Undergraduate Honor Thesis (Senior Capstone project)

[Flux2]

Hi, I'm currently a junior and was wondering what the pros and cons for doing an undergraduate honor thesis.

Is it doable in the limited time range? and is it really difficult?

Thanks

[katethekitcat]

These are questions most appropriate for your university. "Honors" means a range of things at different colleges. The primary question should be whether or not you're interested in enough in your topic to commite to the research. It also depends what your future goals are.

[ERR_Alpha]

I wound up not doing one my senior year and getting my math minor instead. At my college, they require 3 credit hours per semester, or 9 hours of research a week. I decided that my REU looked a lot better (as it came from a better known research institution) and that the capstone project would not help me as much.

It's really up to you. If you have the time and think you would benefit from it, go for it. (Especially if you need the research experience.)

[mop]

If you intend to enter a PhD program then more research is probably the most important thing. If that is what the honors thing gets you that is great, although you can likely get research experience without the program. It depends on what exactly your school does.

[TakeruK]

I think doing research (whether it's through an honours/senior thesis or through some other internship like position) is the best thing you can do to help grad applications (assuming that is your goal). It is "doable" in the limited range because people purposely pick projects to have a small enough scope to finish in time. 

[VioletAyame]

I agree with TakeruK. I did my university honors program and completed my honor thesis during my senior year. It was a great experience and had it not been for it I would not be applying to grad school now. I was allowed to pick any topic that interested me and develop it into a feasible project with a mentor of my choosing. It helped me tremendously not only in getting research experience but also in narrowing down what research topics interest me. Thanks to the project I got to work with my mentor who has been super encouraging and helpful. Regarding the time range, she made sure I did not bite off more than I could chew and I finished it just in time. So all in all, doing the honors thesis gave me research experience, interests, a writing sample, and a mentor who has helped me with so much more than a LOR. It does depend on the your school and your discipline, so find out more details and if you decide to do it, choose your mentor carefully. Other than that, I highly recommend it.

[oceanlover]

i was also on the fence about like you last year (i'm a senior now). i was worried it would take up too much time and effort, but in the end I decided to do it and i'm glad I did.  I conducted all my research over the summer and during the fall, and will now spend the spring writing.  Even though i'm not done, i did mention it in my SOP and through emails to POI, and have overall felt a very positive response.  i've had a phone interview and a skype interview with a POI at 2 different schools, and both asked about the project and were impressed by it.  they said it takes a certain motivation and skill to pursue something like that, and it is admirable.

 

so i think you should do it.  yes its a little time consuming but in the end this is the type of stuff your going to be doing in grad school, so its a good start.  plus, the extra graduated with honors distinction can't hurt

[Flux2]

Thank you for your replies guys! I'm already spending lots of time on my research so I don't mind the time consumption and I wasn't sure whether it will be enough.

But what bothers me is are we the ones who have to set or design all the necessary experiments?

Because I believe that it will take up time to plan (proposal due date February) and I don't think I will be too confident about it.

[katethekitcat]

But what bothers me is are we the ones who have to set or design all the necessary experiments?

Because I believe that it will take up time to plan (proposal due date February) and I don't think I will be too confident about it.

 

Again, this is your university's call. But considering that you'll need to set up and design all your experiments in a PhD program, it is probably best not to shy away from the work now. It doesn't do much good to conduct research if you're going through the motions - actually do the work.

[Thesbane]

Thank you for your replies guys! I'm already spending lots of time on my research so I don't mind the time consumption and I wasn't sure whether it will be enough.

But what bothers me is are we the ones who have to set or design all the necessary experiments?

Because I believe that it will take up time to plan (proposal due date February) and I don't think I will be too confident about it.

From what I understand, most honors/senior thesis project will require that you have a faculty member as your adviser. So it is best that you discuss with your adviser regarding the proposal write-up. In general, you should at least (I hope) have some ideas of experimental set up that will allow you to address your research question in mind. Writing a good research proposal is no easy task. It is best you start preparing early and discuss with your adviser as soon as possible.

[VioletAyame]

I think your school's Honors office or Academic Advising office would be most capable to give you the credible answers to all your questions. Just to present my experience, I did have to come up with the theoretical framework and methodology for my project, albeit under supervision of my mentor. We also spend the spring of our junior year going from brainstorming to a complete proposal and looking for a suitable mentor, and the project was to be done during senior year. Both my honors program director and my mentor made sure it was manageable for me and I'm sure it's the same case for other students as well. I did not need any lad or equipment for my project (it was a media content analysis, so I basically watched a lot of sitcoms and code them ), so it might be more complicated in your field. Definitely check with them, but don't miss the opportunity because of over-worrying!

Edited January 6, 2014 by VioletAyame

[TakeruK]

I am surprised that there isn't a more straight forward framework on how to set up a project. For us, the thesis/honours project was a course, which has a prof in charge of coordinating it. In early September, we had a "class meeting" where the prof detailed exactly what is expected of us on an honours project and gave us suggestions on how to approach faculty members to get them on board for advising. Most students did find someone over the summer though. However, we had about a month to find a project. The course coordinator also approached the faculty in the department and asked them each to come up with one or two project ideas and the coordinator put them onto the "course" website to help us out. In Canada, an honours degree/thesis is almost expected for grad school hopefuls so there is a large group each year that write theses.

 

There were also "independent/directed study" course, which is just a smaller scale of the honours thesis (and you could do it before your final year). These are also just a single semester instead of a year-long course, but one would only register in this course if they had already found an advisor in the term(s) before they intended to start. Then it's up to the advisor and the student to determine the parameters/scope of the project.

[VioletAyame]

I am surprised that there isn't a more straight forward framework on how to set up a project. For us, the thesis/honours project was a course, which has a prof in charge of coordinating it. In early September, we had a "class meeting" where the prof detailed exactly what is expected of us on an honours project and gave us suggestions on how to approach faculty members to get them on board for advising. Most students did find someone over the summer though. However, we had about a month to find a project. The course coordinator also approached the faculty in the department and asked them each to come up with one or two project ideas and the coordinator put them onto the "course" website to help us out. In Canada, an honours degree/thesis is almost expected for grad school hopefuls so there is a large group each year that write theses.

 

There were also "independent/directed study" course, which is just a smaller scale of the honours thesis (and you could do it before your final year). These are also just a single semester instead of a year-long course, but one would only register in this course if they had already found an advisor in the term(s) before they intended to start. Then it's up to the advisor and the student to determine the parameters/scope of the project.

 

That's pretty much the way it's set up at my school, except the professor teaching that course is our honors program director and there's really no course website. We did however spent a whole semester on picking the topic, developing it from the initial idea to a presentable proposal, finding a mentor and talking them into getting on board . Everything was included in a one-unit class we take during the spring of our junior year; then the actual project was counted as 2 three-unit classes during our senior year. We met once every 2 weeks for an hour or so with our director to check up on progress, discuss difficulties and get advice from her. She was also available for one-on-one appointment if needed. We all panicked once or twice (or multiple times) during that year but at the end most of us did finish and IMO it was a great experience. We had solid support throughout and if someone changed their mind, it was pretty easy to drop the project and arrange what kind of grade and unit they would get as well. I just don't think there's a so-called standard for all US schools, so it's always better to check with the office. The information should be easy to attain and the people accessible; if not, I would think twice about committing to doing it.

Edited January 7, 2014 by VioletAyame