what does senior honors thesis mean

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All Honors Students end their program with an Honors Thesis: a sustained, independent research project in a student’s field of study. Your thesis must count for at least 4 credits (some majors require that the thesis be completed over 2 semesters, and some require more than 4 credits). The thesis is an opportunity to work on unique research under the guidance of a faculty advisor. It often provides a writing sample for graduate school, and is also something you can share with employers to show what kind of work you can do. 

What is an Honors thesis?

Most of your work in college involves learning information and ideas generated by other people. When you write a thesis, you are engaging with previous work, but also adding new knowledge to your field. That means you have to know what's already been done--what counts as established knowledge; what's the current state of research; what methods and kinds of evidence are acceptable; what debates are going on. (Usually, you'll recount that knowledge in a review of the literature.) Then, you need to form a research question that you can answer given your available skills, resources, and time  (so, not "What is love?" but "How are ideas about love different between college freshmen and seniors?"). With your advisor, you'll plan the method you will use to answer it, which might involve lab work, field work, surveys, interviews, secondary research, textual analysis, or something else--it will depend upon your question and your field. Once your research is carried out, you'll write a substantial paper (usually 20-50 pages) according to the standards of your field.

What do theses look like?

The exact structure will vary by discipline, and your thesis advisor should provide you with an outline. As a rough guideline, we would expect to see something like the following:

1. Introduction 2. Review of the literature 3. Methods 4. Results 5. Analysis 6. Conclusion 7. Bibliography or works cited

In 2012 we began digitally archiving Honors theses. Students are encouraged to peruse the Honors Thesis Repository to see what past students' work has looked like. Use the link below and type your major in the search field on the left to find relevant examples. Older Honors theses are available in the Special Collections & Archives department at Dimond Library. 

Browse Previous Theses

Will my thesis count as my capstone?

Most majors accept an Honors Thesis as fulfilling the Capstone requirement. However, there are exceptions. In some majors, the thesis counts as a major elective, and in a few, it is an elective that does not fulfill major requirements. Your major advisor and your Honors advisor can help you figure out how your thesis will count. Please note that while in many majors the thesis counts as the capstone, the converse does not necessarily apply. There are many capstone experiences that do not take the form of an Honors thesis. 

Can I do a poster and presentation for my thesis?

No. While you do need to present your thesis (see below), a poster and presentation are not a thesis. 

How do I choose my thesis advisor?

The best thesis advisor is an experienced researcher, familiar with disciplinary standards for research and writing, with expertise in your area of interest. You might connect with a thesis advisor during Honors-in-Major coursework, but Honors Liaisons  can assist students who are having trouble identifying an advisor. You should approach and confirm your thesis advisor before the semester in which your research will begin.

What if I need funds for my research?

The  Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research  offers research grants, including summer support. During the academic year, students registered in credit-bearing thesis courses may apply for an  Undergraduate Research Award for up to $600 in research expenses (no stipend).  Students who are not otherwise registered in a credit-bearing course for their thesis research may enroll in INCO 790: Advanced Research Experience, which offers up to $200 for research expenses.

What if I need research materials for a lengthy period?

No problem! Honors Students can access Extended Time borrowing privileges at Dimond Library, which are otherwise reserved for faculty and graduate students. Email [email protected] with note requesting “extended borrowing privileges” and we'll work with the Library to extend your privileges.

Can I get support to stay on track?

Absolutely! Thesis-writers have an opportunity to join a support group during the challenging and sometimes isolating period of writing a thesis. Learn more about thesis support here .

When should I complete my thesis?

Register for a Senior Honors Thesis course (often numbered 799) in the spring and/or fall of your Senior year.

This “course” is an independent study, overseen by your Thesis Advisor. Your advisor sets the standards, due dates, and grades for your project. It must earn at least a B in order to qualify for Honors.

What happens with my completed thesis?

Present your thesis.

All students must publicly present their research prior to graduation. Many present at the  Undergraduate Research Conference  in April; other departmentally-approved public events are also acceptable.

Publish your thesis:

Honors students are asked to make their thesis papers available on  scholars.unh.edu/honors/ . This creates a resource for future students and other researchers, and also helps students professionalize their online personas.

These theses are publicly available online. If a student or their advisor prefers not to make the work available, they may upload an abstract and/or excerpts from the work instead.

Students may also publish research in  Inquiry , UNH's undergraduate research journal.

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• Senior Honors Theses

• / Senior Honors Theses

Students who wish to improve their standing in their classes in the College of Arts and Sciences may do so by initiating, and completing, a Senior Honors Thesis. Coordinated by the University Honors Program, on this page we provide helpful information with which you become familiar as you embark on this rewarding endeavor.

If you are thinking about undertaking a Senior Honors Thesis in the College of Arts & Sciences, or if you hope to graduate from the College summa cum laude ("with highest honors"), you should pay careful attention to the information provided on this page to learn more about minimum qualifications for proposing a Senior Honors Thesis.

Although successful completion of a Senior Honors Thesis is required of anyone who wishes to graduate summa cum laude ("with highest honors") from the College of Arts & Sciences, there are multiple benefits that one could realize from pursuing an independent undergraduate research project.

If you have already determined that you meet the minimum qualifications to submit a Senior Honors Thesis proposal, the information provided on this page will help you to develop a plan of action to initiate the process and meet the necessary expectations and deadlines.

If you have determined that you meet the minimum qualifications to submit a Senior Honors Thesis proposal, this page provides you with the current departmental honors contacts who can help explain departmental expectations, processes, and guide you toward an appropriate supervising faculty mentor for your project.

The Senior Honors Thesis Committee is composed of nine faculty members representing the three major divisions of the College of Arts & Sciences: Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. The members of this faculty committee oversee the Senior Honors Thesis process for the College, review Senior Honors Thesis proposals, and represent the Senior Honors Thesis Committee on each thesis writer's oral defense committee.

This page includes information regarding support services and resources available to you as you plan and pursue your Senior Honors Thesis research and write the final product.

Useful forms you will need as your begin your Senior Honors Thesis.

The information on this page provides helpful tips and advice for faculty who agree to become a supervising faculty member for a Senior Honors Thesis.

This provides a link to the Archives and Special Collections online archive of Senior Honors Theses.

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Senior Honors Thesis

The Thesis Honors Program allows Tufts seniors to pursue a year-long independent program of study, to delve into a focused area of research within your major, and to produce an outcome that demonstrates exceptional undergraduate achievement. The senior honors thesis is a capstone experience for undergraduates in a  Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science  degree program. 

Students may pursue only  one  Senior Honors Thesis per bachelor degree; that is, students who have two or three majors may not pursue two or three Honors Theses. Only students in five-year combined degree programs, such as BA/BFA, can pursue one senior thesis for the BFA degree in Studio Art and a Honors Thesis for one major in the BA degree, preferably in years four and five of the combined-degree program.

The senior honors thesis takes the form of an extensive research-based project culminating in a scholarly monograph (or an artistic or technical product). The honors thesis:

• Spans two consecutive semesters during your senior year.
• Is worth 8 credits (4 credits per semester; usually same letter grade for both semesters) in the School of Arts and Sciences. In the School of Engineering, it is worth 6 credits (3 credits per semester; usually same letter grade for both semesters).
• Culminates in a  defense .
• Is overseen by a faculty committee of at least two people (one of whom must be a full-time faculty member in your major).
• Will be  specially formatted  and archived in  Tufts Digital Collections and Archives .
• May be worthy of  Thesis Honors .

Typically, the honors thesis takes the form of independent research within your major (or in one of your majors) and results in a scholarly monograph that incorporates extensive research, critical analysis, and a sustained argument centered on a defined research question or hypothesis. Some majors will encourage or permit less traditional theses that result in the creation of a short documentary film, translated book, collection of poems, novella, play, artistic exhibit, musical composition, or application of technology. However, even less traditional theses require substantial scholarly research and writing.

Eligibility Criteria

Students who wish to pursue an honors thesis must:

• Be a senior.
• Be in good  academic standing .
• Have been on the Dean’s List at least twice before the senior year. There is a  waiver process  for transfer students and others who have not met this criterion.
• Meet  departmental criteria  for the major or program in which you will pursue the honors thesis. Some majors stipulate prerequisite coursework, a GPA threshold, a written proposal submitted during your junior year, or participation in a senior seminar.
• Have approval of your major department chair or program director (indicated by a signature on your  Honors Thesis Candidate Form .

​Important Deadlines

• October 20, 2023:  Senior Honors Thesis Candidate Form  must be submitted.
• December 13, 2023:  Defenses for February degree candidates must be completed by the last day of the fall semester reading period. Thesis submission deadlines are set by advisors and departments, but it is strongly recommended that the completed thesis is submitted to the committee at least two weeks before the final defense. This will allow readers and committee members to engage with the material presented by the student in preparation for the defense.
• December 14, 2023:  Advisors must submit the "Recommendation for Senior Thesis Honors" form for February degree candidates by the end of the first day of fall exams. (This form is only available to Tufts faculty and staff and can be found in the Faculty Forms section  on SIS .)
• May 2, 2024:  Defenses for May degree candidates must be completed by the last day of the spring semester reading period. Thesis submission deadlines are set by advisors and departments, but it is strongly recommended that the completed thesis is submitted to the committee at least two weeks before the final defense. This will allow readers and committee members to engage with the material presented by the student in preparation for the defense.
• May 3, 2024:  Advisors must submit the "Recommendation for Senior Thesis Honors" form for May degree candidates by the end of the first day of spring exams. (This form is only available to Tufts faculty and staff and can be found in the Faculty Forms section  on SIS .)
• May 17, 2024:  Archive your completed manuscript in Tufts Digital Collections and Archives (via the  MIRA website ) any time after your thesis defense and before your graduation date. This should be the final, completed, corrected version ready for posterity. Complete the deposit form and select “Agree and Deposit.” Archival uploads may be made a few weeks after graduation before the deposit window closes. Contact Associate Dean of Undergraduate Advising,  Caitlin Casey , for details if you need extra time or have a special circumstance.

More Senior Honors Thesis Resources

Advice for students, policies and procedures.

Senior Honors Thesis

If you are a junior, with a minimum of 3.40 GPA and have enjoyed writing a research paper in one of your economics classes, this might be the right thing for you. A thesis is a great opportunity for a real capstone experience as part of your economics major.

It is important to find a faculty member to be your thesis advisor. If you have ideas about a thesis topic, talk with your advisor or a member of the economics faculty with similar research interests (see the department website for faculty research areas).

Senior Honors Thesis Information

• A Senior Honors Thesis is a two-semester (three units) long project that results in a thesis paper.
• Students also enroll each semester in a two-unit pass/fail course (EC 197: Senior Thesis Research Seminar)
• Counts as two upper-level electives towards the economics major
• It is overseen by (at least) a two-person committee consisting of an advisor and a reader.
• A Senior Honors Thesis should answer a (very) specific question or test a particular hypotheses
• It usually has an empirical component (but not necessarily)
• Generally the narrower the topic/ the more specific the question, the better the thesis
• Can be in any area of economics

Research Classes for Majors & Undertake a Senior Honors Thesis for Juniors

Many economics majors are interested in making research experience a part of their major. There are several ways to accomplish this goal.

• A number of elective classes in economics require a research paper. This can be a very good introduction to the research process because the selection of a topic, definition of the paper's structure, and research mentoring are built into the class. Economics classes that require a research paper are designated with a * on the semester class schedule published by the department.
• A research paper is often part of the requirements of a Special Topics (Economics 193) class. Since the content and requirements of these classes are constructed on a case-by-case basis, it would be up to the student and their faculty sponsor to agree on a research topic and the extent of the research requirement for the class. An Independent Study Form must be completed and submitted to Debra Knox .
• Seniors who wish to undertake a one-semester research project may do so by undertaking a Senior Thesis (Economics 198) class. Every Senior Thesis must have a faculty member from the Economics Department as an advisor and supervisor. The credit awarded for a Senior Thesis will vary according to the scope of the project. A Senior Thesis Agreement Form must be completed and submitted to Debra Knox .
• Seniors who wish to undertake a more formally organized, two-semester research project may do so by undertaking a Senior Honors Thesis (Economics 195 and 196) class. This is a larger and more complex research project that requires certain advance preparations. The regulations are described in the Tufts Bulletin under the heading Thesis Honors Program. A Senior Honors Thesis Agreement Form must be completed and submitted to Debra Knox .

These regulations specify that by the end of your junior year you must have :

• qualified for the Dean's List at least twice.
• identified an Economics faculty member who agrees to chair your thesis committee and serve as your primary thesis advisor.
• worked with your primary thesis advisor to choose a specific thesis topic.

By the end of the first two weeks of the Fall semester, you must submit the Senior Honors Thesis Candidate Declaration Form .

Writing a Successful Senior Honors Thesis

Writing a Senior Honors Thesis in economics requires more preparation than simply completing the minimal requirements toward an economics major.

Success involves :

• defining a researchable question or a testable hypothesis . This is the task that takes the most experience and requires consultation with your primary thesis advisor. If your thinking about a topic is at the stage of "I want to do research on Italy's economic growth" or "I want to study poverty issues," you do not yet have a research question. Your question must be specific and must contain a conjecture that can be supported or refuted by evidence that you are capable of producing. Good research questions can come from anywhere but the safest strategy is to look in areas of economics that you have already studied.  
• having a set of economic tools that you can apply to your research question. The appropriate set of economic tools normally consists of intermediate economic theory and econometrics . These courses should be completed by the end of your junior year.  
• having some background in an area of economics that relates to your research question. This will most often be from economics courses that you have already taken. For example, you may have taken International Finance (Economics 162) and be familiar with economic theories that explain exchange rates movements. This background gives you a head start in identifying a good research question and keeps you from having to spend many weeks learning background material.  
• preparing a thesis proposal . A good proposal spells out your research question, why it is important, and how you intend to carry out the research. It should include a short review of other important research on the subject, sources of data, and the analytical tools (ie. regression analysis) that you will use. It is recommended that this work be completed by the beginning of your senior year.  
• beginning regular consultation with your primary thesis advisor before the fall of your senior year. This could take place during the spring of your junior year or the summer before your senior year. Study abroad may make this consultation more difficult and should be factored into your foreign study plans.

Schedule a consultation for tutoring or assistance

2023 Theses

Ibrahim AlMuasher: "Factors that Impact Homeownership for Second Generation" Advisor: Jeff Zabel

Scott Blatte*: "Pricing Across Hospitals" Advisor: Melissa McInerney

Jacqueline Brown: "Environmental Economic Impacts" Advisor: Ujjayant Chakravorty

Nayum Eom: "Consent to Cookies? An Empirical Study on the Impact of Firm Size on the Website Responses to the General Data Protection Regulation" Advisor: Silke Forbes

Daniel Korobeynyk: "Are School Finance Reforms Associated with Convergence in Property Values? A Case Study of Ohio" Advisor: Silke Forbes

Jackson Lubke*: “Creating a National Model for Gentrification” Advisor: Jeff Zabel

Rie Takemoto: “The Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfers on Labor Markets: Evidence from the Philippines” Advisor: Kyle Emerick

*Linda Datcher Loury Award Recipient

Archived Senior Honors Theses

2020 theses.

Henrik Tiemroth "Distributional Implications of Carbon Taxation: Lessons from British Columbia" Advisor: Gilbert Metcalf

Kamen Velichkov "Does Democratization Lead to a More Dispersed City Size Distribution and More Spatially Dispersed Economic Activity?" Advisor: Yannis Ioannides

Zhuoran (Betty) Cao "Effects of Paid Family Leave Policy on Women’s Fertility Decisions and Career Outcomes in the US" Advisor: Melissa McInerney

2019 Theses

Julian Goldhill "The Effects of Colorado's Recreational Cannabis Industry on Colorado Gambling: An Empirical Approach" Advisor: Marcelo Bianconi

Ara Kharazian "A New Look at Coordination of Financial Aid at America's Elite Colleges" Advisor: Silke Forbes

Giorgi Nikolaishvili "The Dynamics of Noisy Information Acquisition in Financial Markets" Advisor: Marcelo Bianconi

Jacob Solomon Ryan "The Sensitivity of Firms' Proprietary Program Trading to Financial News Article Sentiment About the Volcker Rule" Advisor: Marcelo Bianconi

Eva Sachar "A Data Science Approach of Identifying Gentrification in Providence, Rhode Island" Advisor: Jeff Zabel

Noah Weinflash "Political Betting Markets: Inefficiencies, Information Integration, and Effectiveness" Advisor: Thomas Downes

Hung-Da Wen "Does Imposing Conditions in Cambodian Apparel Factories Increase Efficiency and Profitability?" Advisor: Drusilla Brown

Jiaqi Yuan "The Interaction of Manager Characteristics with Compliance: Evidence from the Cambodian Apparel Industry" Advisor: Drusilla Brown

Visit Tufts Digital Library for archived Senior Honors Theses

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Honors Program - Senior Thesis

• Foreign Study
• The B.A./M.A. Program in History
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• Scholar of the College Projects

The Honors Program is open to all majors with a GPA of 3.5 in History, and centers around an original piece of research and writing undertaken with the guidance of a thesis advisor. The six-credit program involves a seminar, one-on-one consultations with the advisor, and a 50-60 page thesis.

• Who is eligible?
• Who should consider doing an honors thesis?

What is the timeline?

• What does the thesis entail?
• What can I do with a thesis?

Eligible seniors have the opportunity to write a 12-credit thesis (counting as four upper-division electives) as a Scholar of the College. The Scholar of the College program follows the same timeline, but the thesis requirements are more extensive and the thesis involves a more ambitious project.

If you are hoping to go to graduate school in the humanities, you should seriously consider writing a thesis because it will give you a sense of the kind of work that will be expected at that level.

But you need not have graduate school in mind to write a thesis. If you want to bring all of your undergraduate training to bear on a single, challenging project the honors program is for you. The thesis experience, picking a topic, researching it and producing an original piece of writing will challenge you in ways you have not yet been challenged. It is also incredibly rewarding. Working with other seniors and one-on-one with award winning faculty is a once in a lifetime experience. Such an accomplishment is the culmination of a liberal arts education and will set you up for a lifetime of achievement.

Junior Year

Senior Year

What does the thesis look like at the end of the process?

The thesis itself should be about 50-60 pages long and generally includes multiple chapters. It should be bound in a clear plastic binder that will both hold the pages securely and permit the title page to be read without opening it. Plastic binders are available at most stationary stores. You can also get it bound more formally at the campus printer. See here for more details .

Thesis Binding Details

The thesis alone is an impressive accomplishment but you can also take advantage of further publishing opportunities. There are two different kinds of publishing opportunity. The first and easiest is to deposit it with the Boston College eScholarship repository. The second involves an application and editing process to an undergraduate journal. This process is more involved than asimply placing your thesis in a repository, but it is more prestigious and has the potential to reach more readers.

Online eScholarship Repository

Boston College eScholarship@BC is the institutional repository of Boston College, managed by the Boston College University Libraries. The aim of eScholarship@BC is to showcase and preserve Boston College's scholarly output in digital form and to make it freely accessible globally. The repository supports the social justice mission of the University and promotes the goals of the University Libraries by providing access to scholarly resources wherever they are needed.

Please note: Undergraduates have the right to restrict access to their theses in the following ways:

• Access to undergraduate honors theses will be determined by the student depositor(s) and may be limited to the Boston College campus.
• Embargo periods may be applied based on publisher policies or at the request of copyright holder, restricting access to item(s) for a given time.
• Items may include individual statements regarding rights permissions and conditions, which will be included with the public record display.

Undergraduate Journals

Oracle: the history journal of boston college .

Oracle: The History Journal of Boston College  is Boston College's primary venue for undergraduate historical scholarship. Founded in 2019, Oracle serves as a resource for current and prospective students of history, whether at Boston College or otherwise. Sponsored by the Boston College Department of History, Oracle is guided by the belief that the study of history is important to more fully understanding the complexities of our modern, globalized world. Whether you are an author, researcher, librarian, or otherwise interested reader, we hope that the scholarship featured by Oracle is an informative and engaging source for further study.

Columbia Undergraduate Journal of History

The Columbia Undergraduate Journal of History the United States' leading undergraduate social science research journal. We publish papers from all social science disciplines, including political science, economics, sociology, history, psychology, linguistics, law, anthropology, criminology, cultural and area studies, development studies, and demography. 

Elements was founded in September 2004 by a group of twenty undergraduate students. The journal published its first issue in May of 2005, featuring research articles written by Boston College undergraduates along with shorter special features. The goal of the publication is to become a forum for the exchange of original ideas within and across disciplines at the university. Staff members read and evaluate all submitted manuscripts and select the best articles on the basis of quality of scholarship as well as readability. Faculty members are occasionally consulted to assist staff members in the evaluation process.

Ezra's Archives

Ezra's Archives is a publication put forth annually by the Cornell Historical Society. This journal, launched in the Spring of 2011, showcases stellar examples of undergraduate research in the field of history. In the Fall of 2011, Ezra's Archives expanded to accept submissions from undergraduates at other universities. If you are interested in applying for a position on the editorial board, submitting a paper, or learning more about the journal, please email cornellhistoricalsociety@gmail.com .

History Matters, Appalachian State University

This undergraduate History Matters history journal is published annually on a website by the History Department at Appalachian State University. The journal is edited by undergraduates with the help of a faculty board. All submissions and editing must be completed while authors are still undergraduates.

Journal of Undergraduate International Studies, University of Wisconsin The Journal of Undergraduate International Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invites unpublished reflections on a wide range of academic and creative disciplines from contributors worldwide. Submitting authors should be within one semester of graduation. Topics include, but are not limited to, international conflict and resolution environmental issues, economics, development and trade, global security and international health.

The Yale Historical Review

The Yale Historical Review provides undergraduates an opportunity to have their exceptional work highlighted and encourages the diffusion of original historical ideas on campus by providing a forum for outstanding undergraduate history papers covering any historical topic. Students may submit history papers they've written over the course of their college careers.

Report, United States Military Academy

Report  is a historical review that publishes the work of undergraduate students. They are expanding to include submissions from students at other colleges and universities. They encourage submissions from all undergraduates interested in historical research. Report is published both electronically and in booklet form during the spring and fall semesters. Please do not submit works already submitted to of published by other academic journals, and refer to the Chicago Manual of Style for citation guidelines and footnote form. Please include an email address and phone number with submissions. Contact the editors at Report.USMA@gmail.com with any questions.

Questions about the honors program or Senior Thesis?

Prof. Michael Glass

michael.glass@bc.edu

If you have additional questions, please contact Prof. Michael Glass, director of the honors program.

Contact Prof. Glass

History Department Stokes Hall South, 3rd Floor

617-552-3781

Department of Economics

Honors thesis.

• Undergraduate

Junior year is the time to start thinking about eligibility requirements, topics of interest, and potential advisors for an honors thesis.

An Honors Info Session is held each spring to answer junior’s questions about their senior year, and interested students must fill out the  honors thesis form  by the end of junior year.

We strongly encourage students to write an honors thesis. This is very valuable for students interested in graduate school or careers requiring independent research skills, as well as for students interested in tying together their academic experience with an in-depth investigation of one topic.

More than a good course paper

An honors thesis is more than a good course paper. It must represent a substantial effort in research and exposition. A thesis must be an original contribution to knowledge, beyond a simple replication exercise. The department does not specify page lengths, methods, or topics. Instead, an honors thesis candidate should establish his or her goals – and a timeline to meet those goals – in an understanding with the thesis advisor. To see the range of topics and methods prior students have pursued, take a look at  examples of past honor theses here  or by visiting the academic office in person. To find a faculty advisor who would be a good match for your topic of interest, see their research questions  here. 

Requirements

To graduate with honors, students must satisfy the following requirements  by the   end of junior year ,

• Complete at least 70% of the courses required for the concentration.
• Have earned a grade of “A” or “S with distinction” in at least 70% of grades earned in the economics concentration, or 50% in the joint concentrations in APMA-Econ, CS-Econ, and Math-Econ (excluding courses transferred to Brown without a grade, and those taken Spring 2020).
• Economics Concentrators  must find a faculty thesis advisor in the economics department.
• Joint Concentrators  must find a primary faculty thesis advisor in either economics or the partner department. CS-Econ concentrators must have a secondary reader in the other department by the fall of senior year. APMA-Econ and Math-Econ do not require a secondary reader, unless the primary advisor deems it necessary. Joint concentrators need to satisfy the honors requirements of the economics department if their thesis advisor is in the economics department; while they need to satisfy the honors requirements of the partner department if their thesis advisor is in the partner department.

During senior year , thesis writers must:

• Enroll in ECON 1960 in the fall & spring semesters (Note that 1960 does not count as a 1000-level elective for your concentration). A requirement of ECON 1960 will be attendance at one of two lab sessions each week. 
• Submit a thesis proposal to both your thesis advisor and the Undergraduate Programs Coordinator Kelsey Thorpe, [email protected]  (see below for due date).
• Submit their work in progress to their thesis advisor and Kelsey (see below for due date).
• Depending on the nature of the thesis work, the thesis adviser may require the student to successfully complete one or more courses from among the  data methods ,  mathematical economics  and/or  financial economics  course groups in the fall of senior year, if they have not already done so.
• Complete an honors thesis by the deadline agreed upon with their primary advisor and obtain the final approval of their advisor(s) (see below for due date).
• Thesis writers are encouraged, but not required, to participate in the departmental Honors Thesis Presentation session held in May, with a brief presentation of their work and findings.

For students graduating  Spring 2024 :

• Proposal - September 18, 2023
• Work in Progress - December 18, 2023
• Final Draft - April 19, 2024

For students graduating in  Fall 2024*:

• Proposal - February 2, 2024
• Work in Progress - April 25, 2024
• Final Draft - December 10, 2024

For students graduating  Spring 2025 :

• Proposal - September 16, 2024
• Work in Progress - December 16, 2024
• Final Draft - April 18, 2025

For students graduating  Fall 2025 *:

• Proposal - February 7, 2025
• Work in Progress - April 24, 2025
• Final Draft - December 9, 2025

*Note that for the Requirements listed above, "by end of senior year" means by the "end of Fall semester 2023" for Fall 2024 graduates and "end of Fall semester 2024" for Fall 2025 graduates.

More information

For students interested in finding out more, please attend the information session on honors theses that will be given in the middle of every spring semester. For students interested in undertaking research, but not wanting to pursue honors, the department offers  senior capstone options .

Grading Senior Honors Thesis

The thesis advisor will assign the thesis writer a P grade at the end of 681, signifying “progress,” if progress has been made on the writer’s Senior Honors Thesis. When a 682 grade is posted, the Registrar’s Office will update the “P” grade from 681 to match the assigned grade from 682. No special action is needed from the student or instructor to initiate this process. It is not possible to earn different grades for the unique thesis course (681 and 682). The project must earn and be granted a single grade.

Occasionally, thesis writers fall off track from satisfactorily completing their work. In these cases, the student should consult with the L&S Honors Program. There are options, such as converting 681 to 699, that we may encourage the thesis writer to consider, rather than receiving a poor grade for an unfinished paper.