Senior Thesis Handbook

Our department has a formal senior thesis program. This year-long endeavor (normally spanning the three academic quarters of your Senior year) involves conducting research under the mentorship of a faculty member. Senior thesis students generate hypotheses, collect new data, perform analyses, interpret their findings, and write a senior thesis manuscript which they submit to the department. They meet regularly as a cohort of distinguished scholars to hone research and science communication skills. At the end of the year, the scholars present their findings to the entire department in a celebratory poster session. Finally, these students graduate with “Distinction in the Major” from our program.