Dr. [thesis advisor],
Thank you so much for your help and patience over the last few years. You have been a great help in guiding me towards certain research topics, resources, and people. Recently, though, I have decided to fully pursue the new non-thesis option as its demands meet my needs the best. I’ll be continuing coursework to fulfill the new program requirements, and will be setting aside the work I have done on my thesis for the time being. Thanks for letting me borrow the two books on popular religion, and I’ll be getting them back to you in the next couple of weeks. Again I’m sorry for any negative feelings that may have risen from our experience. I wish you the best of luck on all your pursuits and thank you for your help getting me here.
Sincerely,
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Dr. [second reader],
As you know, I’ve been a bit busy with life outside of school, but hopefully you aren’t offended by my lack of correspondence. Dr. [potential new reader] contacted me about my thesis, and perhaps his comments combined with the time I had spent thinking about everything BUT my thesis allowed me to sense that my work thus far has been subpar and unsatisfactory. That being said, he suggested that the earliest that I would be able to graduate with his involvement would be the fall semester of 2010. Taking into account my negative feelings toward the project and that new potential date of completion, I have decided to fully pursue the new non-thesis option. I will be enrolled in two more semesters of coursework, and Lord-willing, I will graduate in May 2010. I don’t see spending another full year or more working on the thesis to be as helpful as taking a few courses and getting my degree several months sooner.
Thank you so very much for your help and support. I know that you may view your assistance as merely your professional duties, but I feel a very personal level of friendship and thanks for your efforts. Thanks for all that you’ve done, and I’m sure that I will see you in the fall because one of the three classes I need to take is your seminar on American religion.
Sincerely your student,
