SENIOR THESIS

2008 Senior Thesis Titles

What is the Senior Colloquium?

The Honors Senior Colloquium, offered each spring, provides Honors students with the opportunity to explore a topic that has interested them during their undergraduate work at USD. Students are encouraged to consider topics that have been most engaging and lend themselves to further study. Some students choose to expand work initiated in another class. These students must continue work in which they are already invested, rather than recycle work previously submitted for a grade. All projects include original research, primary sources, an oral presentation, and considerable dedication and time. Each student works under the direction of a faculty advisor in his or her major. The colloquium is organized as a seminar in which students present their work.

How do I get started on my project?

Students begin their senior projects as early as their junior year. First, students should find an advisor who can help them develop and focus a topic and begin their research. Students should talk with faculty they have studied with while working in their major and discern who has time and interest to help them launch their research. Next, in the fall semester of their senior year, prospective Honors graduates are required to enroll in an Independent Study course (496H) with the advisor they have chosen. This independent study may be worth 1 to 3 units of course work, which allows the student to begin researching their topic and discussing their findings with an advisor. Depending on the number of units, this independent study may result in a draft of the final paper or project.  (Independent Study Directions).

What should I have accomplished by the end of fall semester senior year?

By the end of the fall semester senior year, prospective Honors graduates should have a focused topic, a working premise, and an advisor to guide them through their continuing work. Students should be familiar with resources (both primary and secondary) and have gathered a substantial body of knowledge. At the beginning of the spring semester students must submit a prospectus of their Honors thesis to the director of the Honors Program. This must include an annotated bibliography, the name of their advisor, and a summary of the research and writing completed to date. At this point students are expected to have devoted significant time to reading, thinking and (in most cases) writing about their topic.

Who is doing the grading? What am I being graded on?

Students enroll in an independent study course in the fall of their senior year and are evaluated by the professor who agrees to work with them. In the spring semester all students enroll in the Senior Honors Colloquium and are evaluated by the Director of the Honors Program, who is the instructor of the Colloquium. The colloquium instructor may choose to consult with a student's advisor. Colloquium students are evaluated on their oral presentation and the written paper or project submitted at the end of the semester. The oral presentation generally lasts about 45 minutes. The paper is a lengthy study (25-40 pages) of the topic under consideration. The paper must be a polished final project. The papers are published in a single volume which is distributed to each graduating Honors student, President Hayes, the Provost, The Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the USD Copley Library for the University community to enjoy.