for Schools and Departments to
adopt or modified to suit their requirements (Appendix D1). Should there be any potential
ethical violation involved in the method to be employed in the study, the student must
amend the protocol to comply with ethical standards. The thesis committee is encouraged
to refer to the Research Ethics Committee’s Protocol Review Assessment Form (Appendix
D2) and the Informed Consent Form Assessment Checklist (Appendix D3) for further
guidance. Faculty members/researchers are also highly encouraged to undergo the Basic
Research Ethics Training; contact the University Research Ethics Committee secretariat
at local 204 for more information. The IACUC Protocol Review Assessment Form
(Appendix D4) is also appended here.
(c) Publication requirement. Should the student and his or her adviser intend to publish the
research, submission of the thesis proposal to an ethics review should be considered if
required as part of the publication requirements of the target journal. Ethics review
committees for human and animal subjects will no longer issue any certification after a
study has commenced.
5. Citations and references
(a) During the proposal stage, the working bibliography does not need and is not expected to
be complete. At this stage, its purpose is to give an indication of the quality of sources
consulted by the student and enables the thesis committee to suggest additional sources
that the student may have overlooked.
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(b) Literature citations and references must follow the standard format adopted by the
particular discipline (e.g., American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Style,
Turabian Style, Council of Scientific Editors (CSE) Styles and Formats, and others).
Consistency and attention to detail in writing the author citations and references in the
working bibliography is a hallmark of quality that must be maintained by the student.
(c) The working bibliography should include other resources aside from scholarly articles.
These resources may include websites and other online resources, technical reports, and
project reports, where applicable. Related studies such as unpublished theses in the
University may also be reviewed in a separate section.
6. Format of the thesis proposal manuscript
(a) Written as a monograph (i.e., not as a publication-ready manuscript), the thesis proposal
manuscript should include the following sections:
Title/cover page (Appendix E)

Approval sheet (Appendix F)
Table of contents
Introduction
Rationale of the study
Review of related literature
Theoretical framework
Statement of the problem
Statement of hypotheses/assumptions (if applicable)
Significance of the study
Scope and limitations of the study
Definition of terms (if applicable)
Methodology (or Research Design)
Working bibliography
Budgetary requirement
Timeline of activities with expected outputs
(b) Thesis proposals in the humanities and social sciences commonly include the review of
related literature and theoretical framework in the introductory section, as outlined above.
The statement of the problem is based on the research gap that emerges from the review,
while the methodology follows the theoretical framework.
(c) Thesis proposals in the natural sciences and engineering usually have a separate chapter
on the review of related literature; hence, the statement of the problem typically follows the
rationale of the study.
C. Proposal hearing
1. Scheduling the proposal hearing
After the student has obtained the approval from the thesis committee to proceed with the
proposal hearing, the student should request the Department Chair or the instructor teaching
the research course, whichever is applicable, to schedule the hearing. In some cases, the thesis
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committee may choose to hold a pre-proposal hearing meeting to discuss the merits of the
proposal manuscript.
2. During the proposal hearing
(a) The thesis committee chair then convenes the committee members at the appointed time
to listen to the student present the research proposal. The committee chair, as presider,
facilitates the proposal hearing and ensures its orderly conduct. Each member of the
committee is given a copy of the proposal hearing rating form (Appendix G) at the start of
the hearing. It is highly recommended that each Department should develop rubrics
(Appendix H) for grading both the thesis proposal manuscript and the proposal hearing
proper.
(b) After a short presentation by the student focusing on the research problem and
methodology, each thesis committee member, except the thesis adviser, will take turns in
asking the student questions, or make comments, suggestions, and recommendations for
the improvement of the thesis proposal. The thesis adviser's role is to clarify certain
matters when asked by the panel members; otherwise, the adviser is not allowed to
answer questions on behalf of the student. Typically, the student is rated for his or her
ability to answer the panel members’ questions. The thesis committee chair takes notes of
all members’ comments, suggestions, and recommendations during the discussion.
(c) After the discussion, the committee immediately deliberates on the outcome of the hearing
while the student is excused from the proceedings. The proposal hearing ends when all
the members (excluding the thesis adviser) have rated the student and signed the
proposal hearing rating form. The student is then recalled into the room and informed of
the result of the deliberation in the form of a passed, conditional passing, or failed grade.
(d) Grading the thesis proposal. Typically, a passing grade is given to the student when only
minor revisions to the thesis proposal are required by the thesis committee. Conditional
passing is given when certain critical aspects of the thesis proposal must be improved by
the student. The thesis committee may or may not require a second proposal presentation
in the event of conditional passing. A failing grade is given when major revisions are
required, including revision of the research problem and/or redesigning the research
methodology. The student must re-propose his thesis to the committee after completing
these major revisions. Although the thesis may be evaluated as passed or failed, this only
constitutes part, albeit a major part, of the requirements of the research or thesis course.
The overall grade for the course will be given by the instructor teaching the course.
(e) A list of recommendations compiled by the committee chair along with the thesis
committee recommendation compliance form (Appendix I) is given to the student not later
than a week to guide the student in revising the proposal according to the committee’s
recommendations.
(f) Approval of the proposal may be deferred if the thesis committee establishes the need to
have the proposal reviewed by the REC or IACUC, as applicable, which will issue a
Certificate of Ethics Compliance. The thesis committee is strongly encouraged to consider
the guidelines for ethics review as stated in Section II.B.4(b) and (c) and relevant
appendices.
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D. Approval of the proposal
A thesis proposal that requires revisions receives the thesis committee’s approval only after the
student has complied with the recommendations made by the committee and the submission of
a revised copy of the thesis proposal. Otherwise, a thesis proposal not requiring any revision
may receive an approval from the thesis committee immediately after the proposal hearing. The
approved thesis proposal will serve as the basis for carrying out the research. The Department
Chair endorses the final approval of the thesis proposal (Appendix F).
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IV. Conduct of the research
A student needs to have an approved thesis proposal and must be enrolled in a research or
thesis course before proceeding to conduct the research. In some cases where human or
animal subjects are involved, the student must also secure a Certificate of Ethics Compliance
from the REC or IACUC, respectively (Section II.B.4(a,b) and Section II.C.2(f)).
A. Data gathering
1. Data gathering for the thesis should follow the approved methodology. Each discipline or
group of disciplines has its own peculiar methods of gathering data and information. Each
method, including tools and instruments, must be described in the thesis (Section II.B.3).
This description may be brief if the methods are well-established standards; these should
be properly cited. Methods may also be described in greater detail if these are originally
developed or contain modifications of standard methods. Statistical methods used, if any,
need to be described.
2. Major deviations, i.e., those that may alter the thesis’ original plan, from the methodology
approved during the proposal hearing requires an approval from the thesis committee.
Modifications, such as additional number of samples, change of study area, and
experimental and statistical design, need to be relayed to the thesis committee for
approval.
B. Data processing and presentation
1. Data is the most important part of the thesis and is presented in the results chapter. Data
can be presented in narrative form, or summarized in tables or figures (as graphs,
illustrations, photographs, etc.) The same set of data should not be presented as both
table and figure. The choice of tables or figures must be based on appropriateness of the
data obtained and on readability. Tables and figures should be sequentially numbered and
should be cited in the body text. Where case studies, designs, or art works replace data in
the case of humanities and some social science fields, these should be clearly presented
in a concise manner.
2. Only data that is crucial or directly relevant to the analysis should be presented in the
body text. Otherwise, data that is supplementary in nature (e.g., raw data, transcripts,
statistical calculations) is better placed in the appendix section of the thesis manuscript.
3. More often than not, data is statistically treated. Depending on the data, the statistics
employed may be simple (e.g., ratio, percent, average or mean with standard error or
deviation) or complex (e.g., correlation analysis, analysis of variance, etc.) to establish
their veracity and significance. Such data summaries are presented with captions that
could be stand-alone (i.e., can be understood even without referring to the main text).
C. Data analysis
1. Data analysis belongs to the discussion section of the thesis manuscript. The strength of
the data is demonstrated when these are able to answer or support the objectives of the
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study. Analysis should be made based not only on the current data alone, but also in the
light of other studies’ findings as gathered from the literature. These related studies may
either support or contradict the student’s results, thereby strengthening one’s findings or
offering an alternative interpretation. The student must be able to explain his or her
present findings by citing other authors’ studies that support his or her assertions.
2. Discussion of the results must not be too wordy but should be direct to the point.
Discussion should not cluttered with unnecessary and irrelevant citations. The student
must be sufficiently honest to admit any shortcomings, and even mistakes committed,
during the course of the study.
D. Citations and references
1. Sources of information that are used in the body text of the thesis manuscript are
acknowledged by citing their authors, which could be persons or an organization. Authors
are commonly cited using the (author, year) system, i.e., the last name of the first author
followed by the year of publication. The (author, year) system is prescribed by the APA,
and is generally adopted by most scholarly journals. Other systems such as the citation
sequence system, i.e., superscripted numbers at the end of the information, may be used.
The choice of the citation system depends on what is practiced by the discipline.
2. All cited sources in the body text should be listed in the references section using a
convention that the discipline widely adopts. This reference section should be a complete
version of the working bibliography (Section II.B.5). Although there is no standard on how
many references should be cited, as a rule-of-thumb, an undergraduate thesis may
contain at least 25 citations, a master's thesis at least 50 citations, and doctoral
dissertation at least 100 citations.
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V. Thesis manuscript and oral examination
A bound thesis manuscript is the final requirement that a student needs to comply with before
the granting of his or her academic degree. Before a student can submit the final bound copy,
however, he or she must face the thesis committee and defend his research work during an oral
examination.
The thesis manuscript must therefore be prepared and presented according to the prescribed
content and format of a thesis prescribed by the School or Department. Generally, most
departments adopt a monograph format for the thesis manuscript, while others opt to use a
publication-ready manuscript. The entire process of preparing a thesis manuscript for oral
examination is illustrated in Figure 2 and discussed in detail in the succeeding sections.
Figure 2. Flowchart for the preparation of a thesis manuscript for oral examination until its final approval.
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A. Preparing the final thesis manuscript
1. The final thesis manuscript should be written according to the standards of the discipline.
It is imperative to write the manuscript such that it is able to defend itself, even without the
provision of an oral examination (Section IV.B). This is important especially if the
manuscript is sent by the thesis committee to an external reader, who may not be able to
attend the oral examination. The external reader will scrutinize the manuscript itself similar
to what a reviewer does to a scholarly article submitted for publication and will pass or fail
the thesis on the basis of the manuscript alone.
2. This manuscript should include the introduction, review of literature, and methodology, as
approved during the proposal hearing (Section II.B.6) or with subsequent modifications
approved by the thesis committee (Section III.A.2). This should now be augmented with
sections that cover the results and discussion, conclusions, and recommendations. A
bibliographic section, as well as appendices and a curriculum vitae (for graduate students)
complete the manuscript.
3. Choice of data presentation varies with the discipline or field of the student (Section III.B).
In the natural and social sciences and engineering, tables and figures (i.e., graphs,
photographs, illustrations) are common, while in humanities, education and the arts,
narrative or descriptive presentation of new information or data is common. Discussion
may be integrated with the results or presented as a separate chapter, according to the
standard of the discipline. The conclusion answers the research problem, while
recommendations point towards additional or future work related to the problem. The
bibliographic section lists all the references used in the thesis manuscript, organized in
appropriate subsections, e.g., journal articles, websites, etc., following a convention that
the discipline adopts.
4. The student is required to first present the draft of the thesis manuscript to his or her
adviser for comments, suggestions, and corrections. When the adviser approves the
thesis, the student should then submit copies of the manuscript to the thesis committee.
Members of the thesis committee are given reasonable time (1 to 2 weeks) to read the
entire thesis manuscript. It is possible that any member of the thesis committee will ask
the student to address specific questions requiring a revision of the draft before it is
recommended for oral examination. Acceptance of the manuscript for oral examination is
formalized when the committee issues a Certificate of Acceptability (Appendix J). Once
the committee's consensus for acceptability is obtained, the student can now request for
an oral examination to be scheduled at most two weeks after submission.
B. Preparing for oral examination
1. Prior to oral examination, the student will be required to distribute copies of the thesis
manuscript to each member of the thesis committee at least one to two weeks prior to the
scheduled oral examination. Upon receiving the Certificate of Acceptability from the thesis
committee, the student must now prepare to defend his or her thesis before the committee
in an oral examination. This is the time that the student’s scholarship (i.e., knowledge and
competence) will be tested and proven.
2. Typically, a student prepares a 15- to 20-minute oral presentation (e.g., in Microsoft

PowerPoint or equivalent) highlighting the rationale of the study, the research problem,
17
key findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Care must be taken that all the
information contained in the oral presentation are also reported in the thesis manuscript.
C. During the oral examination
1. Normally, at least one hour is allocated to complete the oral examination proceedings;
however, this may take longer if there are numerous questions from the thesis committee.
Within this period the student will present the thesis (e.g., in Microsoft PowerPoint or
equivalent) for a maximum of 15–20 minutes and the remaining time is allocated to
answer questions from the committee.
2. Some Schools and Departments may choose to make public the oral examination,
especially that for a Ph.D. candidate. Note, however, that premature or enabling
disclosure of any invention or novel technology may disallow the application for a patent.
In such cases where novel products or technology may be present, the student and the
thesis committee are strongly advised to consult Section V of these guidelines.
3. The oral examination proceeding is presided by the chair of the thesis committee (Section
II.A.3), which ideally should be the same committee that evaluated the thesis proposal
hearing (Section II.C). It is important that all members of the thesis committee, except the
external reader, should be present during the oral examination. Similar to the proposal
hearing, only committee members are allowed to ask questions while the thesis adviser is
given the chance to speak only when asked by the committee for clarification, i.e., the
thesis adviser should not answer questions intended for the student.
4. Evaluation of the thesis is carried out by the committee members excluding the thesis
adviser. Evaluation typically covers the manuscript as well as the oral presentation and
the student’s ability to answer questions during the oral examination. It is recommended
that each member of the thesis committee write a review report based on the manuscript
alone and submit this report to the thesis committee chair after the oral examination. The
resulting average grade will determine whether the student passes the examination or not.
Similar to that in the proposal hearing, the student may be temporarily excused from the
proceedings and the committee will deliberate on the outcome of the oral examination.
After this deliberation period, the student is recalled into the meeting room and informed of
the decision of the thesis committee.
5. The chair of the thesis committee will prepare a report compiling all the committee
members’ recommendations from their written reviews and from the proceedings of the
oral examination for the improvement of the thesis manuscript. Together with the
committee chair’s report, a compliance form will be sent to the student to guide him or her
in the final revision of the thesis manuscript. The thesis adviser should ensure that the
committee’s recommendations are addressed in the final thesis manuscript.
D. Format of the final thesis manuscript
1. The format of the final thesis manuscript is outlined below. It will include the major
sections from the thesis proposal manuscript but now includes an acknowledgment page,
an abstract and at most five keywords2, results, discussion, conclusions,
18
recommendations, a complete reference list, and appendices.
Title/cover page (Appendix E)

Approval sheet (Appendix K)
Acknowledgments
Abstract and keywords
Table of contents, including
List of tables
List of figures
Introduction
Scope and limitations of the study
Theoretical framework, if applicable
Conceptual framework, if applicable
Methodology (or Research Design)
Results
Discussion
Summary, conclusion, and recommendations
References (or Literature cited)
Appendices
Curriculum vitae (optional for undergraduate theses)
2. As noted earlier (Section II.B.6), the review of related literature may be included in the
introductory chapter especially in the humanities and social sciences before the statement
of the problem, although it is usually a separate chapter in the natural and physical
sciences and engineering.
3. Results and discussion may be combined as a single chapter if the data presented in the
results section is not voluminous, or if this is the standard of the discipline.
E. Anti-plagiarism measure
1. Theses should undergo an anti-plagiarism check to ensure acceptability of the final

manuscript, especially if the work is going to be submitted for publication. It is therefore
the responsibility of the student to make sure that the final manuscript as completed does
not violate someone else’s copyright and that he or she is not guilty of acts of plagiarism,
which is a form of research misconduct.
2. Plagiarism is commonly defined as the use of someone else’s work without attribution
(Appendix L). Plagiarism includes verbatim quotation without clear acknowledgment,
paraphrasing without proper citation, inaccurate citation, failure to acknowledge
assistance, and use of material written by other persons among others
(https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism).
2
Keywords are words or phrases that are used by a retrieval system or search engine to conveniently locate and
identify the study. Keywords should closely match the subject matter of the study. Choice of the appropriate keywords
is crucial in the ranking of search results.
19
3. Before submission to the thesis committee, the thesis should undergo an anti-plagiarism
check, e.g., using the software Turnitin® which is made accessible to the thesis adviser
and the members of the thesis committee and may be integrated in the future with the
University’s learning management system, Canvas®. Note, however, that this software is
not a catch-all platform to check plagiarism, and the thesis adviser must still be
responsible for checking authenticity and originality.
F. Period of completion (for graduate students)
Subject to existing policies of the School and Department, graduate students who have
completed the oral examination for the intended degree must complete the final revision of the
manuscript within one year. Failure to accomplish the revision within the specified period will
require the student to undergo another round of oral examination. In some cases, especially
when theses and dissertations are time-sensitive, Schools and Departments may also impose a
moratorium on the completion of a degree. After this prescribed period, a student may have to
re-enroll in the program.
G. Submission of the final thesis manuscript
1. The final thesis manuscript must be endorsed by the thesis adviser, approved by the
thesis committee, the department chair, and finally the School Dean. An Approval for
Printing form (Appendix N) signed by all members of the thesis committee is required
before the student can print the final manuscript. An approval sheet (Appendix K) which
bears the name and signature of every member of the thesis committee, including the
thesis adviser, the Department Chair, and the School Dean must be included in the bound
copies of the thesis.
2. Depending on the requirements of the Department or School, or in cases where a student

is required to submit a copy of the thesis to his or her funding agency or scholarship
sponsor, at least five to six copies of the thesis must be submitted by the student,
distributed as follows:
1 copy for the student

1 copy for the thesis adviser
1 copy for the Department
1 copy for the School
1 copy for the Learning Resource Center Caroliniana Library
1 copy for the funding agency, if required
3. Electronic copies shall also be submitted using a flash drive, a copy of which will be sent
to the Bureau of Copyrights and Other Related Rights for copyright registration or deposit.
The Director of Libraries shall be responsible for submitting these copies to the National
Library through the Intellectual Property Satellite Office located at the Department of
Trade and Industry-Region VII, with its current address at Legaspi St., Cebu City, near the
Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu.
4. Note, however, that premature or enabling disclosure of any invention or novel technology
may disallow the application for a patent. In cases where novel products or technology
20
may be contained in the thesis manuscript, the student and the thesis adviser are strongly
advised to consult Section V of these guidelines.
H. Publication requirement
Majority of graduate programs will require the student to publish a paper before graduation, in
accordance with the provisions of CHED M.O. No. 15 (s.2019). Students are strongly advised to
consult with their thesis adviser and/or Department Chair regarding the publication requirement
of their enrolled programs. If the output of a thesis project is potentially patentable, the student
may opt to withhold publication and the patent application may be considered by the degree-
awarding School in lieu of a publication.
21
VI. Protecting intellectual property derived from thesis and dissertation
A. Guiding principles
1. Aside from new knowledge, the thesis may also generate other intellectual property assets
that the University can bring to the market, such as an inventive technology, which can be
a product, a process, a tool, or a machine.
2. By default, under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (R.A. 8293, and as
amended), the student being the author of the thesis owns the thesis’ copyright. The
University, however, can take full control of the rights of inventions and other intellectual
properties (IPs) generated from the research work. Inventions are protected by a patent or
by a utility model, also known as petty patent or innovation patent. The University
exercises this right as mandated by the Technology Transfer Act of 2009 (R.A. 10055, and
as amended) which enables academic institutions to own and protect new innovative
technologies coming from research and bringing them to the market for the benefit of the
public.
B. Disclosure
1. The University requires all inventions to be first disclosed to the University following a
disclosure process. Ideally, disclosure starts while the research work is still ongoing, not
only upon its completion. It is the responsibility of every student who is conducting
research to disclose the invention or creative work, if any, to the University’s Innovation
and Technology Support Office (ITSO), located at the 3rd floor of the Josef Baumgartner
Learning Resource Center in Talamban Campus. To facilitate this process, the student
needs to fill up a Disclosure Form (Appendix O).
2. In the case of patentable invention, it is imperative that after defending the thesis the
student or any member of the thesis committee does not share the information about the
technology in an enabling disclosure in any type of presentation such as a research
conference or symposium, or to another party, until the invention has been assessed by
the USC ITSO. If found to be patentable, a patent application should be immediately filed.
The USC ITSO takes charge in the filing of the patent application.
3. If a student has presented his thesis in a conference, e.g., as required by a funding

sponsor, prior to the filing of a patent, the patent application should be processed and filed
as soon as possible, i.e., before the legal grace period of 12 months has expired.
4. A student who sees potential invention or other creative works from the thesis is required
to fill up a Disclosure form (Appendix O) which will be evaluated by the ITSO technical
staff to initially determine if the invention and other IPs have value that could warrant the
filing of a patent application and other IP protection. This valuation, called a triage,
involves market assessment, technology assessment, and potential licensees.
C. Assignment and commercialization of intellectual property
1. The University will also ascertain that all patentable inventions with potential commercial
value be “assigned” by the student to the University. Assignment means that the student
22
transfers ownership rights over the patent and other IPs, except the copyright of the
thesis, to the University especially if the IP is generated using substantial resources of the
University, such as laboratory facilities, equipment, and computers, or if the research was
funded by government funds either through project grants or scholarship. A template for
the Deed of Assignment is provided in Appendix P.
2. The USC ITSO has access to the global patent databases (e.g., Patentscope, Espacenet,
Derwent Innovation®, as well as the required skills to search for patent documents from
these databases. Its staff are also certified patent agents who can draft patent claims,
assist in filing the applications for patents, trademarks, and other possible IPs, and bring
the inventive technology to the market via technology transfer route, e.g., licensing the IP
or creating a startup. The cost of the service fees of the technical personnel, the filing of
the patent application, the payment of all other fees required until the patent is granted,
and the annual maintenance fee of the patent, i.e., annuities, will be shouldered by the
University but can be reimbursed later by a licensee. Considering the cost of patenting
(PhP200–300T, depending on the number of claims), the University will file patent
applications only for those inventions with commercial viability.
3. Patented technology that is commercialized could derive income either from direct sale of
the technology, generated through royalties from joint venture or licensing agreements, or
through the creation of a startup or spin-off company. The income is shared based on a
60–40 scheme, where 60% goes to the University and 40% goes to the researcher(s)/
inventor(s) (cf. revised USC IP Policy available through ISMIS). Income from an invention
that is mainly the work of the thesis adviser, where the student merely serves as an
assistant, will go to the adviser who will then have the discretion to share the income with
the student co-inventor(s).
4. Commercialization of IP will be under the purview of the University’s Knowledge and

Technology Transfer Office (KTTO).
23
VII. Glossary
External reader. This is an expert from outside the University and usually comes from another
academic institution or organization, who is contacted by the thesis adviser or the Department
Chair and agrees to review the thesis manuscript of the student. The external reader should be
listed as a member of the thesis committee during both the proposal hearing and the oral
examination even if he or she cannot be physically present for either proceeding. The external
reader may evaluate the merits of the research based on the thesis manuscript alone.
Inventor. This refers to a person who both conceptualized and developed an invention during
his or her thesis work. The student(s) working under a research project initiated by the thesis
adviser can be considered as co-inventor(s) provided there is proof of contribution to the
invention.
Oral examination. The oral examination is the proceedings where a student presents his
completed thesis report before the thesis committee. The oral examination can be open to the
public or to a selected group, but the deliberation of the thesis is restricted to the committee
members only. Before an oral examination begins, all members of the committee and those
present in a public presentation shall sign a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement for
theses that contain novel products or technologies (Section V).
Professional fee. All members of the thesis committee including the adviser are ad hoc
positions and the faculty members assigned to perform these tasks render extra service over
and above their administrative, teaching, and research responsibilities. Members of the thesis
committee are thus compensated for such service in the form of a professional fee or
honorarium according to their responsibilities in the thesis committee. The Council of Deans
shall determine the amount of the honoraria.
Proposal hearing. The proposal hearing is when a student presents his or her thesis proposal
orally before the thesis committee where suggestions, recommendations, and comments are
received to improve the proposal to ensure a viable research project. Members of the thesis
committee will approve or disapprove the proposed thesis based on its merits.
Thesis. The is a generic term referring to an undergraduate or graduate thesis. The doctoral
thesis is, however, often called a dissertation and differs from a master’s thesis not only in
length and depth but also in its original contribution to knowledge. Research for a master’s
thesis may be conducted to test a theory or derive additional findings on a new topic. A doctoral
dissertation, on the other hand, usually synthesizes all relevant knowledge on the topic and,
ideally, derives a new theory from the study.
Thesis adviser. This refers to a faculty member selected by or assigned to the student(s) and
approved by the Department Chair. In the case of graduate programs, the thesis adviser is
recommended by the Department Chair and approved by the School Dean. The thesis adviser’s
primary role is to guide the student in the research process, from thesis proposal writing, the
actual conduct of the research, to preparing for the oral examination, and writing the manuscript
at the completion of the research. Aside from competence and experience in research outside
of the thesis, the choice of thesis adviser is based on one’s expertise on the topic which the
student proposes to work on. The thesis adviser must be as much as possible a regular or full-
time faculty member of the home Department, and one familiar with the research policies, the
code of ethics, and intellectual property policies of the University. A student can change an
adviser only at the initial stage of the thesis proposal when it has not been approved yet by the
24
thesis committee and should not change advisers when the research is in its final stages of
completion. The thesis adviser must sign a Notice of Acceptance (Appendix A) to formally
engage with the student in the conduct of the thesis.
Thesis co-adviser. If a thesis is interdisciplinary, a faculty member from another Department

may be engaged by the student upon the approval of the Department Chair to supplement the
expertise of the thesis adviser from the home Department. The thesis co-adviser must also sign
a Notice of Acceptance (Appendix A).
Thesis committee. The thesis committee, or thesis panel of examiners, is composed of

qualified faculty members of the Department or from other Departments or Schools who have a
significant track record in research (i.e., has conducted research outside of a thesis, such as
funded research and, ideally, has research publications). Composition of a thesis committee is
summarized in Table 1 (Section II.A.3). An external thesis panel member may be sought when
expertise on the topic is not found among the Department’s own faculty members. Members of
this committee are recommended by the Department Chair and approved by the School Dean.
The role of the thesis committee is to deliberate on the thesis proposal and approve or
disapprove the proposal based on the merits of the manuscript and the oral presentation. The
thesis committee members, when sought by the student, may also provide guidance for the
student in the conduct of his or her research. Members of the thesis committee should be
familiar with the University’s policies on research, especially the code of ethics and intellectual
property rights.
Thesis committee chair. The thesis committee chair presides over the proceedings or records
the minutes of both the proposal hearing and the oral examination of the thesis. It is the
committee chair’s responsibility to ascertain the acceptability of the thesis by all thesis
committee members prior to the proposal hearing and oral examination. The thesis adviser or
co-adviser cannot be assigned as thesis committee chair.
Thesis course instructor. This refers to a faculty member assigned by the Department Chair
to teach a research or thesis course in which qualified students enroll. This person should have
a broad knowledge and experience in the conduct of research, in writing project proposals for
funding, and in preparing manuscripts for publication. Like the thesis adviser, the thesis course
instructor should be familiar with the University's policies on research, its code of ethics, and its
policies on intellectual property. A good knowledge of the research code of ethics and conduct
is critical in teaching students how to conduct research and in helping them avoid the pitfalls of
plagiarism, fabrication (fraud), and/or falsification of data. The thesis course instructor’s main
role is to teach students the principles of research, the process of writing a research proposal,
and the preparation of a manuscript in a format prescribed by the discipline which in turn is
adopted by the Department and/or School. At the same time, the thesis course instructor
coordinates with the thesis adviser regarding the student’s choice of topic, the logistical needs
and assistance the conduct of research may require, and other concerns. The thesis adviser
should be different from the thesis course instructor, unless it is deemed necessary by the
Department Chair or School Dean to assign both functions to a single person.
Thesis student. This refers to one or more students working on a research project while
enrolled in a research or thesis course. Some undergraduate programs have groups of students
collaborate on one thesis; others require students to individually work on a thesis. Graduate
programs invariably require students to work individually on a thesis or dissertation. Graduate
students must be enrolled in thesis counseling.
25
Withdrawal or resignation from assigned responsibilities. In case of withdrawal,
resignation, or retirement, a faculty member who has been appointed as thesis adviser or as a
member of the thesis committee must write a Letter of Withdrawal (Appendix B) to formally
inform the Department Chair or School Dean of his or her intention to withdraw from such
responsibilities. The Department Chair is responsible for seeking a replacement of the faculty
member.
26
VII. List of appendices
Appendix A. Notice of Acceptance for thesis advising

Appendix B. Letter of Withdrawal from thesis advising
Appendix C. Thesis counseling form
Appendix D1. Sample ethics review assessment form
Appendix D2. USC REC Protocol Review Assessment form
Appendix D3. USC REC Informed Consent Form Assessment Checklist
Appendix D4. USC IACUC Protocol Review Assessment form
Appendix E. Title/cover page
Appendix F. Approval sheet (for the proposal hearing)
Appendix G. Proposal hearing rating form
Appendix H. Sample rubrics for grading the thesis proposal manuscript and proposal hearing
Appendix I. Thesis committee recommendations compliance form
Appendix J. Certificate of Acceptability of a thesis manuscript for oral examination
Appendix K. Approval sheet (for the final thesis manuscript)
Appendix L. Measures against plagiarism
Appendix M. Declaration of Originality
Appendix N. Approval for Printing form
Appendix O. Disclosure form
Appendix P. Deed of Assignment template
27
Appendix A
NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE FOR THESIS ADVISING
NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE
We, the undersigned, mutually agree to engage, as part of the requirements of the
(indicate course no.) course, in a research study entitled (indicate proposed title of
thesis).
The student shall prepare the research proposal, consisting of an introductory chapter,
review of related literature, research methodology, and a proposed timetable and budget.
When approved, the student shall carry out the study according to the approved
methodology, write the results, discussion, conclusion, and recommendations, and
defend the study before a duly constituted thesis committee.
The adviser, whose own research project may provide impetus for the student’s study,
shall be responsible for providing guidance to the student in the conduct of the research
study, allocate time for regular consultation at a mutually-agreed frequency (e.g., weekly,
bimonthly), and copyedit and critique the thesis manuscript before it is circulated to the
thesis committee for the proposal hearing and oral examination.
_____________________________ _____________________________
Name and signature of student Name and signature of thesis adviser
Witnesses:
_____________________________ _____________________________
Name and signature of thesis/research Name and signature of Department
course instructor Chair
28
Appendix B
LETTER OF WITHDRAWAL FROM THESIS ADVISING
(Insert appropriate letterhead)
(indicate date)
To : The Chair/Dean
Department/School of (indicate name of department or school)
This is to inform your good office that due to (state reason), I am withdrawing from my
task as the thesis adviser of (indicate name of student).
This withdrawal from thesis advising is effective on (indicate date).
Thank you very much for the confidence you have given me to serve in this capacity.
Very truly yours,
_______________________________
Name and signature of thesis adviser
29
Appendix C
THESIS COUNSELING FORM
School of ______________
Department of ________________
Student-Adviser Thesis Counseling Logbook
Thesis proposal Conduct of the research Semester, AY
Name(s) of advisee(s):
Degree program:
Name of adviser:
Date Place/medium Time Topics discussed Adviser’s signature
30
Appendix D1
SAMPLE ETHICS REVIEW ASSESSMENT FORM
31
Appendix D. Sample ethics review assessment form (continued)
32
Appendix D. Sample ethics review assessment form (continued)
33
Appendix D2
USC REC PROTOCOL REVIEW ASSESSMENT FORM
34
Appendix D2 (continued)
35
36
37
38
39
Appendix D3
USC REC INFORMED CONSENT FORM ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST
40
41
42
Appendix D4
USC IACUC PROTOCOL REVIEW FORM FOR ANIMAL USE
43
44
45
46
47
Appendix E
TITLE/COVER PAGE
TITLE OF THESIS/DISSERTATION
______________________________________
An (Undergraduate or Graduate) Thesis (or Thesis Proposal)
presented to the School of _________________
of the University of San Carlos
______________________________________
In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
(indicate name of degree in full)
______________________________________
(Indicate complete name of student)
Month, Year
48
Appendix F
APPROVAL SHEET (FOR THE PROPOSAL HEARING)
APPROVAL SHEET
This thesis proposal entitled (indicate title) prepared and submitted by (indicate
name of student), in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the requirements for the
course (indicate course no.) has been reviewed by the Thesis Committee and is
recommended for acceptance and approval.
_______________________________
Thesis adviser
_____________________________ _____________________________
Thesis committee chair Thesis committee member
Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course
(indicate course no.).
_______________________________
Chair, Department of (indicate name of department)
49
Appendix G
PROPOSAL HEARING RATING FORM
University of San Carlos

School of _________________
Department of _______________
THESIS PROPOSAL RATING FORM
Name of student:
Proposed title of thesis:
Name of evaluator:
Evaluation of the manuscript

Major Minor No revisions
Proposed thesis revisions revisions needed
needed needed
Sub-problems
Scope and limitations
Research methodology
Working bibliography
Please refer to the rubric (Appendix H) when evaluating the thesis manuscript.
Evaluation of the oral presentation

Proposal hearing Exceptiona Good Fair Poor
l
Understanding of one’s discipline
Mastery of the research process
Communication proficiency
Please refer to the rubric (Appendix H) when evaluating the proposal hearing.
Rating
Presentation (30%)
Content (40%)
Knowledge of content (30%)
Total
Decision (please select one)

Passed Conditional passing Failed
General comments and suggestions:
50
Appendix H
SAMPLE RUBRICS FOR GRADING THE

THESIS PROPOSAL MANUSCRIPT AND PROPOSAL HEARING
Rubric for rating the thesis proposal manuscript
Thesis proposal Major revisions needed Minor revisions needed No revisions needed
Rationale Rationale does not Rationale presents Rationale begins with
begin with an the problem logically a broad overview of
overview of the and lends impetus to the problem and
problem, or it does not the formulation of the focuses on specific
focus on specific research problem. examples relating to
related examples. Some studies were the research problem.
Arguments are lacking not properly cited. Arguments are well-
or are not logically organized and
presented. logically leads to the
Research problem formulation of the
lacks impetus for research problem.
investigation, e.g., Studies mentioned in
novelty is not the rationale are
demonstrated, properly cited.
extensive prior work
has been carried out.
Statement of Research problem is Research problem is Research problem is
the problem not clear and lacks clear and well-articulated and
definition. unambiguous. unambiguous.
Inappropriate verb Verb and object can Action and object
and object are used, be improved. statement is used.
or there is no
agreement between
the two.
Sub-problems Sub-problems are not While sub-problems Sub-problems are
logically developed. are clear, the well-articulated and
Action and object progression is not logically contribute to
statements are logical or needs the solution of the
inappropriate. improvement. main problem.
Some verbs and Sub-problems define
objects are aspects that need to
inappropriate and be elucidated to
need to be improved. answer the main
problem.
Appropriate action
and object statements
are used.
Significance of General, i.e., Some beneficiaries Beneficiaries are
the study “motherhood” are indicated. properly indicated.
statements are made Some benefits are Benefits are clearly
regarding the clearly defined. defined for each
importance of the Some general, i.e., beneficiary or
51
study. “motherhood” stakeholder.
Benefits and statements are made. If reporting or
corresponding utilization is time-
beneficiaries are not bound, or remediating
clearly stated. action is necessary,
priorities are defined
and responsible line
agencies are
identified.
Scope and Scope of the study is Scope of the study is The scope of the
limitations somewhat defined but defined but can be study is clearly
no limitations are improved. defined and covers all
identified. Some limitations are aspects of the
identified. problem and sub-
problems and the
appropriate
methodology.
Limitations are clearly
defined, i.e., methods
that may contribute to
the solution of the
problem, but are not
carried out for
justifiable reasons,
are clearly stated.
Review of Organization of the Review is somewhat Review is organized
related literature review is not logical. organized leading to in a logical manner,
Many significant past the thesis problem. identifying previous
reports were not cited. Some significant contributions to the
No critical insight was contributions from topic, and critical
demonstrated. previous researchers insight is
Few related studies are omitted. demonstrated.
are reviewed. Some critical insight Related (unpublished)
was demonstrated. studies, e.g., theses,
Some related studies are included in the
are reviewed. review.
Research Methodology does not Some sub-problems Methodology clearly
methodology match the sub- are not answered in answers the sub-
problems or are the methods used. problems in logical
inappropriate. Some methods are order.
No citation of not properly cited. Standard methods are
standard or published Revisions of standard properly cited.
procedures was procedures are not Revisions to
made. clear. published procedures
are clearly stated.
Statistical analysis, if
necessary, is
appropriate.
Working Bibliographic Only a portion of the Substantial
bibliography references are from bibliography is bibliography is taken
online sources (not sourced from from scholarly articles.
52
scholarly journals) or reputable journals. Articles are from
books. Some articles are reputable journals.
Most articles come dated. Articles are recent,
from journals of low Some citations do not i.e., within the last five
repute. follow the standard years.
Most articles are style guide. Citations follow the
dated more than five standard style guide
years ago. for the discipline.
Most citations do not
follow the standard
style guide followed
by the discipline.
Mechanics Manuscript has plenty Some grammatical Manuscript conforms
of grammatical and/or and/or spelling errors. to the formatting
spelling errors. Manuscript conforms guidelines.
Formatting guidelines in large part to the
are not followed. formatting guidelines.
53
Appendix H (continued)
SAMPLE RUBRICS FOR GRADING THE

THESIS PROPOSAL MANUSCRIPT AND PROPOSAL HEARING
Rubric for rating the oral presentation
Exceptional Good Fair Poor

Content The speaker The speaker The speaker The speaker says
provides a variety focuses primarily includes some practically nothing.
of types of content on relevant irrelevant content. The speaker
appropriate for the content. The The speaker focuses primarily
task, such as speaker sticks to wanders off the on irrelevant
generalizations, the topic. The topic. The speaker content. The
details, examples, speaker adapts uses words and speaker appears
and various forms the content in a concepts which to ignore the
of evidence. The general way to the are inappropriate listener and the
speaker adapts listener and the for the knowledge situation.
the content in a situation. and experiences
specific way to the of the listener,
listener and e.g., slang, jargon,
situation. technical
language.
Delivery The speaker The volume is not The volume is too The volume is too
delivers the too low or too loud low or too loud low and the rate is
message in a and the rate is not and the rate is too too fast that one
confident, poised, too fast or too fast or too slow. cannot understand
and enthusiastic slow. The pronunciation most of the
fashion. The Pronunciation and and enunciation message. The
volume and rate enunciation are are unclear. The pronunciation and
varies to add clear. The speaker speaker exhibits enunciation are
emphasis and exhibits few many disfluencies. very unclear. The
interest. disfluencies. The listener is speaker appears
Pronunciation and distracted by uninterested.
enunciation are problems in the
very clear. The delivery of the
speaker exhibits message and has
very few difficulty
disfluencies, such understanding the
as “ahs,” “uhms,” words in the
or “you knows.” message.
Organization The message is The message is The organization The message is so
of presentation very organized. organized. The of the message is disorganized one
The speaker helps listener has no mixed up and cannot understand
the listener difficulty random. The most of the
understand the understanding the listener must make message.
sequence and sequence and some assumptions
relationships of relationships about the
ideas by using among ideas in sequence and
organizational aids the message. The relationships of
such as ideas in the ideas.
announcing the message can be
topic, previewing outlined easily.
the organization,
54
using transitions,
and summarizing.
Creativity Very original Some originality Little or no Repetitive with
presentation of apparent. Good variation. Material little or no variety.
material. Captures variety and presented with Insufficient use of
the audience’s blending of little originality or materials and
attention. materials and interpretation. media.
media.
Length of Within two minutes Within four Within six minutes Too long or too
presentation of the allotted minutes of the of the allotted short; ten or more
time. allotted time. time. minutes above or
below the allotted
time.
Adapted from www.uen.org/rubric/previewRubric.html?id=19
55
Appendix I
THESIS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS COMPLIANCE FORM

School of _________________
THESIS/DISSERTATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS COMPLIANCE FORM

(Proposal Hearing)
Name of
candidate:
Degree program: Date required:
Date submitted:
Complied with
Suggestions Not applicable YES NO
Page no. Reason(s)
1. Title
2. Introduction
2.1. Rationale of the study
2.2. Theoretical framework
2.3. Conceptual framework
3. Problem
3.1. Main problem
3.2. Sub-problems
3.3. Assumptions
3.4. Hypotheses
4. Significance of the Study
4.1. Significance
4.2. Scope
4.3. Limitations
5. Methodology
5.1. Research environment
5.2. Research subjects
5.3. Research instrument(s)
5.4. Data gathering procedure
5.5. Treatment of data
6. Definition of terms
7. Organization of the study
8. Mechanics
8.1. Footnotes/endnotes
8.2. Documentation
8.3. Bibliography
8.4. Headings
8.5. Tables
8.6. Graphs
8.7. Others ______________
56
Appendix J
CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTABILITY OF A THESIS MANUSCRIPT FOR ORAL EXAMINATION

School of _________________
(Date)
To: Thesis/Dissertation Committee

_________________________ (adviser)
_________________________ (committee chair)
_________________________ (member)
_________________________ (member)
You are kindly requested to thoroughly read the
Thesis/dissertation proposal
Thesis/dissertation
of (indicate name of student), a candidate for the degree of (indicate name of degree).
Please inform the (indicate name of School) Graduate Office if the attached draft is
acceptable for
Proposal hearing
Oral examination
on or before (indicate due date) by sending back the attached Certificate of Acceptability
duly accomplished.
Thank you for your cooperation.
(name and signature of Dean)

School Dean
57
Appendix J (continued)
CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTABILITY OF A THESIS MANUSCRIPT FOR ORAL EXAMINATION

School of ___________________
CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTABILITY
Title of Thesis/Dissertation:
Name of
candidate:
Degree:
This is to certify that I have reviewed the thesis manuscript and consider it to be
acceptable for not acceptable for
Proposal hearing
Oral examination
Comments/suggestions:
I recommend that the schedule for the proposal hearing/oral examination be on

(indicate date) at (time) am/pm
(name and signature of committee member)
(indicate date)
58
Appendix K
APPROVAL SHEET (FOR THE FINAL THESIS MANUSCRIPT)
APPROVAL SHEET
This thesis entitled (indicate title) prepared and submitted by (indicate name of
student), in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the requirements for the degree
(indicate degree) has been reviewed by the Thesis Committee and is recommended for
acceptance and approval.
_______________________________
Thesis adviser
_____________________________ _____________________________
Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course
(indicate course no.).
_______________________________
_______________________________
Dean, School of (indicate name of school)
59
Appendix L
MEASURES AGAINST PLAGIARISM
Rationale
In its aim to raise the bar of academic integrity in the University, more so that it has been given
accreditation by Integrity Initiative, USC is implementing measures that prevent the occurrence
of acts of academic misconduct such as plagiarism. Aspiring to graduate from this institution,
students are required to abide by the rules implemented to safeguard such integrity.
The issue of plagiarism is an academic misconduct that often results from a lack of awareness
by the offending party. Plagiarism may be defined as copying, presenting, or using someone
else’s work and ideas—written or oral—as if it is his/her own without proper attribution of the
source of such work or ideas. The simple act of “cut-and-paste” due to convenience and over-
reliance of using “Google search” through the Internet often leads one to commit plagiarism.
Poor paraphrasing of source materials, coupled with poor knowledge of citations and
referencing, could also lead to plagiarism. Failure to attribute the source of materials such as
videos, music, and photographs, which are protected by copyright—a form of intellectual
property rights (IPR)—could lead to copyright infringement which is a violation of the IPR law
such as the IP Code of the Philippines (R.A. 8293).
Students who commit an act of plagiarism or copyright infringement jeopardize their academic
integrity that will have grave consequences not only on their grades but also on their academic
degree, depending on the gravity of the offense. A student’s lack of awareness could be due to
a lack of orientation by his/her instructor(s). To prevent systematic acts of plagiarism and
copyright infringement by students, the University implements measures that will allow them first
and foremost to recognize that plagiarism is an academic misconduct, and that committing such
act is an offense that will have grave consequences especially on their academic degree.
Measures to reduce, if not avoid, the occurrence of plagiarism
1. Faculty members must orient their students on the avoidance of acts of plagiarism and on the
consequence of such acts;
2. Students conducting thesis work and/or research projects should be informed that their
reports will be subjected to a routine plagiarism check using Turnitin® that the University has
subscribed to; and
3. Students are to be required to sign a Declaration of Originality (see Appendix M) when they
submit their thesis and/or project/research reports to their thesis advisers or instructors.
Similarity threshold
The University adopts a 25% similarity threshold, meaning that a manuscript checked in
Turnitin® should have at most a similarity index of 25% to consider it as original. The anti-
plagiarism tool, Turnitin®, compares individual student papers with those found in the repository,
current and archived files on the Internet, and journal articles and other publications. The
percent similarity is then manually “cleaned” by removing those red-flagged parts that are not
elements of plagiarism, e.g., cover pages, table of contents, citations, references. Alternatively,
direct quotations, citations, and references may be excluded from the Turnitin® check.
60
A high similarity index is not to be construed as outright plagiarism; rather, this is a warning sign
to the instructor that there might be plagiarism committed. Only after “cleaning” the paper will
the percentage threshold be applied to determine plagiarism.
It is recommended that the following actions be taken for students found guilty of plagiarism
based on Turnitin® results after the oral examination.
Turnitin® result after “cleaning” Action to be taken

25% or less Given a passing grade
26–30% Allowed to revise the paper
31% and above Given a failing grade or asked
to repeat if not corrected
61
Appendix M
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
Student’s Declaration of Originality
I, (indicate student(s) name(s)), hereby submit my/our research paper entitled, (indicate
title of thesis/dissertation), and truthfully declare that the paper is a product of my original
research investigation. To the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material
previously published or written by another person nor does it include contents that are
falsified or fabricated. I also sought permission from the copyright owner to use text,
illustrations, and/or framework substantively used in this manuscript. I understand that
should the University of San Carlos represented by its administrators and faculty
eventually discover that my attestations herein are not so, I accept the right of the
University to impose the appropriate sanctions including the non-granting of the degree,
if so warranted.
Signed on (indicate date) at the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines.
Date signed:
Student(s)’ printed name and signature (mm/dd/yyyy)
Attested by:
Date signed:
Instructor’s printed name and signature (mm/dd/yyyy)
62
Appendix N
APPROVAL FOR PRINTING FORM
Approval for Printing
This thesis entitled (indicate thesis title), prepared and submitted by (indicate student’s
name), in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of (indicate degree) has
been APPROVED FOR PRINTING by the thesis committee.
_______________________________
Thesis adviser
_____________________________ _____________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Dean, School of (indicate name of school)
63
Appendix O
INVENTION DISCLOSURE FORM

(adapted from DOST TAPI)
1. Title of Invention: _______________________________________________________
The title should be as short and as specific as possible. It should clearly and concisely state the technical
designation of the invention and exclude all fancy names which do not define the technical subject the
invention is concerned (Per Rule 410 of IPO’s Manual for Substantive Examination Procedure or The Manual for
Patent Examination Procedure).
2. Applicant (owner of the intellectual property)
Applicant Type: ___________________________
Natural Name: ___________________________
Agency/School/Company: ___________________________
Gender: ___________________________
Juridical Name of Institution/

Name of Authorized Representative: ___________________________
Gender: ___________________________
Mailing Address: ___________________________
E-mail Address: ___________________________
Cellphone No.: ___________________________
Telephone No./Fax No.: ___________________________
3. Inventors (as needed, separate sheet may be used but follow same format)
Name (with title i.e., Ms., Mr., Engr., Dr.): ___________________________
Gender: ___________________________
Mailing Address: ___________________________
E-mail Address: ___________________________
Cellphone No.: ___________________________
Telephone No./Fax No.: ___________________________
64
4. Class of Invention (please check):
( ) a useful machine ( ) an improvement of any of the foregoing
( ) a product ( ) microorganism
( ) a process ( ) non-biological and microbiological process
5. Disclosure and Technical Description of the Invention
The application shall disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be
carried out by a person skilled in the art (Per Rule 405 IPO’s Rules and Regulations on Invention).
If the invention is a machine, the technical description must be in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings/sketches. Provide a clear description of:
a) the positive structural relationships of the essential elements of your device by which it could perform
the desired function (What are the basic components or parts of your machine/apparatus? How are
they related and connected to each other to work as a whole? You may submit a picture of your
prototype or drawing of proposed invention labeling each part.); and
b) the manner and process of making, constructing, compounding, and using the machine (How was it
made? How does it work?)
If the invention is a chemical or food product or process, please provide the following:
a) the description of the step-by-step procedure on how to formulate the product and the conditions
being observed in each step (i.e., what are the raw materials, preparation of the raw materials,
temperature/pressure being observed during the process?);
b) the chemical compositions in percent weight or volume; and
c) the concentrations of the reagents used.
Also, provide information covering the following (Please use a separate sheet):
Purpose/objective of the invention;
Technical solution(s) being offered to solve a technical problem (i.e., climate change cheaper
alternatives social/political/economic problems, NOT a technical problem);
Improvements and advantages over existing similar inventions (Please cite specific references. You
may use the links enumerated in the Preliminary Search Report Format); and
Potential commercial application of the invention (Who are the users of the technology?).
6. Status of Development
( ) Concept only ( ) Laboratory tested ( ) Computer programs available

( ) With prototype ( ) With stable product ( ) Others
a. For machines/devices/apparatus, please attach clear photos or drawings showing different views of the
invention.
b. For software, please provide screenshots of GUI, programs flowchart, encryption, and/or safety marks
used, if any.
7. Publication/Public Disclosure
Has the invention/utility model been described in any publication or discussed in seminars, fora,
public demonstration and similar activities? ( ) Yes ( ) No
If yes, where and when? Please provide details.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
65
8. Sale
Has the invention been offered for sale to the public or has sale ever been made? ( ) Yes ( ) No
If yes, where and when? Please provide details.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
For DOST-generated technologies, if trademark protection is requested:
Paste Logo if applicable Preferred mark:
______________________________
Products/Services where mark will appear:

______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
9. Funding of the Invention
Source of funds for the development of the technology:

___ personal
___ government funding, specify agency: __________________
___ DOST funded, specify DOST agency: ___________________
___ other entity
If funded by the government or other entity, please specify the terms of the formal agreement/contract with regard to
intellectual property rights. A copy of the document may be attached hereto.
It is understood that by submitting this accomplished invention disclosure form, the inventor/s
is/are seeking the assistance of USC in patenting the above-identified invention and USC will treat
the submitted information with utmost confidentiality. The inventor/s and applicant/s further
authorize/s USC to conduct evaluations including prior art search, assessment of novelty, industrial
applicability and inventive step to determine its patentability merits. Where appropriate, USC may
also evaluate the market potential/commercial prospects of the invention. It is further understood
that these evaluations are geared toward the preparation of patent application papers, including
specification/description, claims and drawings (where applicable), filing and prosecution of the
corresponding patent application at IPO Philippines.
The inventor/s and applicant/s further certify that:

1. The above invention is my/our own work and not copied from others;
2. All name(s) appearing in the list above and below are true and actual inventor(s)/applicant(s) for sa
invention; and
3. All inventor(s)/applicant(s) of said invention is/are listed with nobody is either excluded or
inappropriately included (i.e., anyone who did not contribute to the technical features of the
invention).
I/We declare that I/We am/are (a) Filipino citizen/s and under the pain of fraud or perjury, the
above information is true and correct to the best of my/our knowledge
66
I/We declare that I/We am/are (a) Filipino citizen/s and under the pain of fraud or perjury, the
above information is true and correct to the best of my/our knowledge.
_____________________________ ____________________________
_____________________________ ____________________________
_____________________________ ____________________________
_____________________________ ____________________________
Please submit the duly accomplished Form together with your request letter, a valid government issued ID,
preliminary search report, and full disclosure to the following address:
ITSO Manager
For additional inquiries, please contact the Innovation and Technology Support Office,
through (+63 32) 230 0100 local 204.
67
Appendix P
DEED OF ASSIGNMENT TEMPLATE
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
CEBU CITY ) S.S.
DEED OF ASSIGNMENT
(Patent)
WHEREAS, _______________________________________________________________
(Name of Assignors / Inventors)
of ____________________________________________________________________ and here

(School / Department / Unit address)
referred to as Assignors are the inventors of __________________________________________

(Title of Invention)
WHEREAS, the inventors of said invention wish to assign all rights and interests to said
work, including patent thereto, to the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, here referred to as
Assignee and here represented by its President, FR. NARCISO A. CELLAN JR., SVD.
(Position) (Name)
NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, receipt of which is hereby
acknowledged, said Assignor by these presents do hereby assign and transfer unto said
Assignee, the whole right, title, and interest in and to the said invention, including patent thereto;
the same to be held and enjoyed by the Assignee for its own use and behalf, as well as for its
legal representatives, to the full end of the term of patent, as fully and entirely as the same would
have been held by Assignor herein had this Deed of Assignment not been made.
DONE in Cebu City this ____ day of ____________, ______.
Inventor/Assignor Inventor/Assignor
Conforme:
FR. ELENO BUCIA, SVD

PA for the Knowledge and Technology Transfer Office (KTTO)
(Assignee or Assignee's Representative)
68

Institutional Guidelines For Thesis and Dissertation

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Institutional Guidelines for Thesis and Dissertation

Institutional Guidelines for Thesis and Dissertation, 2nd edition

© 2022 University of San Carlos

According to the horizontal typology of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED),

Figure 1. Flow chart of the thesis proposal process.

1. Starting the thesis proposal

2. Selecting the thesis adviser

3. Selecting the thesis committee

Table 1. Composition of the thesis committee

5. Approval of a working title

B. Writing the proposal

1. Literature review and theoretical framework

2. Formulating the introductory section

3. Formulating the methodology

4. Ethics review requirement

5. Citations and references

6. Format of the thesis proposal manuscript

Title/cover page (Appendix E)

1. Scheduling the proposal hearing

2. During the proposal hearing

B. Data processing and presentation

D. Citations and references

B. Preparing for oral examination

2. Typically, a student prepares a 15- to 20-minute oral presentation (e.g., in Microsoft

C. During the oral examination

D. Format of the final thesis manuscript

Title/cover page (Appendix E)

1. Theses should undergo an anti-plagiarism check to ensure acceptability of the final

F. Period of completion (for graduate students)

G. Submission of the final thesis manuscript

2. Depending on the requirements of the Department or School, or in cases where a student

1 copy for the student

3. If a student has presented his thesis in a conference, e.g., as required by a funding

C. Assignment and commercialization of intellectual property

4. Commercialization of IP will be under the purview of the University’s Knowledge and

Thesis co-adviser. If a thesis is interdisciplinary, a faculty member from another Department

Thesis committee. The thesis committee, or thesis panel of examiners, is composed of

Appendix A. Notice of Acceptance for thesis advising

NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE FOR THESIS ADVISING

LETTER OF WITHDRAWAL FROM THESIS ADVISING

(Insert appropriate letterhead)

This withdrawal from thesis advising is effective on (indicate date).

Very truly yours,

THESIS COUNSELING FORM

Student-Adviser Thesis Counseling Logbook

Thesis proposal Conduct of the research Semester, AY

Date Place/medium Time Topics discussed Adviser’s signature

SAMPLE ETHICS REVIEW ASSESSMENT FORM

USC REC PROTOCOL REVIEW ASSESSMENT FORM

USC REC PROTOCOL REVIEW ASSESSMENT FORM

USC REC PROTOCOL REVIEW ASSESSMENT FORM

USC REC PROTOCOL REVIEW ASSESSMENT FORM

USC REC PROTOCOL REVIEW ASSESSMENT FORM

USC REC PROTOCOL REVIEW ASSESSMENT FORM

USC REC INFORMED CONSENT FORM ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST

USC REC INFORMED CONSENT FORM ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST

USC REC INFORMED CONSENT FORM ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST

USC IACUC PROTOCOL REVIEW FORM FOR ANIMAL USE

USC IACUC PROTOCOL REVIEW FORM FOR ANIMAL USE