Track A Requirements

Students planning to complete the program through Track A must maintain a grade average of 87 throughout the duration of the program. Full-time students considering writing a thesis, must write a seminar paper in the first semester and receive a grade of 90, part-time students must complete a seminar paper within the first year of coursework, receiving a 90 or above.

Areas of Research

Students may write theses on topics relating to the Holocaust in all disciplines represented in our program. Students intending to write a thesis in psychology, anthropology, sociology or education must have an academic background in the relevant discipline.

Thesis Supervision

Track A students are required to write theses under the supervision of a thesis supervisor. A thesis supervisor must be tenured professors at any academic institution recognized by the University of Haifa. In the event that a desired supervisor is not tenured they may be considered as a supervisor given that the student has a second advisor who is tenured at the University of Haifa. Students are encouraged to contact the academic advisor as well as the program faculty to select the most suitable supervision for their thesis.

Thesis Proposal

Track A students are required to submit a thesis proposal to the academic committee of the program. The proposal should be about 15 pages in length, including the bibliography, due January 31. A proper thesis proposal should be organized as follows:

• Topic of research
• Aim of research
• State of current research on the topic
• Description of research method
• A list of sources, both primary and secondary

 After the thesis supervisor(s) approve the proposal, they should be submitted to the academic committee of the program for approval. At this stage the proposal will be approved, rejected or sent back with requests for revisions. Students may not begin writing their theses before the proposal has been approved.

Thesis Composition

The thesis should be formatted according to discipline rules and guidelines, common styles include Chicago and MLA. All theses should be written in Times New Roman font, size 12, double spaced, and with one-inch margins. Students may submit their theses in either English or Hebrew. All theses should be between 70 and 80 pages not including bibliography.

Thesis Quarterly Reports and Deadlines

All Track A students are required to submit quarterly reports allowing the program administration to track the progress of the theses development. These are especially important for students writing their theses abroad. The program may suggest students switch to track B, or take a leave of absence from the university at any given point based on the quarterly reports.

The Weiss-Livnat MA in Holocaust Studies Program recommends students complete their thesis within one year of the completion of coursework, students who do so will receive a grant from the university. However, university regulations allow students three full years to complete an MA degree. This means that both full-time and part-time students of cohort 5 must submit their theses by November 30, 2019, and students writing theses are eligible to live in university housing, utilize the university library, and maintain student status in Israeli bureaucracy through the end of November 2019, or until they complete the degree.

Thesis Submission

In order to submit the thesis the following conditions must be met:

• The student must have completed all course work and final papers.
• The thesis must have written approval from the supervisor(s)
• The student must obtain approval from the Graduate Studies Authority that the thesis meets regulations (font, pages etc.). Students will be required to schedule an appointment with Laurence Amar, Head of the Dean's Office International Study Programs Coordinator through email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by phone 04-8240109. For a list of all of the Graduate Authority Requirements please follow this link.
• Students will then print 3 copies of the thesis (bound with the proper cover page).

Once these four conditions are met students should submit the thesis to Ilana Eschar. Students who complete their theses abroad are encouraged to reach out to the program administration for help with these final stages.

**An MA student who has completed their courses and submitted all final papers but is still writing their thesis in the third year of enrollment will be required to pay 5% of tuition (before fees).  This requirement is reinstated each year until the completion of all degree requirements.

Thesis Evaluation and Final Grade

After the thesis is submitted it will be evaluated by the student's supervisor(s) and one anonymous external reader selected by the academic committee. The numerical evaluations given by the readers will be averaged for the final grade.

The minimum passing grade of a thesis is 76%. Students who received lower than 76 are permitted to appeal to the academic committee. In this event the thesis will be read by a second external reviewer, and all of the grades will be averaged. Students are not permitted to appeal to the committee more than once.

The final grade for the degree is averaged as follows:

20% seminar papers
30% course grades
50% thesis

Publishing Your Thesis

Students who wish to publish their theses are permitted to do so in two ways.

Students may publish parts of their thesis as articles before the thesis has been completed on the condition that they have received approval from their supervisor(s).

After the final grade is given, students are permitted to publish their thesis in whole or in parts on the condition that it is specified that the publication was written at the University of Haifa as part of the student's graduate degree obligations.

Extensions and Leave of Absences

Students who fail to submit their thesis on time will need to either apply for an extension or a leave of absence from the university. In both cases students apply for the desired status through the program coordinator and the graduate authority determines whether or not an extension or leave of absence will be granted.

Students granted an extension will need to pay 10% of their annual tuition in order to keep an active student status at the university, which lasts for one year.

Students granted leaves of absence from the university are required to cease all university related activity for a determined period of time. This status is usually only granted to students with extracurricular personal matters, which prohibit them from any involvement in university related activity.