Senior Thesis
Unlike most course-initiated projects, a Senior Thesis allows you explore your interests and develop your research skills through an extended and individualized framework. You will work closely with a faculty mentor and have the potential to develop relationships with other faculty, undergraduate researchers, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. Your senior thesis is something you should be able to point to with great prides and satisfaction.
A senior thesis provides the opportunity for you to draw on everything you’ve learned in your college experience, apply your skills outside the classroom, and demonstrate your initiative and achievement to graduate schools, employers, and fellowship/scholarship committees. Depending on your field, this may result in a scholarly or research paper, a portfolio, a performance, a design project, or other field-appropriate artifact.
Tips
- Plan to devote a significant amount of time to the research, development, and implementation of your project. Some projects can be completed in a single semester; others take 2-3 semesters to complete.
- The work that goes into a senior thesis is substantial, and you should receive academic credit for your work. Most programs have designated coursework for senior theses.
- Familiarize yourself with your program’s and faculty mentor's deadlines and requirements for completing a senior thesis.
- Keep in mind that your senior thesis is not the time to attempt to learn a new field. Make sure that you and your faculty mentor feel the chosen topic and scope are manageable and appropriate.
- Throughout this process, you will rely primarily on your faculty mentor for guidance. It is extremely important that you meet regularly with your mentor and ask for feedback on your work. However, you are ultimately responsible for monitoring your progress, keeping track of your tasks, meeting deadlines, and creating quality work.
- The length and structure of your thesis will vary by field and the specific project. Review other theses in your own and related disciplines to give you sense of the scope of a thesis in your area.
Thesis Timeline
While most students start working on their thesis in their junior year, it is never too early to start thinking about topics you might want to pursue for your thesis, or seek out professors that specialize in the area you are interested in. If you are interested in doing a senior thesis, you’ll also want to review your department’s requirements and consider the normal timelines for completing the type of project you are interested in.
- Explore potential topics of interest through coursework, independent study, internships, individual projects and readings, and research skills courses.
- Engage in undergraduate research or creative scholarship through paid or volunteer positions, and internships.
- Start connecting with faculty by visiting them during office hours, familiarizing yourself with their work, and asking them for suggestions on your research interests.
- Talk with your academic advisor about the requirements for completing a senior thesis (if required for your degree) or options for receiving academic credit.
- If you haven’t already done so, narrow in on the topic you want to pursue.
- Reach out to a professor to see if they will be your faculty mentor.
- Develop a proposal and engage with your faculty mentor to determine feasibility, timelines, resources, and necessary background work
- Take research methods, statistics, or other courses to learn skills you will need to complete your project.
- Apply for research support through the Experiential Learning Scholarship Fund, the Watkins Scholarship, departmental, or off-campus sources.
- If you’ll be working on your senior thesis over the summer, make sure you have identified your mentor, agreed on a project proposal and methods, secured any approvals, and identified required resources before you start collecting data.
- Discuss with your faculty mentor if you should register for academic credits through Senior Thesis (499) or another degree-specific course.
- Optional: attend the UM Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR) at the end of April, where seniors will be presenting on their senior thesis work.
- Do background work, literature reviews, learn new skills, collect data, etc.
- If you haven’t already, set a clearly defined work schedule and plan to meet with your faculty mentor.
- If your project includes experimentation, plan to complete your experiments no later than the end of fall semester, leaving you time to finish the thesis in the spring. (This also provides a buffer if you need to re-run any experiments.)
- Complete your final product or artifact with feedback and review from your faculty mentor.
- Present your work at the UM Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR) in April or at another conference.
- Several programs and scholarships on campus require students to present their project in a public presentation.
- Even if you aren’t required to present your work, sharing your thesis through a public presentation is an exciting way to recognize the work you’ve done and engage with others interested in your topic.
- Optional: Submit your work for publication in a field-appropriate journal.
Faculty Mentor
Your faculty mentor will oversee your project from its inception to its final form and is your primary resource for matters of substance, organization, and presentation. You’ll want to approach faculty have expertise in your topic and are interested in working with you. The best people to approach are faculty that you already have a relationship with through previous coursework or work. Need tips on finding a faculty mentor? Visit the Finding a Faculty Mentor page.
Your faculty mentor's responsibilities include:
- Helping you refine your topic to one that will include original research or creative scholarship
- Working with you to write a proposal or other clear plan for your project
- Steering you to research and readings that are current, seminal, and representative of your topic
- Helping you obtain necessary supplies and equipment
- Providing training in needed techniques
- Obtaining approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other compliance oversight certification (if needed)
- Providing continuous guidance on methods, schedule, and outputs to ensure a quality product and timely competition of your project
- Arranging with you an appropriate number of contact hours/expectations if you are receiving credits through Senior Thesis or Independent Study courses
- Reviewing and commenting on your updates and drafts
Theses Examples
You can view the extensive collection of undergraduate theses, professional papers, and capstone artifacts through ScholarWorks.