"Above all, choose a topic you care about and that excites you. Do something you love; Something that you can talk about all day and never get tired of."
Andrew Hanrahan
"It's okay to be unsure when you start the thesis process! Lean into it; I promise all the frustration and confusion will make your topic even better. And if you don't know what your topic is yet, that's okay too!"
Ash Murray
"Have a fellow Honors student be your Thesis accountability buddy! The journey feels so much less lonely and daunting when you have someone to proofread, to vent to, just chat about the thesis process with, and who can encourage your growth!
Elizabeth Barash
"Try to make your thesis into a culmination of all of your majors/interests if possible. It is super satisfying to leave college with one final piece that really encapsulates all that I have learned here at SU."
Ava Breitbeck
Introduction to the Honors Thesis
The Honors Program Thesis is part of our 'Depth' requirement for completion of the program. By fulfilling this requirement, you're demonstrating your ability to explore topic thoroughly, and to contribute to established scholarship and practice in your field. Completing the 'Depth' requirement is akin to becoming an expert in some facet of your career or professional practice that you are passionate about. The Honors Thesis is the ultimate vehicle for that exploration.
People who will help you along the way
Your Honors Coordinator
Your Honors Coordinator is your point person in the Honors Program who you will be hearing from regarding your thesis deadlines. They will keep you on task with email reminders (so pay attention), and can provide answers regarding the process, and guidance on how to navigate the various offices and people on campus you'll need to work with. You should also let your coordinator know, early on, if you run into any difficulties and they will help you.
Your Faculty Advisor
Your Faculty Advisor is the subject matter expert in your Thesis field who will be overseeing the quality and scope of your entire project. You'll work closely with them throughout your project, so make sure you connect with someone whose research interests you, and whose work style matches your own. Your faculty advisor also needs to be a full faculty member at the University. They cannot be an 'adjunct' instructor, or 'part-time instructor' or any other staff member. They must be a faculty member with an academic appointment in your field of study.
Your Thesis Reader
Your Thesis Reader is a second subject matter expert who will review your draft, executive summary, final thesis, and any other materials associated with your project. This person's role is to provide useful feedback to you regarding any strengths and/or weaknesses they see in your project or your writing. The reader should communicate that feedback to both you and your advisor.
Your reader does not have to be a full faculty member at Syracuse, so feel free to work with an adjunct or part-time professor you feel is supportive and valuable to your research interests.
College & School Specific Theses Processes
For each college there are a few notable exceptions to various parts of the Thesis project. Review your college information below to see if your thesis will be subject to any exceptions in our standard thesis process.
Special arrangements must be made for students who wish to undertake a fiction or poetry Thesis. You must be on the "creative writing" track in ENG, or be a creative writing major or minor, and have taken a creative writing workshop in the medium you wish to pursue in your Thesis : poetry or fiction. This could be the Honors workshop (HNR 340 Introductory Workshop in Creative Writing Fiction/Poetry), or ENG 215 or 217. Taking such a course in the fall of your junior year would qualify.
The Development phase is critical for creative writing projects. The proposal in Creative Writing is a bit different. First, refer to the Thesis Proposal page for details on what our expectations are for your proposal document, and then submit the standard Thesis Proposal Form, and include a sample of your writing.
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- Fiction: one story, not longer than 20 pp.
- Poetry: 6 - 8 poems.
- Do NOT ask a faculty member to be your advisor and sign your proposal; just submit the form on-line.
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You need to have completed - or be currently taking - a Workshop class (Honors or ENG) in order to apply. Preference will be given to students in the Creative Writing Track, but in rare cases students who have taken CW workshops can be approved for a Thesis with the permission of the professor who taught the workshop. The Creative Writing Faculty will evaluate the proposals we receive, determine who among their faculty is available to serve as Thesis advisors, and let us know which proposals they will accept. This will be a competitive process; if you apply and your proposal is not accepted, you will need to come up with a "plan B" - either a critical Thesis in ENG (i.e. a critical analysis of a text), or a Thesis in another major, if you have one. So give that some thought. Remember that creative projects cannot be considered for "Distinction" in English.
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Late proposals for creative writing Theses will not be considered. If you intend to do a "standard" ENG Thesis (e.g. a critical analysis) you follow our standard "A&S: Social Science & Humanities" process for your Thesis .
You will devote considerable time and energy to your Thesis, and you want to get academic credit for your work. The ETS 499 registration is how you do that. Everyone is required to register for one to three credit hours for the Thesis in their final semester. That puts one to three credits for the Thesis on your transcript, and provides your advisor with a mechanism for grading your work. It's also a requirement. Everyone must register for at least one credit of 499.
The A&S: Creative Writing Thesis follows the standard process for completion, which typically takes place over senior year.
There are two paths through Distinction/Honors for eligible candidates. The preferred path: Honors students will entering the Distinction program your Junior year, completing your Distinction project and the 494-5 sequence by the end of that year. In your Senior year, you will take your graduate course (for Distinction) and revise your Distinction project (you will not need to expand it), with the option of submitting it for Honors prize consideration in April.
However, if your schedule or circumstances make this route impossible or inconvenient, you may elect to do the Distinction/Honors requirements entirely in your Senior year since Honors will accept your Distinction Thesis as an Honors Thesis. In this case, however, you will not be able to graduate early (you must be enrolled both semesters) and you will likely miss the deadline for Honors prize consideration. You will also need to take the graduate course for Distinction simultaneously with the 494-5 sequence.
You may wish to discuss the best path with your Honors adviser and/or the Director of the Distinction program in the English Department. As you contemplate what is best for you, please note that being abroad in the Fall semester of your Junior year does not make it impossible to do ENG 494, the first course in the Distinction sequence, but being abroad in the Spring is not recommended. We can, however, accommodate any number of circumstances, so please do consult with your adviser and the Director of the Distinction program as needed.
Science students will likely already be involved in lab work, having secured a place by sophomore year. Now you will work with your P.I. to design a project of your own within the lab's larger operation. You will likely design your own experiments; you will certainly conduct them, collect your own data, analyze it, and write it up in the context of existing research in the field. Your Thesis will follow the standard format of a journal submission in your discipline.
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- If you are still exploring your field and are searching for a lab, start by identifying some of the research being done in your field at Syracuse. Make sure you also follow our guidelines for connecting with faculty.
- Work with your Honors Thesis Coordinator if you are having trouble, but you should have already done the step above.
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A&S Natural Science theses follow the standard process for implementing and carrying out your project's research aims, so make sure you understand the general steps involved in the implementation phase of the process, specifically as they pertain to natural science and research-oriented work.
A&S Natural Science theses follow the standard process for finalizing, formatting, and submitting, so make sure you understand the general steps involved in the completion phase of the process, specifically as they pertain to natural science and research-oriented work.
To get started exploring the social sciences and humanities, you'll want to start by identifying some of the research and other work being done by faculty in your field at Syracuse. Make sure you also follow our guidelines for connecting with faculty.
- Work with your Honors Thesis Coordinator if you are having trouble, but you should have already done the step above.
Theses in A&S Social Sciences & Humanities follow the standard process for developing your project, so make sure you understand the general steps involved in the development process, specifically as they pertain to social sciences and humanities-oriented work. You should also complete the required Thesis Development module on this site.
A&S Social Science & Humanities theses follow the standard process for implementing and carrying out your project's goals, so make sure you understand the general steps involved in the implementation phase of the process.
A&S Social Science and Humanities theses follow the standard process for finalizing, formatting, and submitting your final project, so make sure you understand the general steps involved in the completion phase of the process.
Your Honors Thesis is based on your senior Directed Research work, and the entire project must be a particularly high quality piece of work, worthy of Honors in the scope of its conception and in its execution.
To get an idea as to the quality and scope expected, you can browse and search our Thesis archives for previous Architecture projects.
By early November of your senior year, submit your proposal to Honors describing plans for ARC 499. This includes identifying your Honors Reader, a faculty member from another discipline at SU, who will supervise your 499 research and critically engage with your work. The reader should have agreed to work with you at this point.
By March of your senior year, register for one credit of ARC 499. To qualify for Honors, you must earn a B or higher in ARC 499.
The final result of your directed research plus ARC 499 will be both a design thesis and a fully researched document accompanying it. A Critical Statement Essay is not required for Architecture students. Complete ARC 499 on the official Thesis Turn In Day.
Turning in and presenting your research is largely the same for students in all schools and colleges; you need to follow the Honors format (please see below). Here's what you need to turn in:
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- An e-copy of your book and of your final design project (if the two are in some way distinct) in the final format you produce them in. Most of these will not be in standard 8 ½ x 11, and that's fine. Whatever you hand in as the final product to Architecture, we'd like a copy as well;
The demands of student teaching are very high in the junior and senior year, so we've designed a special Thesis process for EDU students. You will create auto-ethnographic projects on your development as a teacher as your thesis. This will include research in the theory of auto-ethnography and also address the cultural/social context of current educational practice, as well as incorporating your own experience as teachers, your model unit/lesson plans, etc. The project might include various forms of media - blogs, videos, etc.
We will hold a special meeting during the fall of your junior year, well before thesis proposals are due, to help in understanding the auto-ethnography approach.
A faculty member who serves as your subject coordinator will help you select an advisor. Be sure to meet with your subject coordinator by the last week of September in order to stay on track with the fall timeline.
Music Education students may elect to follow the procedure for other EDU students, but most prefer to base their thesis on their senior recital, or to come up with a different original thesis.
You will need to do preliminary investigation and planning, but you don't need a fully detailed plan for the entire auto-ethnography thesis. You need a clear exposition of your idea, and an advisor who attests that this is a "workable" thesis and has agreed to mentor you. Your proposal should be your best current understanding of what the auto-ethnography involves, and how it relates to your goals of becoming an accomplished teacher.
Education thesis projects follow the standard process for implementing and carrying out your project's goals, so make sure you understand the general steps involved in the implementation phase of the process.
Education thesis projects follow the standard process for finalizing, formatting, and submitting your final project, so make sure you understand the general steps involved in the completion phase of the process.
Engineering & Computer Science students will likely already be involved in lab work, having secured a place by sophomore year. At this point, you should work with your P.I. to delineate a thesis of your own within the lab's larger enterprise. It will be a component of the lab's project for you to manage independently, within the team context of the lab.
You may design your own experiments; you will conduct them, collect and analyze your own data, and write it up in the context of existing research in the field. Your Thesis will follow the standard format of a journal submission in your discipline.
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- Mechanical Engineering students may elect to pursue an individual design project that is based upon the group project completed in MEE 332 Introduction to Machine Design & Manufacturing in spring of your junior year. You would take one aspect of the design and extensively research and develop it, producing a report modeled on the MEE 332 final project report as the substance of your Thesis Project - this time produced by you alone. This will mean getting a later start on your project, which can be additionally challenging. To pursue this option, contact Prof. Fred Carranti at the end of your MEE 332 course.
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Theses in Engineering & Computer Science follow the standard process for development. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the process, specifically as they pertain to Engineering & Computer Science work. You should also complete the required Thesis Development module on this site.
Engineering & Computer Science theses follow the standard process for implementing and carrying out your project's goals. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the implementation phase of the process. Juniors should try to secure funding to work on their projects over the summer following junior year. Many engineering students are supported through REU (Research Experience for Undergraduate) programs, Stevens Awards in Engineering, and SOURCE or departmental summer grants for undergraduate research. Ask your Program Director for information about LCS summer funding - in February of your junior year.
Engineering & Computer Science theses follow the standard process for finalizing, formatting, and submitting. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the completion phase of the process.
To get started exploring the social sciences and humanities, you will want to start by identifying research and other work conducted by faculty in your field at Syracuse. Make sure you also follow our guidelines for connecting with faculty.
The iSchool has a number of research centers that are led by faculty in the iSchool. Your thesis advisor must be a full faculty member in the iSchool. Adjuncts and part-time instructors can serve as readers and informal mentors, but they may not serve as your primary faculty thesis advisor.
Theses in the iSchool follows the standard process for developing your project. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the development process, specifically as they pertain to social sciences and humanities-oriented work. You should also complete the required Thesis Development module on this site.
iSchool theses follow the standard process for implementing and carrying out your project's goals. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the implementation phase of the process.
Sport Management (SPM) majors: you will spend spring semester of your senior year in an internship, so you need to complete and present your Thesis by December of your senior year. You will want to follow our alternative December timeline for Thesis projects.
Food Studies majors: you should take FST 485 "Research Experience in Food Studies" in your junior year. The result of this course will be a fully researched seminar paper. This paper will serve as the basis of your Thesis; it will be combined with additional work (1-3 more chapters) for the Honors Thesis in Food Studies.
Theses in Sport & Human Dynamics follow the standard process for developing your project. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the development process, specifically as they pertain to this work. You should also complete the required Thesis Development module on this site.
499 Enrollment:
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- If you are in Food Studies, you will enroll in 1-3 credits of FST 499 for the additional work of completing the Theses, typically in spring of the senior year.
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- Sport Management majors register for SPM 499 in April of the junior year.
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- All other Falk majors will enroll in their departmental prefix 499 (e.g. SWK 499 or other).
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Sport & Human Dynamics theses follow the standard process for finalizing, formatting, and submitting your final project. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the completion phase of the process.
Your first step is to meet with the department chair associated with your topic area. They will discuss your areas of interest with you and guide you to a suitable faculty member to serve as your thesis advisor. When you have secured a thesis advisor who has approved your general topic, inform your Whitman academic advisor in the Whitman Undergraduate Studies Office. Then you work with your faculty advisor to research and write the actual thesis proposal. You submit it to Honors, who will share it with Whitman to make sure it meets their approval as well. There are many good resources that will help you start planning your thesis.
When you have secured a thesis advisor who has been approved by the Whitman Office of Undergraduate Studies and you have developed a topic, then submit a thesis Proposal Form through the Honors thesis web site, signed by your thesis faculty advisor by mid-October.
You will need to do preliminary investigation and planning, but you do not need a fully detailed plan for the entire project. You need a clear exposition of your project idea, and an advisor who attests that this is a "workable" project and has agreed to mentor you. Your proposal should be your best current understanding of what the project involves.
You will devote considerable time and energy to your thesis , and you want to get academic credit for your work. 499 registration is how you do that. Everyone is required to register for one to three credit hours for the Thesis Project in their final semester. That provides your Advisor with a mechanism for grading your work.
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- Plan to take EEE 457 in the fall of your Senior year, so you will not take it in the same semester that you are completing your thesis.
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Newhouse Honors students complete the Honors thesis and their "Newhouse thesis course" but the two are distinct (except for TRF majors - see below). Your Newhouse thesis is a course most often taken in your senior year, and Honors requires a multi-semester, independent project that you'll begin in your junior year. For example, MDP 426 or MDP 478 will not qualify as Honors thesis, because they are only taken in your senior year.
- TRF will allow you to count your 3 credit Honors thesis as a TRF thesis.
- All other Newhouse majors should view these two requirements as separate and distinct.
- Completing both the Newhouse thesis course and the Honors thesis has not been a significant problem for our strong Newhouse Honors students!
- Theses in Newhouse follow the standard process for developing your project. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the development process, specifically as they pertain to Communications work. You should also complete the required Thesis Development module on this site.
Newhouse thesis projects follow the standard process for finalizing, formatting, and submitting. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the completion phase of the process.
Your Honors thesis builds upon a standard I&ID senior thesis, with the caveat that the Honors I&ID Thesis must be a particularly high quality piece of work, worthy of Honors in conception and execution. You must submit it in the Honors format and include an Executive Summary.
To assure that you create an Honors-quality thesis, you will start the process in your fourth year - one year before the standard I&ID thesis. You will submit a thesis proposal through the Honors thesis web site, approved by your thesis advisor by the 3rd week of March.
VPA I & I Design theses follow the standard process for implementing your goals. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the implementation phase of the process.
VPA I & I Design theses follow the standard process for finalizing, formatting, and submitting. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the completion phase of the process.
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- Your thesis does NOT require a critical statement.
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To get started exploring the Visual & Performing Arts, like other fields you will want to start by identifying some of the work conducted by faculty in the Performing Arts at Syracuse. Make sure you also follow our guidelines for connecting with faculty.
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- Work with your Honors thesis coordinator if you are having trouble, but you should have already conducted the step above.
Drama & Musical Theater theses follow the standard process for implementing and carrying out your goals. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the development phase of the process.
Drama & Musical Theater theses follow the standard process for implementing and carrying out your goals. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the implementation phase of the process.
You will spend spring semester of your senior year in the Tepper Semester, in NYC, so you need to complete and present your thesis by December of your senior year. Make sure you follow the 'December Graduate' timeline for completing your thesis.
Visual & Performing Arts theses follow the standard process for finalizing, formatting, and submitting. Make sure you understand the general steps involved in the completion phase of the process.