Thinking about completing a Senior or Honors Thesis? Here’s what you need to know to get started: A Senior Thesis is a major commitment. It’s best suited for academically strong and confident students who have been involved in research prior to their capstone year, which has led to a specific research question they want to pursue under the direction of an established faculty mentor. Step 1: Reflect on your goals Before committing to a Senior Thesis, ask yourself: Do I enjoy independent work and research? Have I already been involved in research that has developed my interest in a particular topic or question? Have I developed a research mentoring relationship with a professor I’m interested in working with, and have I discussed specific thesis research opportunities with them? Do I have a specific topic or question I want to explore that can be feasibly addressed with the time and resources I have access to with my mentor’s support? Step 2: Identify a Warnell faculty member A thesis requires close work with a Warnell faculty member (i.e. faculty research supervisor) who can guide your research. If you think you might want to pursue a thesis, start connecting with professors who teach courses or have research or outreach programs in your area of interest. Attend office hours, ask about current work in their program, and or offer to shadow or volunteer with their program to get a clearer understanding of the work they do and whether you are comfortable with and enjoy the work. Read some of the products produced by faculty and be prepared to ask questions and share your ideas. View faculty directory Step 3: Submit a Senior Thesis application Confirm that you meet the criteria to pursue a Senior Thesis. View the criteria. If eligible, submit a senior thesis application. If you wish to appeal the criteria, there is an appeals process which you will want to complete immediately with the support of your faculty research supervisor. Submit a Senior Thesis Application Step 4: Submit a Senior Thesis proposal During your first capstone semester, you will finalize your research proposal and must submit it for approval to complete your Senior or Honors Thesis the following semester. Expected elements of the thesis proposal should align with the list in the "Writing your Thesis" section. Senior Thesis Proposals are submitted online and are due during your first capstone semester. Proposals will be reviewed by the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and a panel of experienced Senior Thesis Coordinators. Proposals will be accepted or rejected by the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Submit a Senior Thesis Proposal Senior Thesis Timeline and Course Sequence Semester Recommended Course FOCUS Semesters prior to your final year FANR 4960R or 4970R or non-credit bearing volunteer research experience Connect with faculty; determine your research question; If you’re developing your own thesis, this application will confirm your eligibility. Otherwise, you can apply for faculty-advertised Senior Thesis opportunities. First Capstone semester FANR 4960R, 4970R, or 4980R Write thesis proposal and submit application; execute thesis research and other work Last Capstone semester FANR 4990R Initially you will work with the Senior Thesis Coordinator to confirm your registration and planning timeline.Data analysis; writing; thesis presentation Writing your thesis proposal In your first Capstone semester, you’ll take FANR 4960R or a similar directed research course and will develop a written proposal that outlines your research question, methods, and timeline. A strong proposal keeps your project focused and will set you up for a smooth final semester. What to include Your proposal should include: Title – Clear and descriptive Background – What’s the topic? Why does it matter? Objectives/Hypothesis – What are you testing or exploring? Methods – How will you collect and analyze data? Timeline – When will each step happen? Expected Outcomes – What do you hope to learn? References – Cite key sources Writing your thesis If your proposal is approved, you’ll register for FANR 4990R during your final Capstone semester. During this time, you’ll: organize and analyze your data. draft each section of your thesis (introduction, methods, results, discussion, etc.). revise your writing based on advisor feedback. prepare a final, polished document. Presenting your thesis Presenting a thesis is often called a "defense". On one level, think of it as a formal opportunity to tell the story – your story – of your research to faculty and your peers and to demonstrate what you’ve learned. On another level, it involves you “defending” your work by explaining your rationale and motivation to pursue your work, what relevant key concepts or frameworks you used to approach your problem, why you chose the approaches you used over other potential approaches, and what inferences you make from the work you have done. What to expect A 20- to 40-minute presentation summarizing and defending your work A question-and-answer session with faculty and your peers Constructive feedback and discussion of your work General timeline for thesis and defense preparation This is a general timeline. Specific timelines may vary depending on organization by the Senior Thesis Coordinator and supervising faculty mentor. Week Student task for the week Weekly activity with coordinator 1 Conduct an inventory.Write a detailed, itemized summary of where you are with your thesis project:1. Is there data still to collect?2. Have you started analyses?3. Do you have data to start some analyses?4. Have you started collecting and reading literature in support of your thesis? Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Go over inventories. 2 Meet with your thesis advisor.Go over the Coordination Calendar, provided by the Senior Thesis Coordinator, and map a completion calendar for the items on your inventory.Create a story board of your thesis.Construct a 4–5 slide presentation:• Slide 1: Introduce problem and project objectives• Slide 2: Summarize general approach• Slides 3–5: One table or figure per slide of key results you anticipate. If no data yet, make hypothetical data/graphs. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Present and discuss storyboard. 3 Identify model papers.Identify and read three model papers:1. One paper about the larger conceptual framework of your research.2. One paper with methodologies you might use.3. One paper about your study system.Likely more than 3 papers needed. Be critical/strategic in choices.Meet with your thesis advisor.Discuss progress relative to your plan. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Discuss model papers with coordinator/peers.Tutorial on reference management software. 4 Draft an introduction.Use story board and model papers to write first draft. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Peer review and discussion of draft introductions.Discussion of hourglass model. 5 Revise introduction.Revise using feedback. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Peer review and discussion of revised introductions. 6 Revise introduction and draft methods.Funnel reader to objectives; draft methods.Meet with your thesis advisor.If not done already, meet to discuss progress. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Data visualization, graphing, and basic analyses in R. 7 Revise introduction and draft methods.Meet with your thesis advisor.Discuss progress; complete part of analyses.By now you should be finished collecting data. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Peer review of revised introductions and draft methods.Discussion of writing methods sections. 8 Complete first full draft of thesis.Revise intro, methods, results (with tables/figures), and draft the discussion. 9 Complete first full draft of thesis.Revise intro, methods, results, and discussion.Meet with your thesis advisor.Review draft; plan revisions/analyses. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Peer review and discussion of first complete draft. 10 Revise full draft of thesis.Revise entire thesis with feedback from advisor, peers, and coordinator. 11 Revise full draft of thesis.Upload to eLC two days before peer meeting.Submit copy to mentor for feedback. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Workshop on preparing an effective thesis presentation. 12 Meet with your thesis advisor.Discuss revised draft and plan essential revisions.Revise full draft of thesis.Revise draft based on feedback.Draft senior thesis presentation walk-through.Create draft presentation for walk-through with coordinator and peers. 13 Submit formatted, defensible thesis draft.Submit to coordinator via eLC; distributed to secondary reader.Revise senior thesis presentation walk-through.Draft presentation for detailed walk-through; provide copy to mentor.Meet with your thesis advisor.Discuss draft presentation. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Senior thesis presentation walk-through with coordinator and peers. 14 Revise senior thesis presentation.Practice senior thesis presentation.Practice with advisor, lab, coordinator, or peers. Mandatory organizational meeting with Senior Thesis Coordinator.Presentation walk-through with coordinator and peers. 15 Senior Thesis & Project Symposium.Present thesis to faculty and peers.Attend at least three peer presentations. 16 Receive formal feedback.Revise thesis at discretion of faculty mentor and student. 17 Receive formal feedback.Revise thesis at discretion of faculty mentor and student. After the Defense Your faculty research supervisor will guide you through any final submission steps. Depending on your program or faculty advisor: You may need to revise the thesis based on committee feedback. You may be required to upload the final version to a digital archive, submit to the Honors College, or present at a symposium. Tips for Success Attend Warnell seminars or graduate student defense presentations to see examples of professionals presenting and defending their work. Practice your presentation with a friend, mentor, or research group. Anticipate questions—especially about your methods and why you made certain choices. Know your citations and data sources well. Stay confident—you’ve spent months becoming the expert on your topic.
