Thesis Handbook A resource for prospective and current thesis students and their advisors The Staff of the Honors College Introduction and Acknowledgments The purpose of this handbook is to provide students writing Honors theses and their advisors with answers to questions which almost always arise. There is no chance that all of the questions that you will have are answered here, but a thorough reading of this handbook should provide you with some guidance. Additionally, I hope this serves as a useful reference throughout the process. I encourage you particularly to note deadlines for forms and meetings.
The guidelines are reviewed regularly and occasionally change; please be sure that you have a current edition of the handbook. Of course, if you (student OR advisor) have any questions, please contact the Honors College staff, and we will do our best to help! Honors College Office (Deborah Small, Administrative Assistant) 207.edu When I first put this together in 1998, I wrote ―I trust this handbook will be helpful to our thesis students, and that they, in turn, will contribute to future versions.‖ While I can’t speak for the former, the latter certainly has been true. Our 1998 through 2011 graduates have been outstanding contributors! I would not have even been able to start this project without Ruth Nadelhaft’s Information for Honors Seniors and Barbara Ouellette’s help in explaining the realities of the thesis process to me. Our Honors College Associates, with whom I’ve taught Introduction to Thesis Research the past ten years, have been invaluable as well.
cps A note about language: Throughout this Handbook, we will use certain conventions. We use ―unit administrator‖ to refer to your chair (if you are in a department), your director (if you are in a school), or your associate dean (if you are in neither). When we say ―advisor,‖ we mean your thesis advisor, not your academic advisor. Almost always in this Handbook, ―dean‖ refers to the dean of the Honors College.
Finally, HON498 and HON499 semesters refer, respectively, to the first and last semesters of your thesis journey. 2 Table of Contents I. Rewards (and Challenges) of Writing a Thesis. 4 Interlude: Thoughts on “Creative” Theses.
Embarking on a Thesis. Making Life Easier. The Joy of Texts: Reading Lists. Writing the Thesis.
26 Interlude: Tips for Sustained Writing Projects. The Best Defense is. Rubrics? We don’t need no stinkin’ rubrics!. 39 Appendix A: Thesis as Capstone.
40 Appendix B: Sample Committee Meeting Agenda. 41 Appendix C: Sample Annotated Reading List. 42 Appendix D: Thesis Formatting Guide. 45 Appendix E: Sample Title Page.
53 Appendix F: Sample Abstracts. 54 Appendix G: “Instructions to the Jury”. 56 Appendix H: Honors College Thesis Project Rubrics. 59 Thesis Year: Important Dates & Deadlines.
Rewards (and Challenges) of Writing a Thesis Just what is a thesis? Why should I write one? Those questions have numerous answers. Students who have completed a thesis often describe it as the most exciting, fulfilling, and rewarding experience of their undergraduate career, truly the capstone. At times they might use the terms frustrating, scary, and daunting. We define the thesis as An opportunity to work closely with a member of the faculty on an independent research or creative endeavor that brings to a conclusion your undergraduate academic experience.
In addition to the internal rewards, a thesis can also be an entrée to academic or professional research. Furthermore, faculty thesis advisors are often the best recommendation writers for further education. Prospective employers and graduate schools are impressed by the dedication and intellectual independence required to contribute to the discipline through the writing of a thesis. That sounds great, but what are my options? Most theses are academic works, often resembling a scaled-down master’s thesis.
It should be obvious, though, that a thesis is not just another research paper, not even a very, very long research paper. In addition to being more substantial, a thesis will thoroughly investigate the previous research on a topic, and, most importantly, it will also include your own insights and contributions to the topic, emanating from your critical engagement in the process. Other theses take a ―creative‖ (of course, all theses are creative!) approach resulting in a less traditional product. Students in art, music, new media, theatre, dance, or creative writing might find this more in line with their interests and aptitudes.
Other theses might center on a new periodical, an invention, or something we might not even be able to imagine! In all of these cases, we ask for a written piece accompanying the thesis which contextualizes the work and describes its scholarly content. The Honors thesis process at the University of Maine is decentralized. In the Honors College, we understand that the people best able to determine an appropriate thesis topic, as well as to evaluate it, are our colleagues in those disciplines. 4 Do I have to write my thesis in my major? No, but we encourage you to bring the study of your major field to bear on your thesis work.
Often a student will do a thesis that spans more than one discipline, but usually at least one is her/his major. While we encourage exploration and taking on challenges, your final year is probably not a good time to begin to master a new field of study. In addition, thesis work will be judged by the standards of the discipline, not by a relative notion of ―well that’s pretty good poetry for an engineer‖ or ―that’s pretty good lab work for an artist.‖ Finally, if you wish your thesis to satisfy a capstone requirement, it will certainly have to be done in your major - more on that later.how long is a thesis? How many times have we heard that question? The answer depends on many variables including your major or area of concentration, the particular topic your thesis addresses, and the way in which you present your completed project. In the humanities and social sciences, theses often are between 50 and 100 pages; in engineering, the sciences, and mathematics, they are often shorter (perhaps 25 - 40 pages).
The explanatory paper written by a student doing a ―creative‖ or other ―non-standard‖ thesis will be shorter, perhaps 10 - 15 pages, though a creative fiction thesis might top 200 pages! Another way of thinking about a thesis and its length is to keep in mind that this is the outcome of two three-credit, upper-level Honors courses (HON498 and HON499), and your work should reflect that. Regardless of the nature of the thesis, you must provide an archival copy of the work (electronic file, photographs, slides, DVDs, CD-ROMs). Will I be swamped in my senior year? We hope not – we’d hate to lose you in the swamp! Many majors accept an Honors Thesis as a capstone experience. These are listed in Appendix A or at honors.edu/academics/thesis/capstone/ (more up-to-date).
If you intend your thesis to satisfy your capstone experience, the appropriate unit administrator must sign your Thesis Form Advisor and Proposal. 5 Some departments and programs which don’t accept the thesis as an alternative capstone do permit students to waive other requirements. Typically these are ―departmental‖ or ―technical‖ electives. This information is also on that webpage.
However, even if your department does not provide a formal connection between your thesis and graduation requirements, it is often the case that your thesis can grow out of or serve as complementary work to things you do for your major. For instance, if you’re writing a capstone paper in your major, you might incorporate that as a part of your thesis. (For education majors) Usually education majors complete their capstone, student teaching, during their final semester. This requires beginning the thesis process one semester earlier (either in the spring of the third-year or the following summer).
A model, developed by the College of Education, allows students to integrate their thesis work into the student teaching experience. For more information, visit the Honors Center or check honors.edu/academics/thesis/capstone/action/. I’m doing a “creative” thesis, why do I have to do this artist’s statement thing? All theses need to be contextualized. A science thesis is not just the results of an experiment; it includes how and why the experiment was run as it was, what research the experiment built upon, and its importance.
A history thesis is not just an analysis of historical events or trends; it provides a context and framework for the analysis. In the same way, an artist’s statement, in whatever format, provides a contextualization for a creative work; such work does not exist in a vacuum either. 6 Thoughts on “Creative” Theses (from someone who has been there) What is a “creative” thesis? All theses are, by definition, creative. However, here I am talking about a thesis that is presented in a non-standard academic format: creative writing, poetry, art, film, dance, performance, etc.
Part of the joy of doing an undergrad thesis is that your interest in a style of music, prose, art, or film, (or another type of creative expression) can be used to morph your concept for a thesis into a reality. A creative thesis can be a novel, a collection of poems, a documentary, a short film, a musical composition, or anything else, as long as it illustrates serious effort and substantial creation on your part. I like to think that your piece will ultimately be an expression of yourself in a meaningful way. Otherwise, you would have done something else, right? “I wrote poetry in middle school, can I write poetry for my thesis?” This is key.
Your thesis, regardless of the discipline or manner of presentation, will be judged by your committee as an Honors-level senior product in the area in which you are working. We wouldn’t expect a philosophy major to turn out a successful forestry thesis just because s/he ―always liked walking in the woods.‖ You should produce a thesis based on what you have learned and experienced during your years in college. Of course, there are always exceptions; usually those exceptions are based on formal training in an artistic area. When Should I Get Started? Right away! A thesis can be a wonderfully freeing experience, but with that freedom there is also responsibility.
People work in different ways, and this is certainly true of people pursuing artistic endeavors. I will now generalize: many of my ―artistic‖ friends put things off until the final moment, and then the night before something is due, they lock themselves in a studio, agonize and stay up all night, and finally produce their work. This method almost certainly will not work for your Honors Thesis. Your committee will want to see the progress of your work; your advisor will be concerned with your developing work.
Not to mention your 7 peace of mind, knowing that you are working toward your own vision. How Should I Choose My Advisor? This is perhaps particularly important in a creative thesis because you will need to get feedback about your work from your advisor, and sometimes this can be very difficult. If I may generalize again, those who pursue creative theses can be sensitive about their work. Choosing an advisor to match your level of sensitivity is important.
If you want to write poetry, and your advisor thinks your poetry could use some polishing, you will need to roll with those punches. If you find that your ―best‖ work is getting constantly criticized, either you are slightly delusional about your own talent, or your advisor and you are not a good match. The relationship with your advisor is critical to the development of your thesis. It is also possible that you are confident enough in your work that you can take criticism and make the appropriate suggested changes.
You may have a more distant relationship with your advisor, and this is fine as well. It suits some people better than others.