Formulating Your Thesis Topic

To initiate the process of preparing and submitting a proposal for a Senior Thesis, contact the appropriate departmental faculty contact. These faculty members can provide information regarding the expectations and opportunities for undergraduate research within their department (as well as the requirements and opportunities provided by that department's honors program, if there is one).

Your departmental faculty contact can also help you to identify a potential Senior Thesis supervising faculty mentor related to your research area of interest. Once you identify an appropriate supervising faculty mentor for your thesis, you can then begin planning for the rest of the thesis process together.

Understanding the Scope of a Senior Thesis

A proposal must encompass substantial research effort on work not yet completed. Research that has been completed prior to proposal submission may be included but must be clearly identified with pertinent results presented at a level suitable for evaluation of the proposed work. Transparency is required regarding work that has been completed versus work that remains to be undertaken.

Research conducted before the submission of the thesis proposal should be briefly summarized in the thesis proposal. If the proposed research is a continuation of the previous work, the summary should be in the introduction/background section of the proposal. If the proposed research constitutes a distinct project from the previous work, the summary should be in a stand-alone section of the proposal.

Only research conducted during the student's undergraduate degree is permissible for inclusion in the thesis. This research may include work conducted at another institution (e.g., a summer program at another university or an internship).

Initial Meeting with Your Faculty Mentor

You must meet with your supervising faculty mentor, using the thesis initiation form as a guide, to discuss your research plan prior to writing your thesis proposal. During this initial meeting, you should:

• Discuss your research interests and potential thesis topics
• Review the requirements and timeline for completing the thesis
• Establish expectations for regular meetings and progress updates
• Identify potential research methods and resources needed
• Begin developing a tentative schedule for your research

Submitting a Thesis Initiation Form

The thesis initiation form must be completed and submitted to the A&S Senior Thesis Committee AS_SRTH@louisville.edu by the appropriate advertised deadline. This form contains a worksheet that outlines the process for completing your thesis proposal as you work with your supervising faculty mentor, in addition to due dates for each step.

The end of the form contains important information about research approval and training regulations, pertinent if your thesis process includes research and experiments on live human/animal participants or dangerous chemical agents. This form must be sent electronically (with e-signatures), or printed out, filled out and signed, scanned, and sent to the A&S Senior Thesis Committee AS_SRTH@louisville.edu.

Writing and Submitting a Thesis Proposal

To submit a proposal to complete a Senior Thesis, you must meet the minimum qualifications as defined under the Eligibility section and complete and submit the following documentation by the appropriate advertised deadlines:

• Completed Thesis Initiation Form (send to the A&S Senior Thesis Committee AS_SRTH@louisville.edu)
• Thesis Proposal with Bibliography (upload to ThinkIR A&S Senior Thesis website)

The proposal must be one, but no more than five, pages long and include a bibliography of your thesis's research base. The proposal must state clearly the objective of the thesis and the method(s) you will use to accomplish that objective. The proposal should be written in manner easily understood by a wide audience – not just for experts in your field (since thesis committee members from outside your field may be reading them for approval).

You are formulating a tentative thesis about your topic, and proposing a line of argument and methodology to support it. Be certain that you understand the difference between a topic (defined area of study) and a thesis (a statement of the argument you intend to make): proposals that address a topic without venturing a thesis are unlikely to be approved. The bibliography should contain a minimum of five to ten secondary sources and use the documentation style relevant to your subject. Your proposal will be reviewed by the Senior Thesis Committee, and it may be returned to you with suggestions for revision. When your proposal is reviewed, the thesis coordinator will notify you via e-mail of the committee's action.

Guidelines for a Creative Senior Thesis

A Creative Senior Thesis gives serious critical consideration to an original work of art also produced by the student. In other words, the Creative Senior Thesis has two components – one, an original work of art in virtually any humanistic genre, and two, a written commentary on the creative process and cultural contextualization that went into making the creative work.

In the case of a student writing a play, for example, a student may choose to write about his/her inspiration, or the background to acting in a role or directing a play. For a thesis in the visual arts, a student should consider artistic influences and inspiration, as well as the cultural context for the creative project. A literary project (poetry or prose) might draw inspiration from one or several authors or literary works, using them to develop a student's own stylistic approach.

A significant component of the creative thesis will address the critical research process through which the student has made certain creative choices. This critical component should reflect the scholarly sources or influences used to motivate the writer's own inspiration for their project. It should detail the evolutionary process leading to a performance or composition; the resulting work of art, ideally, contributes to an existing body of creative work, rather than merely replicating a form or style. Following the general guidelines for the Senior Thesis, the Creative Thesis Proposal should be accompanied by a bibliography.

Like all theses, a Creative Senior Thesis necessitates long-range planning under the direction of a faculty advisor who is an academic expert in the field. In addition to supervising the student's creative work, the advisor will direct the student on the research component of the thesis and recommend faculty in disciplines whose expertise may be helpful. The thesis committee may include these faculty members, in addition to an extra-disciplinary faculty member appointed by the A&S Senior Thesis Committee.

Conducting Your Research

Once your proposal is approved, you will begin the substantive work of conducting your research. This phase will vary significantly depending on your discipline and chosen methodology. Throughout this process, maintain regular communication with your faculty mentor, who can provide guidance, feedback, and help you navigate any challenges that arise.

Notes on Formatting Your Thesis

There is no required length for completing your thesis, or official guidelines from the thesis coordinators beyond the formatting of the first page (which can be found in the Forms section of the website). You are expected, however, to follow the recommendations of your supervising faculty member for completing academic work in your chosen field. Follow the formatting conventions, general length, citation styles, etc. as dictated by your discipline. Please use a common font (such as Times New Roman) and double-space your written work. Remember that your final product is published online in ThinkIR, which necessitates a high level of finish. It is strongly suggested for students needing to polish their writing to use the services provided at the University Writing Center in Ekstrom library.

Developing a Timeline

It's essential to develop a realistic timeline for your research and writing process. Consider creating a schedule that includes:

• Regular check-in meetings with your faculty mentor
• Milestones for completing different phases of your research
• Time for writing initial drafts of each section
• Time for revisions based on faculty feedback
• Buffer time for unexpected challenges or delays
• Deadlines for preparing for your defense

Remember that the final draft of your thesis should be delivered to committee members a minimum of two weeks before your defense, so plan your timeline accordingly.

Your Thesis Committee Composition

The thesis defense will be administered by your thesis committee. This committee consists of three faculty members:

1. First reader: The supervising faculty mentor (if this person is outside of your major or minor department, your second reader must be from your department)
2. Second reader: A faculty member knowledgeable in the subject, agreed upon by you, your supervising faculty member and the Senior Thesis committee. This faculty member's teaching and/or research interests should be close enough to your topic that they can adequately gauge your competence at your defense
3. Third reader: A college faculty member assigned from the Senior Thesis Committee (outside of your major)

Preparing for Committee Selection

When considering potential committee members, think about:

• Faculty whose research interests align with your thesis topic
• Professors whose courses you've taken that relate to your thesis work
• Faculty who can provide different perspectives or methodological expertise
• The availability of potential committee members during your planned defense timeframe

Your supervising faculty mentor can be an excellent resource in helping you identify appropriate faculty for your committee.

Scheduling Your Defense

Because the end of each semester is typically very busy for all involved, please start polling all committee members well in advance for available days and times for the oral defense. Leave enough time between the defense and the final deadline for turning in the thesis to allow for revisions (at least two weeks is recommended).

Students are required to seek out room reservations at least two weeks in advance of their proposed defense date. Students are encouraged to seek spaces in their major departments to hold their defenses. You can often reserve space in the Belknap Academic Building or other buildings on campus if your department does not have availability.

Preparing for Your Defense

The final draft of the thesis should be delivered to committee members a minimum of two weeks in advance of the scheduled defense. Some committee members prefer hard copies and others electronic versions; ask committee members for their preference and make the document available to them accordingly.

When writing and presenting your thesis, please keep in mind that the A&S Senior Thesis Committee representative will often be from outside your discipline and might not be familiar with some disciplinary jargon or assumed background. Thesis writers are required to include a brief lay summary of their thesis projects, in addition to any formal abstract that may be typical within your chosen discipline.

Oral Defense Protocol

The defense is a formal oral presentation of the thesis to the committee. The actual format of the presentation will vary by discipline, so advice should be sought from the supervising faculty member on format, timing, etc. Keep in mind that each committee member has read your thesis so this is not just a summary of your writing, but also a contextualization of your arguments.

The Senior Thesis Committee representative will be from outside your discipline and might not be familiar with some disciplinary jargon or assumed background. After the formal presentation, the committee will ask questions and discuss any revisions requested.

Usually, the student will be asked to step out for a few minutes during final committee discussion and voting.

• If the unanimous committee votes to "pass," all present will sign the Defense Evaluation Form (available on the Forms section of this website), so be sure to bring it to the defense.
• If the "pass" is conditional (more than minor revisions needed), supervising faculty members often sign the concluding section once revisions have been completed and submitted.

Completing Revisions

After your defense, you may be asked to make revisions to your thesis. Work closely with your supervising faculty mentor to complete these revisions in a timely manner, ensuring that all committee recommendations are addressed.

Notification of Thesis Approval

Once the thesis evaluation form is complete with all required signatures, you must return it to the A&S Senior Thesis Committee AS_SRTH@louisville.edu by the advertised deadline. After you have submitted the final version of your thesis (revised if necessary) into the ThinkIR system, this information will be submitted to the College of Arts and Sciences Office so that your College Distinction will be noted in graduation materials.

Submitting & Archiving Your Completed Thesis

After successfully defending your thesis, your final task is to upload your final document, along with lay summary and keywords to ThinkIR A&S Senior Thesis website. This upload should include an appropriately formatted title page.

Recognition and Using Your Thesis

Upon successful completion of your thesis and maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, you will graduate from the College of Arts & Sciences with Highest Distinction. This achievement will be noted on your transcript and in the commencement program.

Your completed thesis can be a valuable resource for your future academic and professional endeavors:

• Include it in graduate school applications
• Use it as a writing sample for job applications
• Adapt sections for conference presentations or journal submissions
• Reference it in your professional portfolio
• Build upon it for future research projects