The Senior Honors Thesis is a two‑semester, 6‑credit deep dive into a topic you’re genuinely excited about—designed and developed in collaboration with a faculty mentor. The final product is a substantial academic paper, often strong enough to pursue publication or serve as a standout writing sample. Students get the best start when they connect with a potential mentor at least one semester before beginning their research. Senior Honors Thesis courses are available year‑round, including summer, giving you the flexibility to shape the experience around your goals and schedule.
Navigating the Senior Honors Thesis: Purpose, Process, and Practical Guidance
Why write a senior Honors thesis?
There are a number of reasons to consider writing a thesis. For one, it is an opportunity to explore a topic that interests you. There may have been a topic in a class or a reading that caught your attention; the senior thesis will allow you to dive deeper into the topic. You will likely master your topic and develop an educated perspective. Secondly, the thesis experience will develop your reading, research and writing skills–skills that will prepare you well for graduate school and other careers. Finally, writing a thesis is required for most Honors in the Major programs. Please talk to your departmental advisor if you have questions about this requirement. Most students find the senior thesis a rewarding experience in which they develop new skills through independent work.
First Steps
See our pages on how to get started with the Senior Honors Thesis process!
Disciplinary Standards
Some departments have web pages about standards for a senior Honors thesis; be sure to visit your department’s website and speak with your advisor for information on these standards. If you are interested in seeing a completed senior Honors thesis paper, you have two options. For more recently completed theses, the L&S Honors Program has partnered with the University of Wisconsin libraries to share submitted senior Honors theses through MINDS@UW, the University of Wisconsin’s open access repository. Please consider exploring these theses, organized by breadth area! Additionally, the Honors Program Office has bound copies of previous students’ thesis work in the Washburn Observatory library — feel free to stop by and browse through some research from your discipline!
Funding your Thesis
Theses can be funded in several ways. First, the Honors Program offers funding each year; please check out the Grants and Research Support page for more information. Hilldale and Holstrom Undergraduate Fellowships are also available to students with at least junior standing at the time of their application. Hilldale fellowships provide generous research support in all disciplines, while Holstrom fellowships are awarded for research on environmental studies. For more information on those awards, contact the Undergraduate Academic Awards Office. Many departments also have funding available for theses. Please talk to your departmental advisor about funding opportunities in your department. There may also be outside agencies that will support senior thesis research.
Registering for Thesis Credits
To register for Senior Honors Thesis credits, start by contacting your faculty advisor. They will coordinate with the appropriate timetable representative or academic advisor to generate a unique 5‑digit code for your Departmental 681 course in the first semester and another for Departmental 682 in the second. Your faculty advisor will also be listed as the instructor for your Senior Honors Thesis, ensuring your project is officially connected to the mentor guiding your work.
Prior authorization is needed when students intend to complete either 681 or 682 while away from UW-Madison. Consult with the Associate Director for Advising & Curriculum, Christine Evans (cmevans3@wisc.edu), if this is your intention.
Writing Your Thesis
Naturally, not all theses have the same format. Formats will depend largely on your topic and area of discipline. Most theses, however, have an introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction should motivate the reader to read the rest of the thesis and explain why the thesis question is important. Generally, the introduction should also explain the key vocabulary of the topic, state the thesis and hypotheses, and outline the remainder of the paper (Lipson, 2005). An effective way to organize the body of your thesis is to create subtopics under illustrative headings (2005, pg. 167). Transitions that connect the various subtopics together facilitate a cohesive thesis. The conclusion of your thesis should go beyond summarizing the main points; it should also connect the main findings to broader issues and suggest future research.
A senior thesis seems like a lot of work. Is it worth doing?
Doing a senior thesis is a lot of work and requires a 2-semester commitment to a research project. Whether it is a good choice for you depends on how motivated you are to complete a thesis. Think about your reasons for wanting to do the research. Are you interested in doing a thesis just to complete a requirement, or because you really want the experience of diving into a topic? Those who are motivated because of their interest in reading, writing and researching are less likely to see the thesis as chore. A thesis will likely seem more manageable if you work gradually over the course of the year. This will give you time to obtain all the necessary resources and materials, confront any roadblocks and write multiple drafts of the thesis.
Are there thesis topics that I should avoid?
Lipson (2005) points to a few topics you want to avoid. Many students run into problems when they attempt to write a thesis on too broad of a topic. In general, a narrow, precise research topic is easier to organize and will allow you to narrow your sources. Lipson suggests avoiding topics about the future because it is difficult to test alternative hypotheses for speculative research. Finally, he states that under most circumstances, you ought to avoid thesis questions that start with “should.” These questions are often judgments which cannot be answered by research.
What are some tips for staying organized while working on a senior thesis?
You will likely have lots of materials for your thesis which can make it difficult to stay organized. It is probably best to set up both a computer file for online and computer-generated documents and a folder or notebook for hard copy materials. It is a good idea to record resources and web pages as you use them because they will probably be much more difficult to find down the road. Appropriate labels and folders will help you find what you are looking for. Another tip for staying organized is to record what you worked on each day. This may help you locate materials and keep you on track. A running “to do list” will also keep you focused and organized about what to do next for the thesis (Lipson, 2005).
What should I cite in my thesis?
Virtually all resources used while researching and writing your thesis should be cited. If you are unsure whether you should cite something or not, it is probably better to cite the resource. Quotations, paraphrases and personal communications should all be cited, but established facts are generally not cited. (Lipson, 2005) Please connect with your mentor to learn more about specific disciplinary expectations and format.
What should I do when I am done with my thesis?
Finishing a thesis is a major accomplishment—take a moment to celebrate it. It’s also a great time to thank the people who supported you along the way, whether in person or with a quick note. From there, consider what you want to do next with your work. Are you interested in pursuing publication, continuing the research, or using the thesis as a writing sample for graduate school applications? Talk through your goals with your mentor(s) to decide on the best path forward.
You may also want to request a recommendation letter while your work together is still fresh in your mentor’s mind; many graduate programs and employers value letters from faculty who have supervised substantial academic projects.
If you received funding from the L&S Honors Program, please submit your completed thesis electronically through our Google form. Within the form, you’ll have the option to authorize L&S Honors to publish your work in MINDS@UW, making it accessible to the broader academic community.
Works Cited:
Lipson, Charles. How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from your First Ideas to your Finished Paper. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.