Thesis Timeline
Important Dates & Recommended Timeline
Sophomore Year
- Spring term: begin considering topics; ideally you will narrow your possibilities to 3-4 by end of term
Junior Year
- Fall term: enroll in HNR 325 (formerly H 303), the Thesis Orientation seminar; continue working on topic refinement and research design and also complete a thesis proposal by end of term
- Winter term: thesis proposal vetted by Faculty Senate Honors Committee (either in January or February)
- Spring term: enroll in HNR 351 (formerly H 353), the Thesis Development seminar; also continue research; complete an outline, timeline, and expanded annotations; and begin writing a key section of the thesis (often the literature review)
Senior Year
- Fall term: continue drafting your thesis chapters
- Winter term: continue drafting; ideally submit some chapters to advisor for feedback
- Winter term: take HNR 378 (formerly H 403), Honors Thesis/Senior Project, in either your final or second-to-last term
- Late April: near-complete draft submitted to thesis advisor(s); thesis title also submitted to Honors Director for inclusion in Commencement Program
- Late April or Early May: thesis title and graduation information submitted to Honors Director for inclusion in Commencement Program
- May: revise and resubmit draft to thesis advisor(s)
- Early June: final revisions
- Mid June: Commencement
- June 25; camera-ready copy submitted to Honors Director for copying and binding
This timeline is designed for a student who begins the thesis process in fall term of their junior year and completes the project — and graduates — 18 months later, in June. Students who are graduating mid-year should adjust the timeline accordingly.
Important Note on Commencement & thesis completion: students can finish their thesis later than the June Commencement. Those students can still walk during Commencement. However, if you wish to be designated a spring graduate, you must adhere to the schedule above, finishing everything by June 25th. The registrar switches over to “summer” grad designations soon after that. To repeat, to be considered a spring grad, June 25th is your thesis completion deadline.