Importance of Writing a Senior Thesis

[zapatos]

Hi gradcafe posters,

 

I'm a junior who will be graduating after two more semesters from an Ivy League school. I'm majoring in political science, and I hope to go straight into a Ph.D. program in international relations (with another focus on political theory, too). I know that most people don't go straight from undergrad to a Ph.D. program, but I'm very confident that this is what I want to do and hope my college experience shows that. I've been doing relevant research with professors here since the beginning of my sophomore year, and will continue with it until I graduate. (My GPA is about a 3.94, if that matters).

 

My question for anyone who knows more about this than I do is whether admissions committees would like to see that I've done, or am working on, a senior thesis through my department. Because of scheduling, I cannot apply for the normal honors seminar at my school that would allow me to fulfill requirements and write the paper at the same time. So, I'd have to contact an advisor on my own and write it independently of my class schedule and current research assistant positions. Is it worth it? Does it look that good to have a 60-80 page paper under my belt, even if I'm already assisting with professors' research and have been writing 25 page term papers for my classes already, which I can use for writing samples in my application?

 

I should also add that I hope to apply to top programs, such as Stanford, Columbia, Berkeley, and Harvard, and that I'm taking the GRE this summer after intensive studying.

 

Thank you in advance for your help!  I'm really confused about this right now.

Edited October 27, 2014 by zapatos

[cooperstreet]

all other things equal, do you want to do a senior thesis?

[zapatos]

all other things equal, do you want to do a senior thesis?

 

Yes! Although I don't want to overload myself and am doubting my knowledge of methodologies and my ability to pick a viable topic, I really want to see what the process of writing a much longer paper is like and to really dig deep into one topic.

Edited October 27, 2014 by zapatos

[victorydance]

Do you have any research experience?

[zapatos]

Do you have any research experience?

 

I've been a research assistant for an international politics professor for almost a year now, and took on a second related RA job over the summer months. I hope to continue with this project until I graduate.

[Poli92]

If you can find a way to do it, I would really recommend it. Working on your own, largely self-guided project is much different than doing RA work (not better or worse, just different) and is useful as much for the process as the result. You really figure out how motivated you are when you have to set your own question, methodology, and agenda. It's a very enriching experience and will be a foreshadowing of the kind of work you will hopefully be doing down the road. That is to say, if you like the process, then you're probably on the right track. Whereas if you have to force it every step of the way, then you should probably consider other options. Also, if you're nervous about not knowing popular methodologies or being able to define a topic/question, this will be a great opportunity to practice. Writing a research proposal (which I would imagine you'll have to do for the thesis) can be great prep for defining your research interests in your eventual statement of purpose.