This is a sample timeline of preparing for and writing your thesis. The exact timing will depend on your graduation plans and the nature of your research project. Your research mentor should be your primary resource for expectations and deadlines specific to your project.
First Year
- Take courses that help you explore your interests in a wide range of subjects. Remember that a lot of students change their major after they start college, so keep an open mind!
- Consider participating in a seminar that helps you explore research or apply for an Honors Summer Research Apprenticeship to gain research experience.
Second Year
- If you find something you are interested in, take more courses in that subject. Don’t hesitate to visit major advisors, even if you are not yet ready to declare a major. They can tell you more about doing research in that specific discipline.
- Start thinking about taking methods courses, such as statistics, that will help you when designing and conducting independent research.
- If you are really interested in a subject, consider taking a directed study course (299 or 699) to help you explore a particular research topic in depth.
Third Year
- Start focusing in on a topic.
- Talk with potential faculty mentors in your area of interest (see “Choosing a Topic and Mentor”). You may already be doing research in their lab or might ask about doing a directed study with that professor in preparation for your thesis.
- In early spring, consider applying for a Summer Honors Thesis Research Grant if you have already connected with a research mentor for your thesis and want to do research over the summer to enhance your thesis project.
- By early April, confirm which faculty mentor has agreed to serve as your thesis mentor.
- Register for 681 for the fall. Some departments also require or encourage you to enroll in a seminar alongside the senior thesis; check with your major advisor.
Summer Before your Fourth Year
- Do preparatory research or research you can’t do once the semester starts (i.e., fieldwork or archival research). You might want to tell professors and graduate students about your thesis to see if they have any suggested readings.
- Write a (revised) proposal for your research. Not only can this be helpful when you apply for grants, but writing down what you plan to do will give you a better sense of focus.
Fall Semester, Fourth Year
- By the start of the fall semester, you should have established an agreement with your thesis mentor and have a clear idea for your research topic.
- If you have not yet applied for funding, apply for a Trewartha award through the Honors Program.
- At the beginning of the semester (if not before), meet with your thesis advisor to set deadlines and expectations as well as to decide how often you will consult with them.
- Consider setting up regular meetings with the Writing Center, which can help you stay on track and give you advice on research and writing.
- Work on compiling a bibliography. This can help you get a sense of what is out there and how your research questions fit into existing scholarly conversation(s).
- Don’t wait to start writing! Depending on your discipline, the type of writing you do in the first semester of your thesis will vary, but be sure to be writing something. This could be an annotated bibliography or draft of your literature review, taking detailed notes about your methodology (what you are doing and why), or creating and reworking detailed outlines for various sections of your thesis. Plan to create drafts early enough that you can give them to a number of different readers and have time to take their suggestions into consideration as you move forward.
Spring Semester, Fourth Year
- You should have completed the bulk of your research by the early part of spring semester, and you should be analyzing your data and expanding your written work. Plan tentative dates for completing chapters and reviewing them with your advisor.
- Try to finish a draft of your thesis at least a month before it is due, so that you have sufficient time to edit.