Submission Deadlines for Graduate Acquisition Research Program Acceptance:

The below outlines the application submission timeline, which is based on your anticipated graduation date.

Also, be sure to check the Resources page for the latest graduate student topics list as well as for additional research resources.

Getting Started!

The information below is designed to help guide you through the Student Acquisition Research Process to the fruition of a high-quality, relevant graduate student MBA project or thesis.  Pay attention to the links which will provide additional samples and templates for your to follow.  In addition, the below link provides a visual flowchart of the process to help keep you on track and ahead of the power curve.

MBA Thesis Flow Chart

Step 1:  Topic and Advisor Selection

This step begins the project planning process for your research effort.  During this phase you will choose at least two advisors, which is the beginning of the Thesis Proposal process.  If you are looking for advisors, we can make recommendations of the faculty best aliened with your topic or program.  In addition, we can suggest other area expert and/or points of contacts to assist your research process.

Advisors may help direct you to a research topic.  We can also offer suggestions from our Graduate Student Topic Booklet.  To be considered into the Acquisition Research Program your proposed Masters’ research topic must fall within the Department of Defense’s “Big A” focus and qualities.

Any pre-acceptance questions should directed to Ms. Tera Yoder, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Step 2:  Approval Process

To be considered into the Acquisition Research Program as a Graduate Student, you will need to begin the formal MBA/Thesis proposal process within your school or department at NPS.  If your research effort requires travel, you will also need to coordinate with the Travel Office to develop a detailed travel funding estimate to the Acquisition Research Program.  The result of this step is a formal, approved MBA/Thesis Proposal and travel funding approval, when applicable.

To begin the review process into the Acquisition Research Program, a single email should be sent to Ms. Karey Shaffer, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and should include the following information:

• ARP Application e-mail

• Thesis Proposal, signed by your advisors, attached as a PDF

• Detailed Travel Estimate from the Travel Office

Sample of the Application e-mail which includes a Travel Estimate may be found below.  Please note that the a signed Thesis Proposal shoudl accompany the request as an attachment:

Click here to see a sample Application e-mail

Acceptance into the Acquisition Research Program will be awarded in the form of a welcome email

As requirements of your membership in the program, you will complete the following:

• Acquisition Research Program’s 3-Draft series to produce DoD focused quality research within the Big A which solves real problems with academic rigor

• Provide a final Word file of your research project to be reviewed for publication in the Acquisition Research Program and if accepted to be included on our website

• Provide research results/content for your student poster

As benefits of your membership in the program, you will receive the following:

• Coupon codes to attend the Annual Acquisition Research Symposium in May

• Equipment support (i.e. thumb drives, digital recorders, etc.)

• Transcription/Editing services

• Bound copy of your completed MBA/Thesis research project, printed in color

• Research visibility at the Acquisition Research Symposium Poster Show

• Opportunity to publish your research within the Acquisition Research Program and increase visibility to your work on our website

Step 3:  Research Project

This is where the fun begins, and where the Acquisition Research Program supports your efforts to produce a quality research project with academic rigor during your masters' education tour at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). Your research has the ability to make an impact on current issues facing the Department of Defense and to be involved in building the body of knowledge. Through the Student Acquisition Research Program, you have access to professional editor and transcription support, the ability to check out digital voice recorders, at no cost to you.

Conducting your research and analyzing your findings is the most time consuming portion of the MBA/Thesis Process. The Acquisition Research Program is here to support you through this step so that you can focus on the quality of your research.

Travel:

Travel executed during this period if applicable.

Equipment/Transcription Support:

We have Digital Recorders available.  You may stop by and check these items out when you need them. While we have several of each items, plan ahead to ensure we have items available before you need them.

In addition, we provide transcription services for any interview, area expert panel or other digitally recorded materials that you are utilizing in your research effort.

For quickest turnaround, transcription files should be forwarded as they are acquired and emailed to Ms. Tera Yoder, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Step 4:  3-Draft Series

The 3-draft series is the element of the Acquisition Research Program that gives you and the program a competitive advantage. By identifying editor reviews and content reviews as distinct steps in the research effort, the Acquisition Research Program ensures quality and rigor in every project. As a result, our reputation for sound, relevant analysis and quality research is strengthened by each successive research product.

Draft 1—Preliminary Editor’s Review

You will submit the first, working draft of your MBA/Thesis Project to the Acquisition Research Program. The first draft should consist of three consecutive chapters of your project.  We will assign your project to one of our professional editors. The purpose of this edit review is to help you with the grammatical structure of your project, proper and complete citations and overall project organization. All editor reviews are completed within your word document using “Track Changes” so that you can accept/reject the editor’s comments as you deem fit.

Submit draft by e-mail to Ms. Tera Yoder, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

  Draft 2—Content Review

Once you’ve incorporated the Editor’s comments and made necessary changes, you are ready to move to draft 2, which we call, “content review” of your MBA/Thesis Project. It is your MBA/Thesis Advisors’ turn to review your project. In this step, focus is given to the underlying content of your project to ensure that the presentation is thorough and properly representative. The goal of the content review is the “Sweet Spot”—a melding of the academician’s and practitioner’s perspectives into an applicable solution to the problem identified in your research project.

Draft 3—Final Editor’s Review

One more Editor’s Review and you are almost done. After reviewing comments from your advisors and making appropriate changes, submit your second draft to the Acquisition Research Program. The purpose of a second Editor’s Review is to ensure that the citation format is still correct and to smooth out portions of the project that were altered during the Content Review. When possible, you will retain the same editor that reviewed your project in Draft 1, and as before, a 48-hour turn around period generally applies.

Submit draft by e-mail to Ms. Tera Yoder, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Step 5—Get your “Greencard”

The NPS deliverable is the final step that you need in order to fulfill the NPS graduation requirement. Known colloquially as the “Greencard”, the greencard is a certificate that NPS is satisfied with your Masters thesis or MBA project, where Thesis Processors give you the green light to graduate. The certificate is green; you will often see copies with hand-written thank you notes to advisors and others who made a difference in finishing the requirement.

Similar to the GSBPP MBA/Thesis Proposal process, the “Greencard” process operates independently of the Acquisition Research Program with oversight by the Research Department at the Naval Postgraduate School. Even so, we are still here to help you with any issues that come-up.

For additional information, Thesis Processor POC and form templates, visit the Research Department website at

http://www.nps.edu/Research/research1.html

Step 6—Finish your Acquisition Research Program Deliverables

Final Content Review

After any revisions are made through the 3-Draft series, there is one final content review by our Acquisition Chair, RADM Jim Greene.  If there are any content related question they will be redirected for review before the final publication.

In comparison to the work that you put into producing your research, this step is easy. There are only three documents that you need to provide to us and we will take care of the rest. Once the final draft of your MBA/Thesis Project has been approved by the Thesis Processors you are required to provide the following documents:

1. Final word version of MBA/Thesis Project

We require the Word version because we will place your project in our template before publication.

Submit Word version of project via e-mail to Ms. Tera Yoder, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Click here to see a sample published student project

2. Acquisition Research Symposium Poster

Provide content for your poster to be displayed at the Annual Acquisition Research Symposium Student Research Post Show. This is a great opportunity to get more visibility of your research even if you are not able to attend the event in May. These posters will also be available for the Research Department’s Research Showcases at NPS. You only need to provide the poster content, we will take care of formatting, printing and mounting the poster.

Please submit print quality images (minimum 300 dpi) separately from your poster content.

Submit poster content via e-mail to Ms. Tera Yoder, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Click here for the Poster Template (in PowerPoint)

Click here for a sample student research poster

3. Student biographical information/contact information

Provide bios for the members on your research team (less than 200 words each) to be included with published material. Although writing a bio at the end of your NPS tour may not appear to be a priority, a bio will give you and your research more visibility if it is published. Not only does your bio reside in the final document, but it is also posted to our website.

Click here for a sample student bio 

Submit student bio via e-mail to Ms. Tera Yoder, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it