MODEL TIMETABLE FOR SPECIALIZED HONORS THESIS
2015/2016
The following timetable is designed to help you keep your thesis students on track for completion. Some of the deadlines for specific elements will vary by discipline and faculty are encouraged to replace or add dates that make sense for the project/thesis in order to continue thesis development or to make alternative arrangements. At the end of the document I have attached the rubric, which will be used to assess the Thesis. Faculty members may find it useful to discuss the rubric with the thesis writer at various stages of the process. We encourage faculty to use this model to discuss with the student an appropriate timeline for a successful thesis.
Junior year:
A) Meet to explore thesis ideas.
B) Encourage students who you think are considering a thesis to plan to register for 410 in the fall of senior year.
C) Encourage students to apply for development grants either from their department or, if applicable, the Baldwin Honors Program.
D) With candidate, assemble summer reading list. The goal is to start the fall with a robust bibliography of scholarly works, primary sources, initial experimentation design, or initial project exploration. Experience has shown that students who have already begun their theses by the beginning of the fall semester are much more likely to be successful.
SEPTEMBER
During the 1st week of the semester the primary reader and student meet to discuss work done over the summer:
Draft of working thesis statement, project process, or experiment plan due in the third week of the semester.
OCTOBER
The general goal of the October deadlines is to move forward to writing (or similar stage in the various disciplines) such that by the end of the semester at least 30% of the thesis is complete.
First week of October:First draft of literature review, written engagement with text, initial experiment questions, or initial outline of project/performance.
October 8: The Thesis Colloquium: thesis writers will have to present their project to faculty and students.
Oct. 30: Second Draft of literature review, written engagement with text, initial experiment questions, initial outline of project, or performance and revised thesis statement.
NOVEMBER
Nov. 13: A detailed outline of thesis to be discussed by the entire Thesis Committee in their meeting at some point before November 20.
November 30: First chapter to be submitted to Thesis advisor. When the student meets with the advisor before the end of the semester, the thesis should be largely taking shape with a clear idea of how the spring deadlines will be met.
DECEMBER
Writing over the Winter break to achieve substantial preliminary draft by January 19.
Classes resume January 19, 2016.
The end of the drop/add period is Monday February 1.
It is important that the committee assess and make one of three recommendations outlined priortoFebruary 1st (the end of the drop/add period for spring classes).
It might also help faculty in making the assessment to review the rubric below with the student at this point.
1) Enough progress been made to continue at the THESIS level. Roughly 60% of the project should be completed, including bibliographic development sufficient to support the thesis, review of needed literature for project, progress of experiments, and completed chapters, and an outline of how the project will be finished in the time remaining.
2) The project is moving along, is robust and worth 8 credits of independent study (but has either not met some of the requirements outlined above, or is largely descriptive and will not rise to the analytical level expected of the thesis. In this case the student should convert the 411 Specialized Honors independent study for a 300 level independent study in their discipline.
3) The project has moved far enough along to constitute a 4-credit independent study, but is not likely to able to forward enough to justify another 4 credits of independent study and therefore the student, should they require the credits, is encouraged to add another 4-credit class immediately.
If students drops the thesis after this point, and the advisor determines that the work only merits 4 credits, the student will get a "W" on their transcript.
FEBRUARY
A full first rough draft of the thesis is due to the committee members on February 19, who meet by the end of the month to make specific recommendations.
MARCH
The second draft of the thesis is sent to the committee members by March 25.
APRIL
Final draft of thesis due on April 15.
Defense dates are arranged.
Specialized Honors Thesis Rubric: / Exceptional / Honors Level / Not at Honors LevelEngagement with the scholarly field
(all theses or thesis projects should have a written analytic component). / Provides an in-depth written analysis of the field. Shows awareness of its historical development and makes suggestions about its future direction, identifying for instance areas requiring further analysis, new problems, or new questions. / Demonstrates understanding of scholarly field, its problems, questions, methods, debates etc. / Project does not appear to be informed by the scholarly field. Recognition of key scholars is lacking, as is awareness of appropriate methods, problems and questions.
Contribution to the field / Thesis, composition, or project makes a significant contribution to the field by, for ex., introducing new evidence, materials, or data and articulating how such evidence recasts existing research or work, providing a new and convincing interpretation of familiar material, or opening up new questions. / Clearly articulates a contribution to field, e.g., by showing how it lends support to or broadens previous work, applies existing methods to new topics, or provides new solutions to pre-existing questions. / Does not contribute to the field, or contribution is too minor or incidental to be meaningful.
Treatment of subject-matter / Treatment of subject matter is sophisticated, or interdisciplinary, recognizing the value and limitations of the particular approach to the subject. Treatment is sufficiently extensive to meet author’s stated goals. / Careful treatment of the subject matter. This might involve production and analysis of experimental results, analysis of pre-existing data, presentation and analysis of primary sources, artful treatment of a subject. Treatment is sufficiently extensive to meet author's stated goals. / Treatment of the subject matter is superficial. The subject matter may not be appropriate for the proposed purpose, and treatment might be insufficient to achieve the proposed results.
Organization (design) of work / Thesis, composition, or project is elegantly conceived and organized. Each part contributes to the whole without repetition or redundancy. / Thesis, composition, or project is clearly organized. All parts of the work contribute to coherent whole. / Thesis, composition, or project is disjointed or incoherent. Relationship between its parts is unclear.
Execution of work (writing, painting, manufacture, etc.) / The work shows both technical mastery engagingly presented, and is accessible to a non-specialist audience. / Project is clearly presented, with few technical errors. The work is accessible to a non-specialist audience / The thesis is marred by technical deficiencies, for ex., grammatical and spelling errors, or poor craftsmanship. The work is in large part incomprehensible to a non-specialist audience.
Oral Presentation / Oral presentation shows mastery of the material. Presentation is well thought through, clear, and adds to an understanding of the project. Discussion engages a variety of questions in a professional manner. / The oral presentation clearly presents the project, and is engaging. The student is able to respond well to the questions posed. / The presentation is unclear. Student shows lack of mastery of the subject matter during the questions.