THESIS GUIDELINES
2008-2009

An acceptable thesis in the College of Social Studies must present an original line of argument. An essay which provides synopses of various writings in an area, however skillfully executed, does not constitute a senior thesis. An original undergraduate thesis is one in which the student has made the ideas in the work his or her own by placing them within his or her own framework. A thesis must also develop and present evidence appropriate to the type of question it asks.

The thesis must be carried out under the supervision of a faculty member who is sufficiently knowledgeable about the field to provide proper guidance and direction, and who is able to devote adequate time to it. Faculty members, therefore, should not accept more than four thesis students in total, and should not direct theses outside their areas of expertise. In addition, only those projects should be undertaken for which the student has adequate preparation and resources.

Theses will be evaluated by three readers, including the thesis supervisor and two readers appointed by the College. Readers will serve under conditions of anonymity. The procedures for appointing these readers are as follows:

• Early in the second semester, the Chair will consult each thesis adviser to get a description of the thesis and the names of possible readers.
  
  
• This information will be compiled and circulated to CSS tutors and thesis advisers.
  
  
• A meeting of the tutors will be called in February to decide which readers should be asked to evaluate each thesis. If the thesis adviser is not a CSS tutor, he or she will be invited to the meeting to participate in the decision about readers for that thesis.

CSS students will not be permitted to continue with their theses into the second semester, unless satisfactory progress has been made by the beginning of the term. No later than the last day of classes in the first semester thesis advisers will be asked if their students have completed a significant body of writing (the equivalent of one chapter) and have developed an outline of the work as a whole. Advisers of students who have not met this requirement will be contacted within the first days of the second semester. If they are still not in compliance, their thesis will be converted to a project.

Current procedures for the adjudication of divergent recommendations will continue.

[ return to top ]