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GWS Honors Thesis

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Feral - GWS Honors Thesis

Song description:, soundcloud:, more feral lyrics.

Feral - ADIDAS HARDBASS Hardbass Adidas Got the cyka Got the kvas Babushka, Katyusha Take my drug, in the bat Got my hat and the baseball bat I'm little bit crazy BUT I DON'T

Feral - Lonely Planet My body's a world and I want someone to travel it I'll hand him my heart and I'll watch him unravel it I don't know if he's keeping track I don't know if

Feral - Loser Another song, another stupid story told Just a boy made of straw and me singing him into gold I never learn my lesson, chasing what they can't give, oh bless them Tongue so good at

Feral - Fuck the Bourgeoisie Oh oh oh, i am always screaming in your room We know it echos in the house But we do not give a shit Because your parents are pretty chill about it And we are seventeen and

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Feral - Argentina I was like a cigarette that you stomped out in regret You burn through us girls like Marlboro lights You slept in my bed on an April night I woke up in a state of fright You said

Feral - GWS Honors Thesis I'm sick of writing about boys And how they've done me wrong But they're just so fucking terrible They work their way into every song Waving your liberal card

Feral - A Thousand Little Deaths I stick my hand out the window whenever I drive now To feel the speed we've captured with wheels It always makes me feel free It always makes me feel like this is living I

Academic Opportunities

Independent Study /  Research Opportunities  / Study Abroad / De-Cal

Independent Study

The Department of Gender and Women’s Studies encourages majors to conduct self-initiated research projects. Students interested in working one-on-one with a faculty member can enroll in either GWS 197 Internship/Field of Study or GWS 99/199 Independent Study. Students are responsible for finding a faculty sponsor willing to work with them on their project. Please note these courses can only be taken for P/NP grade.

GWS 197 Internship/Field of Study

The Internship Program requires fieldwork in an organization concerned with women’s issues, plus individual conferences with faculty. Students must present a written scope of work to the supervising faculty member before enrolling. Credit is earned through written work completed by students interpreting the experience via diaries, historical reports, and creative work done for the organization. This course is available to upper-division students only  (those with 60 or more units completed by the beginning of the relevant semester).

GWS 99/199 Supervised Independent Study for Advanced Undergraduates

Prerequisites: Gender & Women’s Studies major. This course consists of reading and conferences with the instructor regarding a field of study that does not coincide with that of any regular course and is specific enough to enable the student to write an essay based upon the student’s study. GWS 99 is for lower-division students (59 or fewer units at the beginning of the relevant semester) and GWS 199 is for upper-division students  (60 or more units completed at the beginning of the relevant semester).

Enrollment Procedure

• Develop a project proposal with the assistance of the faculty sponsor.
• Obtain the Independent/Internship form from the Office of Undergraduate Advising in 608 Social Sciences Building.
• Complete the form, obtain your faculty sponsor’s signature and attached the proposal.
• Return the instructor-signed form and proposal to 608 Social Sciences Building by the 4th week of classes (spring or fall semester).

Once your faculty sponsor approves your project and you submit your materials, you will receive a Course Control Number to enroll in the class.

UC Berkeley Washington Program: GWS 196W–Special Field Research

The University of California, Berkeley Washington Program provides a unique opportunity for undergraduates from all majors to spend a semester (Fall or Spring) in Washington, D.C. pursuing full-time course work and an internship in their selected field. Applicants must be in good standing within their Colleges, have a minimum 3.0 GPA, and have achieved junior status (60 units) by the time their semester in Washington commences. Preference is given to students who have completed at least 30 credits on the Berkeley campus. All program participants must reside at the UC Washington Center for the duration of the semester.

Students will be expected to produce two progress reports for their faculty coordinator during the course of the internship, as well as produce a final paper for the course consisting of no fewer than 35 pages. Other restrictions apply; see  ucdc.berkeley.edu

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Research Opportunities

Research funding for gws majors:.

Majors can apply for funding to help support the costs of GWS-related research or of presenting a GWS-related paper at a conference. Individual awards can be up to $300 for things such as travel for research or conferences, small payments for interview subjects, data packages, etc. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the year’s funds are exhausted. Each major can receive funding up to two times over the course of their undergraduate career, although priority will be given to applicants who have not yet received funding. Recipients will be asked to write a very brief report summarizing how they used the funding. To apply, download the application  here  and email the completed form to the  Student Services Advisor . 

Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP)

UC Berkeley is well known for its dynamic research environment. As an undergraduate student there are many ways to participate in research on campus. One such program is URAP, which provides opportunities for students to work with faculty on cutting-edge research. By working closely with faculty, students can cultivate professional relationships, enhance their research skills, and deepen their knowledge and skills in areas of special interest. Applications are online. For a complete listing and description of research projects, visit the  URAP website  or stop by 5 Durant Hall.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship/L&S

This program (SURF/L&S) allows UC Berkeley undergraduates in the College of Letters and Science to spend the summer doing concentrated research in preparation for a senior thesis. Application deadline generally is in the spring. See  http://surf.berkeley.edu/  for more information.

The Art of Writing Program – Townsend Center for the Humanities

Art of Writing helps prepare undergraduates who have completed UC Berkeley’s Reading & Composition requirement to write lucidly, directly, and eloquently in a variety of styles. At the heart of the program, grant-funded seminars create collaborative and intimate writing communities among undergraduates, a graduate student instructor, and a faculty member. See  http://artofwriting.berkeley.edu  for more information.

Center for Race and Gender Undergraduate Student Grants Program

The Center for Race and Gender  (CRG) at the University of California Berkeley, announces the availability of grants of $100 to $1,000 to fund undergraduates for research or creative projects that address issues of race and gender. Topics should be consonant with CRG’s mandate to support critical student research on race, gender, and their intersections in a wide variety of social, cultural, and institutional contexts, especially on the Berkeley campus and its neighboring communities, but also in California, the nation, or the world.

The Haas Scholars Program

The Robert & Colleen Haas Scholars Program funds financial aid eligible, academically talented undergraduates to engage in a sustained research, field-study, or creative project in the summer before and during their senior year at UC Berkeley. Each year, twenty Haas Scholars are selected from all disciplines and departments across the University on the basis of the merit and originality of their project proposals. For more information go to  http://hsp.berkeley.edu .

The Ronald McNair Scholars Program

The McNair Scholars Program prepares selected UC Berkeley undergraduates for graduate study at the doctoral level. Twenty to thirty McNair Scholars are selected each year to participate in both academic and summer activities. The McNair Scholars Program aims to increase the number of students in underrepresented doctoral programs. See  aap.berkeley.edu/mcnair.shtml  for further information.

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program at UC Berkeley

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) program at UC Berkeley targets students with exceptional academic promise and potential for careers that will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in the academy. The program supports Fellows by providing guidance, role models and the environment and resources to strive for the highest academic goals. Fellows will realize their greatest potential as graduate students to later become extraordinarily successful faculty members and emerge as role models for future generations. To learn more visit  http://mellonmays.berkeley.edu/

GWS Honors Program

• To be eligible for the GWS Honors Program (GWS H195A and GWS H195B), students must have an overall 3.3 GPA, and a 3.5 GPA in the major. In addition, eligible students must write a brief proposal, to be approved by the faculty teaching GWS 101, and have a GWS faculty member or affiliate agree to chair the honors thesis by the beginning of the fall term of their senior year. GWS H195 cannot be used as an elective in the major.
• To receive honors in GWS, students must have a 3.6 for honors, a 3.8 for high honors, or a 3.9 for highest honors. In addition, the student must receive a minimum of an A- in both GWS H195A and GWS H195B.

The Berkeley Undergraduate Journal

The Berkeley Undergraduate Journal  is dedicated to publishing the academic work of undergraduates from the Humanities, Social Sciences, and related fields at the University of California, Berkeley. Essays are selected on the basis of academic content, general interest, and clarity of writing. Papers should be 15-60 pages long on topics that would be of interest to the generally well-educated reader. For submission instructions, go to  https://buj.berkeley.edu/submit/

For a complete listing of research opportunities at UC Berkeley visit the  Office of Undergraduate Research .

Study Abroad

Thinking about studying abroad?! Gender and Women’s Studies supports students interested in experiencing learning abroad may it be through the  University Education Abroad Program (EAP) program  or a non-EAP program. We will work with you to ensure you receive the ultimate experience.

What Fullfills GWS Requirements?

Taking courses abroad may fulfill a maximum of two upper division GWS required electives. Please make sure you review your courses and get approval from the GWS Undergraduate Adviser before going abroad.

Plan Ahead!

Make sure you bring your program information and course description with you when you meet with the Undergraduate Adviser to ensure you are making the right choices. Please review the information below to make certain the course will count for the major. While you are at your host institution, save the syllabi, reading list and other program information—you may need it upon your return to Berkeley.

Criteria for Transfer

All courses abroad, both EAP and non-EAP, must conform to the same standards used for our own UCB courses. They must be:

• upper division (EAP programs provide this information);
• taken at a 4-year university or college (EAP programs provide this information);
• taken for a letter grade;
• comparable in instruction hours (at least 4.5 quarter units or 3 semester units) to receive full credit.**

**Important! Courses taken at quarter system schools will be viewed as partial credit (using the university standard of 2.66 units) for one of our 4-unit courses. This means that two quarter courses must be taken to fulfill one upper-division requirement.

Course Approval Procedure

The following materials must be submitted to the Undergraduate Advising Office in 608 Social Sciences Building. Please be prepared to provide additional materials, such as papers and reading lists for any additional questions.

1. A syllabus in English. A full translation. If translated from another language, provide the original syllabus with the English translation. The syllabus should include the following:

• A description and summary of the course
• Course outline, week by week
• Required texts and readings
• Grading (i.e. exams, written papers)

2. For EAP course work: An EAP Student Course Information Form for each course you are counting towards the major. You receive this form in your packet from the EAP Office.

3. For non-EAP work: In addition to the items list above, (a) Information (online or in a printed course catalog) about course level (e.g., proof that it’s upper-division). (b) A copy of your transcript (once available). An unofficial copy is acceptable.

You are now equipped and ready for a successful experience abroad!! Enjoy and have a great time!!

Getting Started!

• Do your research. Go to  How to Start a  DeCal  and  http://vcue.berkeley.edu/special-studies  and read everything there is to know about establishing and teaching a  DeCal  course. For further information and training see  http://slc.berkeley.edu/startup-workshops .
• Find a GWS faculty sponsor.
• Develop your course syllabus. A list of items that must be included in your syllabus is outlined on the Special Studies Student Checklist which is a part of the Course Proposal Form (CPF) below.

Procedures:

Students planning to offer a  DeCal  GWS 98/198 course must provide the following for approval:

• Completed COCI Special Studies Course Proposal Form (CPF), available on the following websites:  Course Proposal Form (CPF)  . Students must download and complete this form and obtain the faculty sponsor’s signature before submitting it to the Undergraduate Adviser (UA), who will then obtain the Chair’s signature;
• Syllabus of the proposed course;
• A designated lead facilitator to liaise with the department  (if there is more than one facilitator);
• Course description, including the criteria required for students to pass the course;
• GWS  DeCal  Student Info Sheet available below or through the UA’s Office.  (One form is required for each course facilitator)
• GWS  DeCal  Special Course Checklist available below or through the UA’s office.

All documentation must be submitted to the Undergraduate Adviser by the posted due date. As soon as the course has been approved, the lead facilitator should see the UA in 608 Social Sciences Building for information regarding room scheduling and class numbers.

How to Start a  DeCal

GWS De-Cal Student Info Sheet

GWS De-Cal Special Course Checklist

All  DeCal  courses must have approval several weeks before the end of the previous semester. If you wish to offer a GWS  DeCal  class, all signed paperwork must be submitted in person to the Undergraduate Adviser in 608 Social Sciences Building by the following deadlines:

• The deadline for proposed Fall  DeCal  courses is the last week of April.
• The deadline for proposed Spring  DeCal  courses is the last week of October.

Limitations:

The Department will approve  DeCal  courses on a first-come, first-served basis. Individual faculty members may sponsor one  DeCal  course per semester. Student facilitators offering a  DeCal  through the Gender & Women’s Studies Department MUST BE A DECLARED GWS MAJOR or MINOR and MUST take  the Undergraduate Course Facilitator Training and Resources (UCFTR) .  For more information about the training  see

Academic Credit for Facilitating a  DeCal  Course:

Student Facilitators can receive academic credit by enrolling in AAS 99, 199 or 197. Students should contact the Undergraduate advisor for further information.

If you want to enroll in a DeCal class, please check De-Cal’s website at  https://decal.berkeley.edu/  for the complete list of courses.

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Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies

Honors work, you are here, honors in the major.

Students have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major. Departmental honors students must maintain a University of Iowa g.p.a. of at least 3.33 and a g.p.a. of at least 3.50 in the major. Students must write an honors thesis that requires two semesters of work during the senior year, researching in the fall semester and writing the thesis in the spring.

HONORS IN GENDER, WOMEN'S & SEXUALITY STUDIES

Students must write an honors thesis that requires two semesters of work during the senior year: fall (thesis research by enrolling in GWSS:3900 Research for Public Engagement) and spring (thesis writing by enrolling in GWSS:4095 Honors Senior Thesis).

Students who intend to graduate with honors in the major should meet with the gender, women's, and sexuality studies (GWSS) director of undergraduate study before the end of their junior year. They also must select a faculty member to serve as their honors thesis mentor before they begin their thesis work. They should meet with their mentor at least twice in the fall semester of their senior year to discuss their project. The department recommends that students consider faculty members from whom they have taken GWSS courses.

HONORS IN SOCIAL JUSTICE

Honors students must write an honors thesis that requires two semesters of work during the senior year: fall (thesis research by enrolling in GWSS:3900 Research for Public Engagement) and spring (thesis writing by enrolling in SJUS:4085 Social Justice Bachelor of Arts Honors Senior Thesis).

Students who intend to graduate with honors in the major should meet with the social justice advisor before the end of their junior year. They also must select a faculty member to serve as their honors thesis mentor before they begin their thesis work. They should meet with their mentor at least twice in the fall semester of their senior year to discuss their project. The department recommends that students consider faculty members from whom they have taken SJUS/GWSS courses.

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HONORS PROGRAM

In addition to honors in the major, students have opportunities for honors study and activities through membership in the University of Iowa Honors Program. Visit Honors at Iowa to learn about the University's honors program.

Membership in the UI Honors Program is not required to earn honors in the gender, women's, and sexuality studies or social justice majors.

GWS 498H - Honors Thesis

An honors thesis is required of all the students graduating with honors. Students ordinarily sign up for this course as a two-semester sequence. The first semester the student performs research under the supervision of a faculty member; the second semester the student writes an honors thesis.

Honors Theses

What this handout is about.

Writing a senior honors thesis, or any major research essay, can seem daunting at first. A thesis requires a reflective, multi-stage writing process. This handout will walk you through those stages. It is targeted at students in the humanities and social sciences, since their theses tend to involve more writing than projects in the hard sciences. Yet all thesis writers may find the organizational strategies helpful.

Introduction

What is an honors thesis.

That depends quite a bit on your field of study. However, all honors theses have at least two things in common:

• They are based on students’ original research.
• They take the form of a written manuscript, which presents the findings of that research. In the humanities, theses average 50-75 pages in length and consist of two or more chapters. In the social sciences, the manuscript may be shorter, depending on whether the project involves more quantitative than qualitative research. In the hard sciences, the manuscript may be shorter still, often taking the form of a sophisticated laboratory report.

Who can write an honors thesis?

In general, students who are at the end of their junior year, have an overall 3.2 GPA, and meet their departmental requirements can write a senior thesis. For information about your eligibility, contact:

• UNC Honors Program
• Your departmental administrators of undergraduate studies/honors

Why write an honors thesis?

Satisfy your intellectual curiosity This is the most compelling reason to write a thesis. Whether it’s the short stories of Flannery O’Connor or the challenges of urban poverty, you’ve studied topics in college that really piqued your interest. Now’s your chance to follow your passions, explore further, and contribute some original ideas and research in your field.

Develop transferable skills Whether you choose to stay in your field of study or not, the process of developing and crafting a feasible research project will hone skills that will serve you well in almost any future job. After all, most jobs require some form of problem solving and oral and written communication. Writing an honors thesis requires that you:

• ask smart questions
• acquire the investigative instincts needed to find answers
• navigate libraries, laboratories, archives, databases, and other research venues
• develop the flexibility to redirect your research if your initial plan flops
• master the art of time management
• hone your argumentation skills
• organize a lengthy piece of writing
• polish your oral communication skills by presenting and defending your project to faculty and peers

Work closely with faculty mentors At large research universities like Carolina, you’ve likely taken classes where you barely got to know your instructor. Writing a thesis offers the opportunity to work one-on-one with a with faculty adviser. Such mentors can enrich your intellectual development and later serve as invaluable references for graduate school and employment.

Open windows into future professions An honors thesis will give you a taste of what it’s like to do research in your field. Even if you’re a sociology major, you may not really know what it’s like to be a sociologist. Writing a sociology thesis would open a window into that world. It also might help you decide whether to pursue that field in graduate school or in your future career.

How do you write an honors thesis?

Get an idea of what’s expected.

It’s a good idea to review some of the honors theses other students have submitted to get a sense of what an honors thesis might look like and what kinds of things might be appropriate topics. Look for examples from the previous year in the Carolina Digital Repository. You may also be able to find past theses collected in your major department or at the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library. Pay special attention to theses written by students who share your major.

Choose a topic

Ideally, you should start thinking about topics early in your junior year, so you can begin your research and writing quickly during your senior year. (Many departments require that you submit a proposal for an honors thesis project during the spring of your junior year.)

How should you choose a topic?

• Read widely in the fields that interest you. Make a habit of browsing professional journals to survey the “hot” areas of research and to familiarize yourself with your field’s stylistic conventions. (You’ll find the most recent issues of the major professional journals in the periodicals reading room on the first floor of Davis Library).
• Set up appointments to talk with faculty in your field. This is a good idea, since you’ll eventually need to select an advisor and a second reader. Faculty also can help you start narrowing down potential topics.
• Look at honors theses from the past. The North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library holds UNC honors theses. To get a sense of the typical scope of a thesis, take a look at a sampling from your field.

What makes a good topic?

• It’s fascinating. Above all, choose something that grips your imagination. If you don’t, the chances are good that you’ll struggle to finish.
• It’s doable. Even if a topic interests you, it won’t work out unless you have access to the materials you need to research it. Also be sure that your topic is narrow enough. Let’s take an example: Say you’re interested in the efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and early 1980s. That’s a big topic that probably can’t be adequately covered in a single thesis. You need to find a case study within that larger topic. For example, maybe you’re particularly interested in the states that did not ratify the ERA. Of those states, perhaps you’ll select North Carolina, since you’ll have ready access to local research materials. And maybe you want to focus primarily on the ERA’s opponents. Beyond that, maybe you’re particularly interested in female opponents of the ERA. Now you’ve got a much more manageable topic: Women in North Carolina Who Opposed the ERA in the 1970s and 1980s.
• It contains a question. There’s a big difference between having a topic and having a guiding research question. Taking the above topic, perhaps your main question is: Why did some women in North Carolina oppose the ERA? You will, of course, generate other questions: Who were the most outspoken opponents? White women? Middle-class women? How did they oppose the ERA? Public protests? Legislative petitions? etc. etc. Yet it’s good to start with a guiding question that will focus your research.

Goal-setting and time management

The senior year is an exceptionally busy time for college students. In addition to the usual load of courses and jobs, seniors have the daunting task of applying for jobs and/or graduate school. These demands are angst producing and time consuming If that scenario sounds familiar, don’t panic! Do start strategizing about how to make a time for your thesis. You may need to take a lighter course load or eliminate extracurricular activities. Even if the thesis is the only thing on your plate, you still need to make a systematic schedule for yourself. Most departments require that you take a class that guides you through the honors project, so deadlines likely will be set for you. Still, you should set your own goals for meeting those deadlines. Here are a few suggestions for goal setting and time management:

Start early. Keep in mind that many departments will require that you turn in your thesis sometime in early April, so don’t count on having the entire spring semester to finish your work. Ideally, you’ll start the research process the semester or summer before your senior year so that the writing process can begin early in the fall. Some goal-setting will be done for you if you are taking a required class that guides you through the honors project. But any substantive research project requires a clear timetable.

Set clear goals in making a timetable. Find out the final deadline for turning in your project to your department. Working backwards from that deadline, figure out how much time you can allow for the various stages of production.

Here is a sample timetable. Use it, however, with two caveats in mind:

• The timetable for your thesis might look very different depending on your departmental requirements.
• You may not wish to proceed through these stages in a linear fashion. You may want to revise chapter one before you write chapter two. Or you might want to write your introduction last, not first. This sample is designed simply to help you start thinking about how to customize your own schedule.

Sample timetable

Avoid falling into the trap of procrastination. Once you’ve set goals for yourself, stick to them! For some tips on how to do this, see our handout on procrastination .

Consistent production

It’s a good idea to try to squeeze in a bit of thesis work every day—even if it’s just fifteen minutes of journaling or brainstorming about your topic. Or maybe you’ll spend that fifteen minutes taking notes on a book. The important thing is to accomplish a bit of active production (i.e., putting words on paper) for your thesis every day. That way, you develop good writing habits that will help you keep your project moving forward.

Make yourself accountable to someone other than yourself

Since most of you will be taking a required thesis seminar, you will have deadlines. Yet you might want to form a writing group or enlist a peer reader, some person or people who can help you stick to your goals. Moreover, if your advisor encourages you to work mostly independently, don’t be afraid to ask them to set up periodic meetings at which you’ll turn in installments of your project.

Brainstorming and freewriting

One of the biggest challenges of a lengthy writing project is keeping the creative juices flowing. Here’s where freewriting can help. Try keeping a small notebook handy where you jot down stray ideas that pop into your head. Or schedule time to freewrite. You may find that such exercises “free” you up to articulate your argument and generate new ideas. Here are some questions to stimulate freewriting.

Questions for basic brainstorming at the beginning of your project:

• What do I already know about this topic?
• Why do I care about this topic?
• Why is this topic important to people other than myself
• What more do I want to learn about this topic?
• What is the main question that I am trying to answer?
• Where can I look for additional information?
• Who is my audience and how can I reach them?
• How will my work inform my larger field of study?
• What’s the main goal of my research project?

Questions for reflection throughout your project:

• What’s my main argument? How has it changed since I began the project?
• What’s the most important evidence that I have in support of my “big point”?
• What questions do my sources not answer?
• How does my case study inform or challenge my field writ large?
• Does my project reinforce or contradict noted scholars in my field? How?
• What is the most surprising finding of my research?
• What is the most frustrating part of this project?
• What is the most rewarding part of this project?
• What will be my work’s most important contribution?

Research and note-taking

In conducting research, you will need to find both primary sources (“firsthand” sources that come directly from the period/events/people you are studying) and secondary sources (“secondhand” sources that are filtered through the interpretations of experts in your field.) The nature of your research will vary tremendously, depending on what field you’re in. For some general suggestions on finding sources, consult the UNC Libraries tutorials . Whatever the exact nature of the research you’re conducting, you’ll be taking lots of notes and should reflect critically on how you do that. Too often it’s assumed that the research phase of a project involves very little substantive writing (i.e., writing that involves thinking). We sit down with our research materials and plunder them for basic facts and useful quotations. That mechanical type of information-recording is important. But a more thoughtful type of writing and analytical thinking is also essential at this stage. Some general guidelines for note-taking:

First of all, develop a research system. There are lots of ways to take and organize your notes. Whether you choose to use note cards, computer databases, or notebooks, follow two cardinal rules:

• Make careful distinctions between direct quotations and your paraphrasing! This is critical if you want to be sure to avoid accidentally plagiarizing someone else’s work. For more on this, see our handout on plagiarism .
• Record full citations for each source. Don’t get lazy here! It will be far more difficult to find the proper citation later than to write it down now.

Keeping those rules in mind, here’s a template for the types of information that your note cards/legal pad sheets/computer files should include for each of your sources:

Abbreviated subject heading: Include two or three words to remind you of what this sources is about (this shorthand categorization is essential for the later sorting of your sources).

Complete bibliographic citation:

• author, title, publisher, copyright date, and page numbers for published works
• box and folder numbers and document descriptions for archival sources
• complete web page title, author, address, and date accessed for online sources

Notes on facts, quotations, and arguments: Depending on the type of source you’re using, the content of your notes will vary. If, for example, you’re using US Census data, then you’ll mainly be writing down statistics and numbers. If you’re looking at someone else’s diary, you might jot down a number of quotations that illustrate the subject’s feelings and perspectives. If you’re looking at a secondary source, you’ll want to make note not just of factual information provided by the author but also of their key arguments.

Your interpretation of the source: This is the most important part of note-taking. Don’t just record facts. Go ahead and take a stab at interpreting them. As historians Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff insist, “A note is a thought.” So what do these thoughts entail? Ask yourself questions about the context and significance of each source.

Interpreting the context of a source:

• Who wrote/created the source?
• When, and under what circumstances, was it written/created?
• Why was it written/created? What was the agenda behind the source?
• How was it written/created?
• If using a secondary source: How does it speak to other scholarship in the field?

Interpreting the significance of a source:

• How does this source answer (or complicate) my guiding research questions?
• Does it pose new questions for my project? What are they?
• Does it challenge my fundamental argument? If so, how?
• Given the source’s context, how reliable is it?

You don’t need to answer all of these questions for each source, but you should set a goal of engaging in at least one or two sentences of thoughtful, interpretative writing for each source. If you do so, you’ll make much easier the next task that awaits you: drafting.

The dread of drafting

Why do we often dread drafting? We dread drafting because it requires synthesis, one of the more difficult forms of thinking and interpretation. If you’ve been free-writing and taking thoughtful notes during the research phase of your project, then the drafting should be far less painful. Here are some tips on how to get started:

Sort your “evidence” or research into analytical categories:

• Some people file note cards into categories.
• The technologically-oriented among us take notes using computer database programs that have built-in sorting mechanisms.
• Others cut and paste evidence into detailed outlines on their computer.
• Still others stack books, notes, and photocopies into topically-arranged piles.There is not a single right way, but this step—in some form or fashion—is essential!

If you’ve been forcing yourself to put subject headings on your notes as you go along, you’ll have generated a number of important analytical categories. Now, you need to refine those categories and sort your evidence. Everyone has a different “sorting style.”

Formulate working arguments for your entire thesis and individual chapters. Once you’ve sorted your evidence, you need to spend some time thinking about your project’s “big picture.” You need to be able to answer two questions in specific terms:

• What is the overall argument of my thesis?
• What are the sub-arguments of each chapter and how do they relate to my main argument?

Keep in mind that “working arguments” may change after you start writing. But a senior thesis is big and potentially unwieldy. If you leave this business of argument to chance, you may end up with a tangle of ideas. See our handout on arguments and handout on thesis statements for some general advice on formulating arguments.

Divide your thesis into manageable chunks. The surest road to frustration at this stage is getting obsessed with the big picture. What? Didn’t we just say that you needed to focus on the big picture? Yes, by all means, yes. You do need to focus on the big picture in order to get a conceptual handle on your project, but you also need to break your thesis down into manageable chunks of writing. For example, take a small stack of note cards and flesh them out on paper. Or write through one point on a chapter outline. Those small bits of prose will add up quickly.

Just start! Even if it’s not at the beginning. Are you having trouble writing those first few pages of your chapter? Sometimes the introduction is the toughest place to start. You should have a rough idea of your overall argument before you begin writing one of the main chapters, but you might find it easier to start writing in the middle of a chapter of somewhere other than word one. Grab hold where you evidence is strongest and your ideas are clearest.

Keep up the momentum! Assuming the first draft won’t be your last draft, try to get your thoughts on paper without spending too much time fussing over minor stylistic concerns. At the drafting stage, it’s all about getting those ideas on paper. Once that task is done, you can turn your attention to revising.

Peter Elbow, in Writing With Power, suggests that writing is difficult because it requires two conflicting tasks: creating and criticizing. While these two tasks are intimately intertwined, the drafting stage focuses on creating, while revising requires criticizing. If you leave your revising to the last minute, then you’ve left out a crucial stage of the writing process. See our handout for some general tips on revising . The challenges of revising an honors thesis may include:

Juggling feedback from multiple readers

A senior thesis may mark the first time that you have had to juggle feedback from a wide range of readers:

• your adviser
• a second (and sometimes third) faculty reader
• the professor and students in your honors thesis seminar

You may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of incorporating all this advice. Keep in mind that some advice is better than others. You will probably want to take most seriously the advice of your adviser since they carry the most weight in giving your project a stamp of approval. But sometimes your adviser may give you more advice than you can digest. If so, don’t be afraid to approach them—in a polite and cooperative spirit, of course—and ask for some help in prioritizing that advice. See our handout for some tips on getting and receiving feedback .

Refining your argument

It’s especially easy in writing a lengthy work to lose sight of your main ideas. So spend some time after you’ve drafted to go back and clarify your overall argument and the individual chapter arguments and make sure they match the evidence you present.

Organizing and reorganizing

Again, in writing a 50-75 page thesis, things can get jumbled. You may find it particularly helpful to make a “reverse outline” of each of your chapters. That will help you to see the big sections in your work and move things around so there’s a logical flow of ideas. See our handout on  organization  for more organizational suggestions and tips on making a reverse outline

Plugging in holes in your evidence

It’s unlikely that you anticipated everything you needed to look up before you drafted your thesis. Save some time at the revising stage to plug in the holes in your research. Make sure that you have both primary and secondary evidence to support and contextualize your main ideas.

Saving time for the small stuff

Even though your argument, evidence, and organization are most important, leave plenty of time to polish your prose. At this point, you’ve spent a very long time on your thesis. Don’t let minor blemishes (misspellings and incorrect grammar) distract your readers!

Formatting and final touches

You’re almost done! You’ve researched, drafted, and revised your thesis; now you need to take care of those pesky little formatting matters. An honors thesis should replicate—on a smaller scale—the appearance of a dissertation or master’s thesis. So, you need to include the “trappings” of a formal piece of academic work. For specific questions on formatting matters, check with your department to see if it has a style guide that you should use. For general formatting guidelines, consult the Graduate School’s Guide to Dissertations and Theses . Keeping in mind the caveat that you should always check with your department first about its stylistic guidelines, here’s a brief overview of the final “finishing touches” that you’ll need to put on your honors thesis:

• Honors Thesis
• Name of Department
• University of North Carolina
• These parts of the thesis will vary in format depending on whether your discipline uses MLA, APA, CBE, or Chicago (also known in its shortened version as Turabian) style. Whichever style you’re using, stick to the rules and be consistent. It might be helpful to buy an appropriate style guide. Or consult the UNC LibrariesYear Citations/footnotes and works cited/reference pages  citation tutorial
• In addition, in the bottom left corner, you need to leave space for your adviser and faculty readers to sign their names. For example:

Approved by: _____________________

Adviser: Prof. Jane Doe

• This is not a required component of an honors thesis. However, if you want to thank particular librarians, archivists, interviewees, and advisers, here’s the place to do it. You should include an acknowledgments page if you received a grant from the university or an outside agency that supported your research. It’s a good idea to acknowledge folks who helped you with a major project, but do not feel the need to go overboard with copious and flowery expressions of gratitude. You can—and should—always write additional thank-you notes to people who gave you assistance.
• Formatted much like the table of contents.
• You’ll need to save this until the end, because it needs to reflect your final pagination. Once you’ve made all changes to the body of the thesis, then type up your table of contents with the titles of each section aligned on the left and the page numbers on which those sections begin flush right.
• Each page of your thesis needs a number, although not all page numbers are displayed. All pages that precede the first page of the main text (i.e., your introduction or chapter one) are numbered with small roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.). All pages thereafter use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.).
• Your text should be double spaced (except, in some cases, long excerpts of quoted material), in a 12 point font and a standard font style (e.g., Times New Roman). An honors thesis isn’t the place to experiment with funky fonts—they won’t enhance your work, they’ll only distract your readers.
• In general, leave a one-inch inch margin on all sides. However, for the copy of your thesis that will be bound by the library, you need to leave a 1.25-inch margin on the left.

How do I defend my honors thesis?

Graciously, enthusiastically, and confidently. The term defense is scary and misleading—it conjures up images of a military exercise or an athletic maneuver. An academic defense ideally shouldn’t be a combative scene but a congenial conversation about the work’s merits and weaknesses. That said, the defense probably won’t be like the average conversation that you have with your friends. You’ll be the center of attention. And you may get some challenging questions. Thus, it’s a good idea to spend some time preparing yourself. First of all, you’ll want to prepare 5-10 minutes of opening comments. Here’s a good time to preempt some criticisms by frankly acknowledging what you think your work’s greatest strengths and weaknesses are. Then you may be asked some typical questions:

• What is the main argument of your thesis?
• How does it fit in with the work of Ms. Famous Scholar?
• Have you read the work of Mr. Important Author?

NOTE: Don’t get too flustered if you haven’t! Most scholars have their favorite authors and books and may bring one or more of them up, even if the person or book is only tangentially related to the topic at hand. Should you get this question, answer honestly and simply jot down the title or the author’s name for future reference. No one expects you to have read everything that’s out there.

• Why did you choose this particular case study to explore your topic?
• If you were to expand this project in graduate school, how would you do so?

Should you get some biting criticism of your work, try not to get defensive. Yes, this is a defense, but you’ll probably only fan the flames if you lose your cool. Keep in mind that all academic work has flaws or weaknesses, and you can be sure that your professors have received criticisms of their own work. It’s part of the academic enterprise. Accept criticism graciously and learn from it. If you receive criticism that is unfair, stand up for yourself confidently, but in a good spirit. Above all, try to have fun! A defense is a rare opportunity to have eminent scholars in your field focus on YOU and your ideas and work. And the defense marks the end of a long and arduous journey. You have every right to be proud of your accomplishments!

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Atchity, Kenneth. 1986. A Writer’s Time: A Guide to the Creative Process from Vision Through Revision . New York: W.W. Norton.

Barzun, Jacques, and Henry F. Graff. 2012. The Modern Researcher , 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Elbow, Peter. 1998. Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process . New York: Oxford University Press.

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. 2014. “They Say/I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing , 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Lamott, Anne. 1994. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life . New York: Pantheon.

Lasch, Christopher. 2002. Plain Style: A Guide to Written English. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Turabian, Kate. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How to Write the George Washington University Essays 2023-2024

The George Washington University has one optional supplemental essay prompt for all applicants, with two options to choose from. While not technically required, submitting a supplemental essay is your chance to distinguish yourself from other applicants, so we highly recommend completing it.

If you’re interested in applying for the Honors Program, you must complete two supplemental essays that showcase how the program would aid your studies at the University. Also, if you’re interested in applying to the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute, you’ll need to write an essay about how you can contribute to a sense of comunidad within the Institute.

Read these GW essay examples by accepted students to inspire your writing.

George Washington University Supplemental Essay Prompts

Optional for all applicants  .

Every applicant can choose from one of the following two essay prompts to submit.

Option 1: At the George Washington University, our students frequently interact with policymakers and world leaders. These experiences and those of our alumni can shape the future of global affairs. If you had the power to change the course of history in your community or the world, what would you do and why? (500 words)

Option 2: The George Washington University encourages students to think critically and to challenge the status quo. Thus, civil discourse is a key characteristic of our community. Describe a time when you engaged others in meaningful dialogue around an issue that was important to you. Did this exchange create change, new perspectives, or deeper relationships? (500 words)

Honors Program Applicants

Prompt 1 : With small classes and a dedicated faculty, the University Honors Program (UHP) embraces the ideals of a liberal arts education. Within the UHP, students take classes in many different academic fields (philosophy, science, history, art, social science, etc.) and hone their critical thinking skills. Explain why, as a member of the UHP, you would value the opportunity to engage with topics outside your major field(s) of study. (300 words)

Prompt 2 : The UHP represents a community of scholars at GW. First-year UHP students live and take classes together on the Mount Vernon Campus. Upper-level UHP students remain connected to our community for the remainder of their time at GW through courses, faculty mentoring, advising, research, an optional Foggy Bottom housing opportunity, and our many co-curricular/social activities. How do you see yourself contributing to and/or benefiting from this community as a member of the UHP? (300 words)

School of Media and Public Affairs

Journalism and Mass Communication Major Applicants: Write a profile of yourself in news or news feature style, as if you had interviewed yourself. (500 words)

Political Communication Major Applicants: If you could be any one person who has been active in politics, who would you choose to be and why? (500 words)

Special Programs

Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute Applicants: At the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute, community is central to our approach to leadership. Therefore, Cisneros Scholars are selected as a cohort that navigate their four years at GW together. How would you contribute to a sense of comunidad in your cohort if you were selected as a Cisneros Scholar? (500 words)

All Applicants, Option 1

At the george washington university, our students frequently interact with policymakers and world leaders. these experiences and those of our alumni can shape the future of global affairs. if you had the power to change the course of history in your community or the world, what would you do and why (500 words).

At first glance, this prompt appears to be eliciting your perspective on and critical analysis of historical events or current affairs. However, the goal of this essay is deeper than that. Remember, admissions essays are pieces of the puzzle that when pieced together, ideally show the admissions committee a comprehensive picture of you. Thus, this question is also seeking to understand what sociopolitical, economic, or environmental issues are important to you , and why .

Given the phrasing of the question, this prompt would be essential for applicants planning to major in international affairs or the social sciences. 

Here are two interpretations of the prompt: 

• If you could go back in time , what critical local, national, or global historical event would you change? How would you inflict such a change? Why? 
• Currently , what is a problem plaguing our society that you would work to resolve if you had all the power necessary to do so? What actions would you take, why, and how would those actions alter our future ?

Given the deliberate ambiguity of the question, you can choose either interpretation as your springboard. Just be sure to formulate your opening paragraph in a way that makes it clear how you chose to interpret the question.

Regardless of which route you decide on, the objective of your response is to suggest a solution to the problem you deem most critical . You are limited to a mere 250 words, so make sure to establish the context of your chosen issue with brevity and precision in a manner that will frame your solution. Then, get straight to the point: identify the problem or past event that affected the course of human history and suggest a more promising course of action.

A few tips and words of caution: 

Don’t pick a topic or problem that is too broad. If you are considering present-day issues in your response, don’t discuss something vague like “global poverty” or “illiteracy in developing nations.” No one individual is able to provide a concrete and feasible plan of action to such major problems of international significance, let alone a high school student with 250 words at their disposal. The strategy is to pick a sub-issue of a larger problem that affects a specific population.

For example, instead of addressing illiteracy in the developing world, you can delineate a proposal to increase literacy in rural schools with understaffed faculty, and connect it to your own background of growing up in a community where access to higher education and associated economic opportunities was inadequate. 

Or, you can suggest a measure to combat food insecurity for low-income students in Native-American reservations and relate that to your experience of witnessing hunger in your school cafeteria. Make your choice of issue specific, and your response to it personal.

Don’t bring up a historical cliché. If you are taking the historical route, avoid silly or overused instances. For example, don’t write about going back to the 1930s and killing Hitler in order to prevent WWII. Such responses would show the admissions committee that you are not serious, or worse yet, that your critical analysis is insufficient to provide a more nuanced reflection.

Try to think of historical events that were impactful to your personal or family background and are under-reported in the media. If you grew up in a community of interracial children raised by single parents, you may want to draw attention to the unique experiences and challenges this demographic faces in trying to grapple with their whole identity while heavily influenced only by one particular side.

Be specific. Give clear examples of actions you would take or policies you would implement in order to affect meaningful change. Don’t write broadly about educating more girls; instead, outline steps the government could take to narrow the gender literacy gap by allocating more funds to local schools or dedicating a certain portion of research grants to underrepresented women.

Instead of declaring that you would go back to 18th century United States and eliminate slavery, discuss the logical arguments and personal leverage you would use in lobbying influential generals and statesmen of the time to back a more egalitarian Constitution.

Ultimately, the prompt aims to gauge your personal values and determine your ability to think critically, to focus on worthwhile problems, and to propose realistic solutions. The admissions committee is looking to admit students who are passionate about examining pressing issues, quick to identify key stakeholders, and able to imagine plausible alternatives. 

All Applicants, Option 2

The george washington university encourages students to think critically and to challenge the status quo. thus, civil discourse is a key characteristic of our community. describe a time when you engaged others in meaningful dialogue around an issue that was important to you. did this exchange create change, new perspectives, or deeper relationships (500 words).

At its core, this prompt determines your ability to thrive in an intellectual environment punctuated by a diversity of opinions, as well as your capability to enact meaningful change in your community. At a time of increasing politicization, the admissions committee wants to attract students who are able to listen to each other and who can use their powers of persuasion to promote their point of view.

You don’t need a dramatic example to highlight your abilities to listen and persuade others. Here are some ideas of the kinds of moments in your life that will highlight the qualities necessary for the completion of this prompt. 

If you are an active member or leader of a club, you can invoke a situation in which you and other fellow members disagreed on the action the club should take. 

For example, you can write about the time you convinced your classmates to donate a significant sum to a local soup kitchen, instead of retaining it as part of the club budget, by appealing to their emotional side with photos of the people the kitchen is helping, and the statistics of the demographic it would reach.

You can also share a story in which you convinced another student of the validity of your point in a classroom debate, formal or informal. 

For example, write about the time when you used a compelling example that involved someone your debate opponent related to as you advocated for legalizing gay marriage in your U.S. history class, thus convincing her of LGBTQ individuals’ right to marriage.

Alternatively, discuss the challenges of convincing the Board of Education to support your initiative to start a new club. 

For example, if you tried to start a Girls in STEM club and were rebuffed by the administration on the grounds that the school already sponsored a Science Club, you could outline the arguments you used and the awareness campaign you launched in order to ultimately secure the necessary funding.

No matter what kind of example you choose, don’t forget that the prompt wants you to demonstrate that both you and the other party gained something from the experience . It is not enough to tell the admissions committee about a fight you had with a classmate who didn’t believe in abortion on religious grounds. You need to demonstrate your ability to persuade others, even those with radically different opinions, so dig deep and pick a success story as the example. 

Anyone can argue, but not everyone can express their ideas and exchange perspectives in a respectful and productive way. Perhaps you engaged a fellow classmate in a class debate that led you to form a life-long friendship, despite your political differences. Or, maybe you were able to develop a project that others initially opposed and convinced them of its value. Make sure that your response highlights a lesson learned or an impact made. 

Honors Program Applicants, Prompt 1

With small classes and a dedicated faculty, the university honors program (uhp) embraces the ideals of a liberal arts education. within the uhp, students take classes in many different academic fields (philosophy, science, history, art, social science, etc.) and hone their critical thinking skills. explain why, as a member of the uhp, you would value the opportunity to engage with topics outside your major field(s) of study. (300 words).

This prompt is rather similar to the common “ Why This College ?” essay, but it’s specifically tailored to the GW’s Honors Program. The Honors Program is a rigorous addition to your GW education. It was created to provide an interdisciplinary education to students so they can address real-world problems in well-rounded ways. If you love to learn for its own sake and you enjoy dabbling in several subjects, this program might be perfect for you! 

Before beginning your response, think about your prospective major(s) and career goals and how courses in other fields can support those goals. This prompt is essentially two parts: one, explaining why you value an interdisciplinary education, and two, how UHP specifically can support your goals/education.

For the first part, here’s an example. Say you want to be a doctor. While a STEM degree will give you the scientific foundation and knowledge to go to med school, medicine is an inherently interdisciplinary field; it’s not only scientific but also social, political, and economic. You want to be able to effectively treat patients from different socioeconomic backgrounds and advocate for better healthcare policy, especially as a low-income immigrant child who has experienced barriers to getting healthcare.

As you explain the reasons you value an interdisciplinary education, make sure to also explain your why. Anyone who wants to be a doctor could explain how you need to be well-rounded, but that hypothetical student has a life story that backs up their motivation.

For the next part of your essay, you’ll want to cite specific Honors Program resources that will support your interdisciplinary education. Explore the course offerings to find classes that pique your curiosity. The above student might mention the course Well-Being , which approaches wellness from a wide variety of cultures and philosophies. 

They could also mention wanting to pursue an Honors Contract course. This unique opportunity allows you to receive academic credit for academic-focused projects outside of class. You can pursue an internship, undergraduate research project, or research assistantships in a field that catches your eye while getting college credit! This particular student might want to do a contract course focused on public health.

Keep in mind you only have 300 words to work with, and although that may sound like a lot, you’ll quickly find it may be difficult to write about all the various interests within the program you may have. Try to focus on just a couple, but don’t be afraid to mention there are countless others you hope to have time for. 

No matter what you decide to write about, be sure to center your response around your passions and goals, this personal aspect is what will ultimately make your essay unique and authentic.

Honors Program Applicants, Prompt 2

The uhp represents a community of scholars at gw. first-year uhp students live and take classes together on the mount vernon campus. upper-level uhp students remain connected to our community for the remainder of their time at gw through courses, faculty mentoring, advising, research, an optional foggy bottom housing opportunity, and our many co-curricular/social activities. how do you see yourself contributing to and/or benefiting from this community as a member of the uhp (300 words).

At first glance, this prompt certainly seems to have some overlap with the previous question. Both prompts are variations on the “ Why This College? ” essay, but separates your reasoning into two distinct categories. While you should dive into the course offerings and academics that led you to applying to the Honors Program in the previous prompt, this prompt asks you to explain why this specific community is not only a good fit for you, but why you’ll be a good fit for the community and what you’ll add to it as a whole.

First, make sure you outline what you’re looking for in a college experience outside of the classroom, and how that can support your academic and personal goals. For example, the student who wants to be a doctor may want a mentor (which is especially helpful for pre-professional paths), is interested in hosting study groups (great for STEM classes), and ways to have fun with classmates outside of academics (necessary for a work-life balance). 

Next, do some research on exactly what the Honors Program offers students as far as community. The prompt itself gives you a good head start on what your experience will look like as you move through your studies, but a great answer to this prompt will dig deeper.

Starting with the Mount Vernon campus experience, not only will Honors students live in the same residence hall, but they will live on the same two floors, meaning the Honors Program offers a built-in community both in and out of the classroom. Showcasing how this built-in community would enhance your college experience is imperative when answering this prompt. For the pre-med student, they may mention how this dorm experience will make it easy to organize study groups and meetings with peer advisors.

Be sure to also take a look at the co-curricular and social activities that the Honors Programs offers exclusively to their students. The event calendar from previous terms is a great starting place to get a look at some of the past events hosted by the program. From the 2022-23 school year, the Program hosted events such as a Fire Pits on the Quad, Soul Food events, and hikes.

As you discuss the different community resources that interest you, make sure to explain your why and how they’ll support your professional and life goals. 

And, make sure to outline how you’ll contribute to the community, not just what it will do for you. If you don’t see any specific events that you’d love to participate in, you can even say that you’d like to organize it yourself.

Journalism and Mass Communication Major Applicants

Write a profile of yourself in news or news feature style, as if you had interviewed yourself. (500 words).

To prepare for this prompt, it is a good idea to spend some time reading newspaper articles. Look for feature articles that provide in-depth interviews with individuals—movie stars, politicians, or entrepreneurs—on reputable news sites such as the New York Times , Time Magazine , or The Washington Post . Get to know the style used by professional journalists when profiling subjects.

It is important to focus your “interview” on a particular event or achievement in your life. Although the prompt is quite vague in regards to the content of the profile, you don’t want to waste this space by rambling on about a list of your achievements.

Instead, think of one particular interest that really defines and shapes you, then come up with “interview questions” that would allow you to speak to that aspect of your personality. 

This prompt also gives you an opportunity to highlight an aspect of your profile that the rest of your more conventional application does not showcase. Here are some suggestions for potential topics:

If you have a unique skill that you have cultivated outside of your academic and extracurricular life, this prompt is a perfect opportunity to mention it. 

For example, if you are an expert juggler who practices new tricks every weekend and can captivate an audience of middle-school children, your profile is a chance to sell the admissions committee on this particular quirk, and your innate passion for the activity that nurtured your skill.

If you have an intense interest or passion, however unconventional, you can also use this prompt to demonstrate how it contributes to your skills and personality. 

For instance, if you have collected every film produced by your favorite movie director, are capable of reciting obscure trivia about his cinematic achievements, and never miss a chance to learn more about the genre of cinema in which he specializes, talk about it in your profile. This way, you can show that you are intellectually curious and motivated to learn new things about the subjects that inspire you.

If you have had a particular experience that served as a defining moment in your life , the newspaper profile is a great place to reflect on it. 

For example, if you had spent many months preparing for a half-marathon, working hard to build the stamina and discipline necessary to keep running, you can use this response as a place to reflect on the challenges you faced and what you learned about yourself along the way.

One way to help you develop a strong response to the prompt is to ask a friend or family member to interview you . They may be able to come up with interesting questions that you would not otherwise have thought of, the responses to which you can incorporate in your profile.

Below are some practical tips for crafting a response in the style of a news piece:

• Refer to yourself in third person. It may feel strange at first, but it is important to remember that the prompt wants you to write a feature as though you interviewed yourself. Pretend you are a reporter who is writing a story about a famous individual and refer to yourself the way you would to your subject.
• Stylistically, journalistic writing differs from academic papers you would typically write in high school. Try to keep both your sentences and paragraphs short and to the point. Each sentence and paragraph should communicate one main idea and include only the information necessary to convey it. Don’t include complicated clauses or overly long, flowery sentences. The purpose of a news article is to convey information effectively and concisely. This prompt seeks to determine whether you are capable of adopting the kind of style necessary to succeed at the School of Media and Public Affairs.

When responding to any of the above prompts, it is crucial to reflect on what the question is asking you before launching into writing. In addition, it is always a good idea to have another person look over your responses when you’re done in order to avoid any careless errors and make sure that you are getting your main points across in a clear and engaging manner.

Political Communication Major Applicants

If you could be any one person who has been active in politics, who would you choose to be and why (500 words).

This prompt is meant to separate applicants who have a genuine interest in the world of political communications from those who only have surface-level interest. In order to answer this prompt effectively, you need to be able to pinpoint issues you are passionate about, identify a person active in politics who inspires you, and explain WHY you chose that particular person. 

Don’t pick a person whose policies you do not know well. While names like “AOC,” “Bernie Sanders,” “Donald Trump,” “Angela Merkel,” “Modi” and more are in mainstream media, many people only know the SparkNotes version of their policies. The admissions committee wants to see that your specific interest—that could have been shown in your extracurriculars or class choices—is also valued by the person you chose. 

For instance, if you have worked at a food bank through your high school career, you could choose to be Congressman Dwight Evans (PA) who spearheaded the “Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act.” 

Or, if you want to choose a person who is in mainstream media, try to pick a policy-agenda of theirs that is less-known and connect it back to some of your interests. 

For example, if you participated in clubs for mental health awareness in young adults, you could choose to become Elizabeth Warren who co-sponsored a bill to address mental health issues for youth, specifically youth of color. 

This major has an additional prompt because the admissions committee wants to choose people who are determined to pursue this educational track. Take time to carefully assess how you can tie your interests from outside of school or extracurriculars to the person you choose to become. 

The WHY portion of this prompt is the most important part. Anyone could choose President Obama as the person they wish to become and state a simple reason like: “because he was the first African-American President of the United States and that was an inspiration to me.” However, a more effective answer would elaborate on what impact President Obama had on you beyond serving as an inspiration. 

For instance, did Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act inspire you as a female applicant to fight against the wage gap?  Or, did Obama lifting a 22-year old ban that restricted people with HIV/AIDS from entering the US impact your decision to write a blog about public health in America? 

Making specific connections between the actions or accomplishments of the person you choose and your own accomplishments and goals will make your essay response unique and memorable. 

Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute Applicants

At the cisneros hispanic leadership institute, community is central to our approach to leadership. therefore, cisneros scholars are selected as a cohort that navigate their four years at gw together. how would you contribute to a sense of comunidad in your cohort if you were selected as a cisneros scholar (500 words).

The Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute is dedicated to research that will benefit the Hispanic community. Applicants to this Institute are expected to be dedicated to “community” conceptually, to the Hispanic community, and to the cohort community they will be a part of throughout their college careers.

Read more about the Institute’s mission , academic programs , and research before you begin writing. After doing this research on the program, consider your specific reasons for applying to the Cisneros Institute. Think about how you have tangible and intangible connections to the program.

A tangible connection involves resources like the academic programs, specific faculty members, and research opportunities. An intangible connection involves things that aren’t physical, such as the program’s culture and its values. Once you’ve figured these things out, you can create a specific plan for how you’ll engage with the program.

For example, perhaps you’re drawn to the Cisneros Undergraduate Research Fellowship because you have a research idea that involves studying how Hispanic people are treated based on the intensity of their Spanish accent. You might find ways in which this idea appeals to the members of your cohort, who may know people with strong accents. Conducting a full-length research project with your cohort can contribute greatly to a sense of community within it.

You can also think of this prompt as a future-tense version of the community service essay . A typical community service prompt asks how you have contributed to a community in the past. This prompt is asking how you will create a sense of comunidad in the future. One way to start thinking about your response is to look to the past.

To do this, ask yourself a few questions: in what ways have you created a sense of community before? What actions did you take? What values did these actions instill in others within that community?

Once you have a good idea of how you have contributed to a community in the past, you can apply some of these ideas to your future cohort. Perhaps you will work to help others in your cohort if they start to struggle academically, since you created a helpful study group for your AP Calculus class in high school. Maybe you’re a home cook and know how soothing a familiar recipe is, so you want to organize weekly group dinners at the Casa Cisneros (the living-learning community), where you cook recipes passed down from the families of people in the cohort. 

One important program that Cisneros scholar cohorts participate in is Caminos al Futuro , a pre-college residential summer program in which “Caminos scholars examine the social, economic and political transformations affecting the Hispanic/Latino community in a college-like environment.” According to GW, cohorts often serve as counselors and mentors for this program, so you may want to mention how you will serve as a role model for your cohort as well as the program participants in your capacity as counselor.

Where to Get Your George Washington Essays Edited

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If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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• Arts & Sciences
• Graduate Studies in A&S

Honors Thesis

Eligibility requirements.

The honors program in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is open to majors who have strong academic records. Students who have maintained an overall cumulative 3.65 grade point average through 5 semesters and have at least a 3.65 in the WGS major may be considered for honors.  Students writing honors theses must take Feminist Research Methods. It’s preferable to take it prior to senior year, but it may be taken concurrently while writing the thesis.   

Selection of Primary Thesis Director

The student is responsible for finding a primary honors thesis director from among the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies faculty and associated faculty. In selecting the thesis director, the student should be attentive to the research interests and areas of expertise represented by the faculty and select the individual whose expertise most closely relates to the student’s proposed thesis topic. The student must obtain the consent of the faculty member. (Students should note that faculty members periodically take leaves of absence and may not be available during the semester when the student intends to complete the thesis). Students must also find two other faculty members to agree to be on their honors committee. These readers will serve in an advisory role during the thesis-writing process and evaluate the thesis.    At least two of the three members of the thesis committee must be WGSS-core or WGSS-affiliated faculty. 

Students should discuss their plans with their proposed thesis directors early, preferably in the fall of their junior year. Early planning is especially important if the student is going abroad second semester junior year. Since deadlines are critical, it would be advisable to set up a schedule with a director in order to ensure that deadlines are met.  

Applying to the Honors Program

Application to the program must be made by March 18 of the junior year (no late applications will be accepted). An application consists of a 1-page application form, 3 – 4-page thesis proposal, 1 – 2-page bibliography, and current (unofficial) student transcript.

• Application: The application form includes the following information: name and signature of the faculty director who has agreed to supervise the thesis. Also required are the names and signatures of two faculty members who have agreed to be readers of the completed thesis.
• brief overview of the topic
• clearly stated research question(s)
• brief literature review  
• method(s) to be used
• timetable for the project
• an acknowledgment of whether IRB approval will be needed and when you plan to submit that application

 **Students should consult with their thesis director while working on the draft of the proposal.

• Bibliography:  1 – 2-page preliminary bibliography
• Student transcript;  Copy of the student (unofficial) transcript (printed out from WEBSTAC).

*Please note that these items may be submitted via e-mail if the student is abroad.

**Any work that involves human subjects, whether interviews, surveys, testing, etc., may require application to and approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Students planning to use human-subject research done abroad must have received prior IRB approval from Washington University for this material to be used in the honors thesis. If applicable, make sure to include this process in your proposal and in your timetable. IRB applications must be submitted by May 1. IRB approval must be obtained by September 1, or the honors project cannot continue.  

Acceptance Procedure

All honors proposals will be reviewed by the WGSS Honors Thesis Committee. Students will be notified of their acceptance or rejection no later than April 30. Students may be asked to rewrite and resubmit their proposals.

Accepted students should register for WGSS 499 (Honors Thesis: Research and Writing) in the fall; with approval from the thesis director at the end of fall semester, students will be able to register for WGSS 499 for the spring.  

General Guidelines

• An honors thesis is an original work. Most final theses will be in the range of 50-70 pages, typed, and double-spaced, including bibliography; however, the specific length of the project should be determined in consultation with the thesis director.
• Work should begin on the honors thesis in the summer before senior year. Thesis directors and students should consult to devise a reading list or other plan for preliminary research to take place before fall semester.
• Frequent meetings with the thesis director should take place during both the research and the writing part of the thesis. Weekly meetings are customary.
• The thesis director will counsel students on research process, analysis and argument, and presentation. The thesis director will also read drafts and make suggestions on revisions.
• While students work most closely with their thesis director, the two readers are available for consultation. For the sake of continuity, discussions between readers and student should also be communicated to the thesis director.
• The introduction should explain the topic/state the research question and clearly state the thesis. The student should conduct and write a literature review. This task consists of surveying the literature to review existing research about the topic and then situating the thesis work within this scholarship.
• The thesis should be written in a clear, concise fashion, as a double-spaced, typed document.  It should have a cover page with the title, student’s name, the month and year, and the names of the thesis director and second readers.
• For footnotes and sources, students should use the style and format that is appropriate for the subject; students should check with their thesis director to ascertain what format to use.
• A preliminary full draft must be submitted by February 1 to the thesis director. The director should provide suggestions for revision to the student preferably by February 15.
• A final draft, one that has been evaluated, revised, and approved by the thesis director, must be finished by March 1 and copies given to the thesis committee.
• After the thesis has been turned in and evaluated by the student’s committee, minor revisions can be made. The revised thesis should be printed and spiral bound and a copy given to the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program by April 30.
• Please remember that doing an honors thesis is demanding and takes a great deal of time and effort. It is strongly recommended that the student develop a schedule, in consultation with the thesis director, for the research and the completion of the thesis so that deadlines set by the program and the College can be met  

Evaluation of the Thesis and How Honors are Determined

• The thesis committee (director and two readers) will review the thesis and if the committee determines that the work earns an A or A-, they will recommend that the student receives Latin Honors. 
• Levels of Latin honors are determined by GPA and are based on those seniors participating in the honors program in the College of Arts and Sciences. Latin honors will be calculated once spring grades for the eighth semester are submitted, and the breakdown is as follows

                      Top 15% GPA:    summa cum laude

                      Next 35% GPA:   magna cum laude

                      Remaining 50%:  cum laude

• If the honors thesis, as evaluated by the three-member thesis committee, does not warrant an A or A- the student will not receive Latin Honors.  

Other Requirements for Honors

• Publication of abstract in Washington University Senior Honors Thesis Abstracts: In March, semester, students must submit a 250 – 300 word abstract to the Undergraduate Research Office for publication in Washington University Senior Honors Thesis Abstracts(WUSHTA), which will be available at graduation. Abstracts should be reviewed by the thesis director before submission.
• Participation in the spring Undergraduate Research Symposium: All honors thesis students are required to present their work in the Undergraduate Research Symposium. The Undergraduate Research Symposium takes place on a Saturday in April. You must register in March to participate. The research posters must be dropped off at the WGSS Office within one week of the symposium. 
• Presentation of honors thesis results to WGSS faculty and students: During the first Monday of reading week, students will be expected to give a 10-minute presentation of their honors thesis.

The abstract, research symposium, and honors presentation are requirements that must be completed in order to receive Latin honors.    

Junior year:   

• March 18: Completed applications due
• April 30: Students notified of acceptance. IRB application (if required) must be submitted. Approved students must meet with thesis director to determine summer reading list and agree on work that will be completed by fall semester. May 1 IRB application submission

Senior year

• September 1 IRB approval (when applicable) must be secured by this date, or honors may not proceed.
• October 15: Literature review must be complete and submitted to honors thesis director.
• December 15: Approximately 50 percent of the thesis should be complete in first draft form and submitted to the advisor.  The fall grade is largely dependent on achieving this goal. Other chapters should be outlined for completion by February 1.
• February 1: Completed draft due for thesis director
• March 1: Revised draft due for thesis committee
• By April 1: Recommendations for honors made
• Before March 31: Submit abstract to Undergraduate Research Office
• Before March 31: Sign up for Undergraduate Research Fair
• April:  Participate in Undergraduate Research Fair
• May:  Present honors work to WGSS faculty, students, and public

Former Honors Thesis Students

Julia Birnbach: "After the Fact is Never After the Fact: Examining Change and Justice in Intervention with Perpetrators of Sexual Assault"

Syndni Perry-Anderson: "From What Threat? A Transfeminist Discourse Analysis of the 2021 Attempt to Legislate the Erasurer of Trans* Student-Athletes in Missouri"

Danielle Sarraf: "Re-Centering Human Trafficking Intervention Efforts: An Evaluation of the Intersection of Human Trafficking and Health in St. Louis using a Public Health Lens"

Dahlia Lehman: "Untwisting the STEM: Examining Gender Disparities in Lag, Introductor STEM Courses:

Siddi Vora: "Find the Incredible You: Sex, Gender, and Incredible India !"

Louisa Judge: "A Room of Their Own: Trauma-Informed Hospital Design"

Lizzi Kehoe: " Help the Helpers-On Vicarious Trauma"

Julia Pasquinelli: "Confronting Sexual Assault at Washington University"

Gabriella Ruskay-Kidd: "Sexual (Mis) Education"

Erica Williams: " Phenomena of Ivies, Pearls, and Polished Girls: Examining the Visual, Embodied, and Sonic AK "

Theaivin Yousef: "A Sense of Steel: Race and Affect in Post 9/11 United States"

Elise Hu: "Homosexuality and Attitudes in Non-Affirming Churches: The Necessity for Family-Like Friendships"

Alyssa Hunt: "The Utility of Risk Assessment to Inform Judicial Decision-Making in Civil Orders of Protection at the St. Louis Domestic Violence Court"

Monica Sass: "The Silence Will Kill You": Implications of the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 on Experiences and Perceptions of Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence in South Africa"

Molly Brodsky: "Other Knowers, Other Growers: Gender-Conscious Farming and the 'Alternative' Agriculture Movement"

Sally Rifkin: " Cultivating Community: Towards a Black Women-Gendered Alternative Food Politic"

Carly Wolfer: "Lets Talk about Sex, Baby: Communication between Casual Sexual Partners in the College Hookup Culture"

Emi Wyland: "The Embodied Intimacy of Survival: Peer, Partner, and Client Intimacies of Transfeminine Sex Workers of Color in Tangerine and Afuera "

Priyanka Zylstra: "(Re)Locating South Asian Women in Apna Ghar: Evolving Cultural Narratives Within Domestic Violence Intervention"

Katie Chew:  "Widening the Scope: Exploring Student Experiences Responding to Sexual Violence on Campus"

Gayelyn Golde:  "Trouble in Paradise: Investigating Rape-Collusive Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices on a Boarding School Campus"

Bianca Kaushal:  "Invisible Violence: Battered South Asian Women's Experiences in the American Legan System"

Ryan Paige:  "Elevating Spaces, Changing Communities: Black Women's Participation in the Metropolitan Chicago YWCA, 1915-1925"

Cameron Kinker:  "Contextualizing Transgender Health Care: Meanings, Experiences, and Future Hopes of Trans Adult in the St. Louis, Missouri Region"

Hannah Waldman:  "Abusive Warfare, Not Welfare Abuse: Contextualizing the Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence and Social Welfare Policy"

Christy Marx:  "Barriers to Access: An Analysis of Obstacles to Obtaining Services for Bosnian Immigrant Victims/Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in St. Louis"

Mackenzie Findlay:  "Understanding Malagasy Women's Preferences for Reproductive Health Care"

Vinita Chaudhry:  "Desi Queer Pride: Experiences of South Asian Queer People in New York City"

Danielle Green:  "Best Cock on the Block: An Analysis of Partnered Dildo Use"

Ariel Frankel:  "The Intersection of Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in South Africa: How Xenophobia Affects Immigrant and    Refugee Women in Cape Town"

Elizabeth Handschy:  "Reworking Heteronormative Understandings of Eating Disorders to Include Alternative Sexualities"

M. Annie Houghton-Larsen:  "Hope but No Change: President Barack Obama's Gender Politics"

Louisa Kornblatt:  "Court Literacy: How Petitioners Weave Their Narratives of Abuse through the St. Louis Domestic Violence Court"

Moira Moynihan:  "Responses to Violence Against Women in French Immigrant Communities: Understanding the Benefits of an Equality-Driven Mode of Advocacy"

Ryan Sasse:  "Queering the Rainbow Nation: An Ethnographic Analysis of how Cultural Norms and LGBT-Inclusive Policies Shape South Africa LGBT Identity Culture"

Wolf Smith: "Where's Our Safe House? Examining the Relationship between LGBTQ+ Communities and the Domestic and Sexual Violence Resources in St. Louis"

Laura Dietrich: "The Good Gals Represent the Bad Guys"

Rosa Heyman: "The Intersectional Opportunity: The Shortcomings of the Media Coverage of the Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas Sexual Harassment Hearings"

Ashley Brosius:  "Understanding the Impact of Sex and Gender on Legal Proceedings and Outcomes: A Case Study at the St. Louis County Domestic Violence Court"

Wesley Sebring:  "Crafting Sex and Gender: Intersex Medical Experience in the Early to Mid-Twentieth Century United States"                 

Dan Woznica:  "Reading Robert R.": The Production of Knowledge about America's First AIDS Patient

Ayla Karamustafa: "The Stigma of Male Sexual Fluidity: The Limitations of  Conceptualizing Masculinity within Informal  Public Spaces"

Robert Harvey: "The Involvement of Men in Service Provision for Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence: A Survey of Contemporary Thought"

Cari Sekendur: "Hooking Up as Cyborgs – Text Messaging and Facebook for Sexual Self-Efficacy in College Culture"

Lauren Weiss:  "Keeping Students Safe: A Proposal to Address and Prevent Dating Violence at Washington University in St. Louis"

Alana Burman:  "More Like Our Imaginings: Performing the Transformation of Second Wave Theory Building in the Feminist Utopian Fiction of the 1970s"

Caitlin Gaskell:  "All Are Welcome: The Roman Catholic Women's Ordination Movement and the Motivations of Its Participants"

Anne Lascoe:  "Writing the Breast"

Melissa Goldman: "Professional Sex: A Healthy Approach to Legislating the U.S. Commercial Sex Industry"    

Shaina Goodman:  "Silence, Survival, and Shalom Bayit: The Implications of Jewish Religious and Cultural Values on the Experiences of and Provision of Services for Jewish Victims of Domestic Violence"

Kristi Nigh:  "Moving Beyond "It Just Happened": Using Literature to Transform Female Adolescents' Experience of Sexuality and Desire"

Alexis Wolfer:  "Children of Violence: An Examination of the Inter-generational Cycle of Violence Model and its Impact on Children Who Witness Domestic Abuse"

Rishi Rattan:  "Sexing Them Up, Cutting Them Off: Implications for the Treatment of Intersex Infants by Addressing the Management and Outcome of Male Infants with Ambiguous Genitalia in the United States Through a Postmodern Feminist Bioethical Lens"

Erika Sabbath:  "Can the master's tools, dismantle the master's house? Feminist approaches to organizational democracy"          

Melissa De Jesus:  "BDSM (Un)Bound? Sexual Practice, Stigma and Community"

Mia Eisner-Grynberg:  "On Account of Sex: Setbacks, Strategies, and the  Equal Rights Amendment"

Your Honors Thesis

The honors college thesis handbook and guidelines.

Completing this Honors College requirement provides you with an opportunity to design a unique project that will challenge you to reflect upon yours Honors education and to present your work to a group of faculty and your peers.

If you have any additional questions please contact  Robin Bond .

View the Spring 2024 Thesis Presentation Schedule

Sign up for your thesis presentation , submit your final thesis.

Table of Contents

What is the Honors Thesis and why do I have to complete one?

What do i do first.

• Thesis checklist
• Formatting your thesis proposal, and proposal review process
• Formatting your thesis

Who will evaluate my thesis and oral presentations?

How will my thesis be graded.

• What is “pass with distinction” and will I be eligible?

Forms & Guidelines

• Download the Honors College Thesis Handbook and Guidelines
• Honors Thesis Proposal Form
• Thesis Oral Presentation Rubric
• Thesis Written Document Rubric
• Thesis Evaluation Guidelines
• Thesis Advisor Signature

Completing this Honors requirement provides you an opportunity to design a unique project that will challenge you to reflect upon your Honors education and to present your work to a group of faculty and your peers. Your thesis will be the culmination of your undergraduate work and a bridge to your future career or academic life. Completion of the senior thesis is one of the hallmarks of a quality Honors education.

The thesis also provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to work closely with faculty members on campus who share similar research or creative interests. Your thesis can provide entrée to academic and professional research. It can lead to a publication and/or a conference presentation. Furthermore, faculty members who serve as thesis advisors are in a position to write very strong letters for graduate/professional schools or positions in the labor force. Prospective employers and graduate school admissions committees are impressed by the dedication and discipline required to write a thesis.

A thesis is not just another research or term paper. A thesis will thoroughly investigate previous research on a topic and will include your own insights and contributions to the topic. Many theses attempt to answer an academic question or test a hypothesis. Students in art, music, creative writing, or film studies, for example, may choose to complete a “creative project.” In this case, your written paper would be a contextual analysis of the work that you completed and would provide a lens for an audience to evaluate your work. See the “Formatting Your Thesis Proposal” and “Formatting Your Completed Thesis” sections below.

The information provided here will help you complete your Honors thesis and will answer basic questions about the process. The advisors in the Honors College are available to talk with you further about this requirement and to help you successfully complete it.

Before you begin writing your thesis, it is highly recommended that you enroll in and complete HONORS 398, an optional one-unit “Thesis Proposal” class. HONORS 398 should be taken in your sophomore or junior year. The goals of this class are to identify an appropriate advisor, develop a research activity or creative project, and prepare your proposal. In conjunction with your thesis advisor, you will develop a proposal that will be submitted to the Honors College for approval. The required format for the proposal is outlined below in this handbook, and the cover form, which your advisor must sign, is available here.

Once the proposal is approved by the Thesis Review Committee, you will complete your project under the supervision of your thesis advisor, and you may plan to present your final thesis as soon as the following semester.

Note: Students in the College of Engineering should check their schedules of studies to see which course satisfies the Honors College thesis requirement.

Thesis Checklist

• Thesis topic/Research project Your thesis can be a project that you develop or it can be based on faculty research that you are involved in. Often a thesis is a critical discussion/literature review of a topic guided by the specific research question of your thesis. It is not a requirement that you generate your own data in a lab or by using a survey, for example.  Most students begin thinking about their thesis in SOPHOMORE YEAR ; some students get involved in research on campus as early as FRESHMAN YEAR .
• HONORS 398 Plan to enroll in HONORS 398 during your JUNIOR YEAR. The course is not required, but it helps you write a proposal for your project and explains information about writing and completing the thesis. If you are pursuing a major in nursing or speech and hearing sciences or if you are planning to study abroad in junior year.  Some students choose to take HONORS 398 in SPRING OF SOPHOMORE YEAR .
• Thesis Advisor The thesis requires that you work with a faculty advisor at WSU. This can be anyone who is in a faculty position (including clinical faculty and senior instructors) at any WSU campus. You must have an advisor before you submit your thesis proposal to honors. HONORS 398 can help you identify an advisor for your project; if you are doing research in a faculty lab, the PI (Principal Investigator) is the best option for your thesis advisor.
• Thesis Proposal Before you can enroll in HONORS 450 thesis credits, you must submit a thesis proposal to honors. The thesis proposal is a 5-page document that shows you are embarking on a solid, academic project that will satisfy the thesis requirement. The thesis proposal must be submitted no later than the semester before you plan to complete and present your thesis. The thesis proposal is submitted as an email attachment to [email protected] with a coversheet.  Most students submit their proposal in JUNIOR YEAR .
• HONORS 450, 3 credits HONORS 450 is not an actual class; these are 3 credits that satisfy your thesis requirement for honors. Once your thesis proposal is approved, you will be enrolled in HONORS 450 credits according to your instructions on the thesis proposal cover sheet (see above).
• Written Thesis You will work with your thesis advisor to write your final thesis, which will probably take multiple drafts. Communicate with your advisor about how often you should meet to review your work. Your final thesis will be due on the Monday of the week prior to the week of your presentation date.  Most students plan to complete the thesis in SENIOR YEAR .
• Schedule your Presentation Plan to schedule your thesis presentation early in the semester when you plan to complete your thesis. There will be a date by which you must schedule your presentation. You will need the information about your advisor and the faculty evaluator for your project. Your advisor can suggest an evaluator to review your work.  Most students plan to complete the thesis in SENIOR YEAR .
• Thesis Presentation Your thesis presentation is the last step in completing your thesis. Your presentation will be attended by your advisor, your evaluator, and a host from the Honors College. You will present your thesis for 20 minutes, followed by 10-15 minutes of Q/A, and finally the evaluation, so, the entire presentation will be scheduled for one hour. Students at the Spokane campus have the option of presenting via the WSU videoconferencing system.  Most students plan to complete and present their thesis in SENIOR YEAR .

Formatting your thesis proposal

Thesis proposals are typically 5 pages long and are double spaced using a 12-point font. Please paginate your proposal and be sure to attach the required Thesis Proposal Form to the front of your proposal. The guidelines below indicate the sections required.

I. Introduction/Literature Review

Your introduction or literature review provides specific background information or the “body of knowledge” relevant to your Honors thesis. The literature you cite should draw on both earlier and current scholarly work. For proposals in the arts and humanities, include several journal sources and academic book(s). For proposals in the social sciences and sciences, include primary sources, review articles, and academic book(s).

This section should be written such that your research question or hypothesis or creative activity flows logically from it.

II. Proposed Activity

Depending upon your academic discipline, you may present your proposed activity as a research question, hypothesis(es), or creative activity with a stated goal or outcome(s). The proposed activity that forms the basis of your Honors thesis must be tied to an existing body of knowledge. This section of your thesis proposal should be clear and concise – e.g., two sentences in length.

III. Methodology

All disciplines lend themselves to research and creativity; all work is conducted using some methodology. Your methodology determines the rigor and validity of your work.

This section of your thesis proposal should present all the methods (i.e., scholarly approaches) you will use in your thesis. Your advisor will be well-versed in methodologies.

Your methodology may depend on your field. For example …

• If you plan to create original artistic work or other creative work, provide a scholarly “lens” through which an audience may perceive it (e.g., analyze the work of artists who influenced your own work and how your work differs from/is similar to theirs). Discuss any challenges to be overcome and give a timeline you will follow to complete your project. Be specific about what you plan to create. Articulate your creative goals.
• If you plan to conduct literature research (whether in the liberal arts and humanities, sciences, social sciences, business, or communications), indicate how you will select and examine your sources (e.g., date range of journals to be searched, data base(s) to utilize), what guidelines you will use to interpret them, and how you plan to analyze and synthesize your findings.
• If you plan to perform scientific research in a lab or the field, provide information on materials and methods including controls, replicates, and statistical analyses.
• If you plan to conduct a meta-analysis in the social sciences, indicate the criteria to be used to select the publications for your analysis as well as the statistics you will apply.
• If your research involves the use of humans, including surveys and/or questionnaires, you must obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval through the Office of Research Assurances (www.irb.wsu.edu). This approval is absolutely necessary before you interview one person or send out a single survey to be completed.
• If you are doing a survey or interviews, include the full survey instrument and/or the complete interview questions to the Appendix section. Further, if data collection is involved, describe how the data will be collected and analyzed and what materials will be used.

IV. Expected Results and/or Potential Conclusions

In no more than one or two paragraphs , describe the results you expect from your thesis and what those results will mean in the greater context of knowledge in the field. If you complete a creative project, discuss the implications of your project in terms of a larger context of your discipline.

V. Annotated Bibliography

This is a preliminary list of the “body of knowledge” that was cited in your Introduction/Literature Review (above). Your annotated bibliography section will begin on a new sheet of paper and contain at least five annotated sources. Select recent journal articles, review articles, and scholarly books that address your topic. After each source, write an annotation, i.e. a 3- to 4-sentence statement explaining what information is included in the source. (See example below.) Include specific facts rather than vague generalizations (e.g., instead of saying, “This journal article talks about Beethoven’s 9th symphony,” say “This journal article analyzes the form, instrumentation, and re-orchestration by Mahler of Beethoven’s 9th symphony”). If it is not obvious, explain how the source will be useful to the development of your thesis. For the citation, follow the approved style for your field (i.e. APA, MLA, Chicago Style Manual, etc.). Single-space each citation and its corresponding annotation and leave a blank line between entries:

Portes A. 1998. Social capital: its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 24:1-24.

This review article discusses the origins and definitions of social capital in the writings of several scholars in the field. The author identifies four sources of social capital and examines their dynamics. He also gives examples of both positive functions and negative consequences of social capital. It is fundamental for my thesis hypothesis.

Powell W.W. and Snellman K. 2004. The knowledge economy. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 30:199-220.

This review article uses evidence from patent data and discusses the debate on whether technological advances have generated more or less worker autonomy. It is useful for my research because it defines the knowledge economy and provides both sides of the debate.

VI. Appendix

This optional section will contain your complete survey instruments and full range of interview questions, or any other information you and your advisor deem essential for readers and reviewers.

Thesis proposal review process

If your thesis proposal is electronically submitted by the fifth day of a month, you will receive approval—or a request for revision—by the last working day of that month. A faculty committee will evaluate your thesis proposal. All notifications to you and your advisor will be made using WSU’s email system.

Formatting your completed thesis

All Honors College theses include these sections, arranged in the following order :

The title page will include the following: thesis title, your name, the semester in which you are giving your oral presentation, and your advisor’s name, department, and college.

Advisor Signature Approval Page

Your advisor must indicate that he/she agrees that your thesis is complete and ready to submit. This page should be placed directly after your Title Page, and include the following:

• As thesis advisor for (your name) , I have read this paper and find it satisfactory.
• Thesis advisor signature
• Date of signature

The précis represents an informative, concise summary of your thesis that is free from jargon and written in language that an academic reader outside your discipline can understand. (Note: A précis differs from an abstract, which is written for professionals in the discipline.) The précis should be no more than two pages long, double-spaced. Develop your précis after you complete the body of your Honors thesis, and place it directly after the Advisor Signature Approval Page. Include the problem, question, or hypothesis examined, an explanation of why you decided to study this problem or issue or to pursue this creative project, the approach you took, what you discovered, and avenues others might pursue in this area in the future.

Include a table of contents that guides the reader to the various sections of your paper.

List of Figures and Tables

If two or more figures or tables appear in the main body of your paper, include a list of figures/tables after the Table of Contents.

Main Body of Paper

This section of your thesis should be approximately 20 pages long, double-spaced, with page numbers at the bottom of each page. If you have chosen a creative project, your paper may be 10-12 pages long. It should be double-spaced, have page numbers at the bottom of each page, be written in English unless specific arrangements have been made in advance, and contain no spelling or grammatical errors. In all cases, the style should be appropriate for the discipline.

For organizational purposes, you may wish to use headings and sections (see below) for the main body of your thesis as they appear in your Table of Contents. Discuss the organization of your thesis with your advisor and follow a format that is typical of writing in your discipline. However, your thesis must include a Title Page, Advisor Signature Approval Page, Précis, and References Cited section. In addition, the main body of your thesis must provide the reader with a logical introduction to your project (explaining how it fits within a larger context and what your focus is), what you did for your thesis, how you conducted your work, and the significance of your work to your field of endeavor.

If you have chosen to complete a creative project, you may submit a shorter written document in which you should answer the following questions:

• What are the artistic aims of your project?
• What or who are the key influences on your work, i.e., current or historical artists with similar creative ideas?
• Is your work similar to or different from these artists?
• What methods or techniques did you use?
• Did you follow a disciplinary tradition?
• What issues and obstacles did you encounter?
• What did you learn? What are the next steps?
• What further work is needed related to your project?

Optional Headings and Sections

I. Introduction or Literature Review

This section sets the stage for your work. It gives the reader a view of the framework for your project – the particular field in which you are working – and brings the reader logically to the project at hand.

The introduction should answer two questions :

• What is the larger context (body of knowledge) for your topic?
• What is the significance of your particular topic?

The introduction or literature review should lead logically and clearly to your research question or hypothesis.

II. Thesis Activity or Creative Project

State your thesis activity/creative project succinctly in one or two sentences.

III. Methodology (Materials and Methods)

Describe the approaches you employed, and cite any relevant literature. Readers should be able to understand clearly the procedural and analytical steps you undertook.

IV. Results and Discussion

This is the real heart of your project and contains your original contribution of new knowledge in your field.

What did you discover, learn, create, or uncover? Present, interpret, and discuss the data or ideas you have collected or generated. Describe your findings in a precise and well-supported manner, as this is primarily where you can persuade your readers to adopt your perspective on the subject. Relate your work to the larger field. Cite any relevant bibliographic sources within your discussion.

The ability to view one’s own work critically and objectively is essential for all fields of scholarly research, and a thorough discussion of your findings demonstrates your potential as a scholar.

Because all projects are by their very nature limited in scope, an essential part of fully analyzing your work is to understand its limits. Think about the robustness of what you have done:

• If you had collected your materials or data differently, could you still expect to replicate your findings?
• Could you have approached your project in a different way?
• Did your assumptions lead to a certain bias that had implications for your conclusions?
• Do your findings corroborate those in the published literature?

V. Conclusions

What, briefly, did you learn or discover? What are the larger ramifications of your work?

VI. References Cited

VII. Appendix (optional)

Supplemental material such as pictures, figures, survey instruments, interview questions, and tables should be included in the Appendix.

Your thesis will be evaluated by your thesis advisor and a thesis evaluator selected by you and your advisor. The evaluator may or may not be from your discipline, so critical factors for your success are a very clear précis, a well-written introduction and discussion of your work, and an oral presentation that explains to an educated lay audience the significance of your thesis.

The reviewers will use the Thesis Evaluation Rubric and Oral Presentation Rubric to score both your written thesis document and your oral presentation. Review each rubric and become aware of how your work will be evaluated.

Your advisor and the evaluator will evaluate both your written and oral presentation/poster. Students’ work is graded as “excellent,” “satisfactory/pass,” “needs significant or minor revision,” or “fail.” Students whose thesis is…

• judged exemplary may have their theses nominated for “Pass with Distinction” designation
• graded “needs revisions” have approx. two weeks to make all corrections, get approval of the changes, and resubmit a new electronic copy of the thesis
• graded “fail” will need to redo the thesis to the satisfaction of the advisor and the Honors College, and submit a revised electronic copy of the thesis

What is pass with distinction and will I be eligible?

Exemplary theses may be nominated for “Pass with Distinction.”

Papers that merit “Pass with Distinction” reflect scholarly writing that is couched in the relevant literature and is analytical, synthetic, well-argued, well-written, and possibly publishable. Members of the Honors Council make the final determination on this designation.

The thesis advisor and evaluator must be in agreement before a thesis can receive a “Nomination for Pass with Distinction” designation. The thesis advisor then formally nominates the thesis in a written letter submitted to the Honors College. The letter must state why, in specific terms, the advisor believes the work deserves this designation.

If your thesis is nominated for Pass with Distinction, you will be asked permission to publish your paper on the Honors College website and in the Library’s Research Exchange Project. You and your advisor must both sign approval forms.

Important Note : Exceptions to regularly scheduled thesis weeks will be considered on a case-by-case basis and require a petition from the student supported by the thesis advisor. No thesis may be presented in the same semester in which the proposal was submitted and approved . Only students presenting during the scheduled periods may be eligible to receive a nomination for Pass with Distinction which will be reflected on their WSU transcript.

Most of the Frequently Asked Questions below will be answered during the 1-unit HONORS 398 course, the Thesis Preparation Course. The Honors College encourages you to take this class as soon as you have earned 45 units.

When do I do my thesis?

You should plan to initiate your thesis work as early in your academic career as you can. Thesis proposals should be submitted no later than the second semester of your junior year.

Can I do a thesis while studying abroad?

Yes, a thesis can be either initiated or completed during your time studying abroad. In this case you might wish to complete your Certificate of Global Competencies as well. Meet with an Honors College advisor to discuss your options.

How do I find an academic advisor?

An academic advisor is chosen by you. The request to advise may be based on your positive interaction with a specific professor, the professor’s expertise in the area of your research, or your interest in a professor’s teaching. You and your advisor will also pick a thesis reviewer from your department or a similar field of research. Please direct your advisor to online information “For Thesis Advisors” on the Honors College website.

Does the advisor need to be from WSU?

Yes, the principal advisor needs to be a tenure-track faculty member or senior instructor at WSU, but a co-advisor from another academic institution or the world at large can be arranged with the agreement of the Honors College at WSU.

How do I choose an academic question for my thesis?

Your academic question or hypothesis should reflect your interest or major field of study. The question may be one to which you have always wanted to know the answer, or it may reflect a question you identified from one of your classes or discussions with a professor. Ultimately you should have a passion or deep interest in the question you research. You may also choose to complete a creative project, such as creation of an art piece or musical composition, a short story, or a film. However, your thesis must include a relevant scholarly examination of its context as described above.

What is an academic question?

An academic question is one which asks the “how” or the “why” of some topic. It invites further research and deeper curiosity about an answer by engaging the relevant scholarly literature.

What is a thesis proposal?

A thesis proposal is a document that provides the necessary background and scholarly literature for your topic. It clearly identifies the question being asked, the hypothesis being tested, or the creative project to be completed. It provides the methodology you will use to answer that question or complete the project, notes what the expected results might be and what these results mean within the context of what is known. An annotated scholarly bibliography of five or six key references is needed. An appendix is required if you have human or animal studies approval, graphs, figures or charts of preliminary data, or rubrics that you will use for analysis, questionnaires or interview questions you will use. Annotating a bibliography means preparing a short commentary on each reference you use in the proposal. If you complete a creative project, your proposal will describe your work, explain how you will execute your project, the time you expect it to take, and you will place your effort in the larger context of others who have completed similar work. It will also have an annotated bibliography.

How long must the thesis proposal be?

Normally, the body of the proposal, including the literature review, the question being asked, the methodology and the expected results and conclusion sections, will not exceed five, double-spaced typewritten pages. The thesis proposal should be long enough to clearly explain what you wish to do, in language that an educated academic can understand, even if the proposal is not in his or her academic discipline.

When should the thesis proposal be completed and submitted to the Honors College for review and approval?

An electronic thesis proposal submitted by the 5th day of any month will be reviewed and the status communicated to the student via email by the last working day of that month. Reviews of proposals submitted after the 5th day of the month may take until the last working day of the following month.

Can I start my thesis research before the proposal is approved?

The thesis proposal can be turned in to the Honors College whenever it is ready, but must be approved by the Honors College before you begin the main focus of your research, and before you will be officially enrolled in HONORS 450 (Honors Thesis or Project).

Who evaluates the proposal?

The Honors Thesis Proposal Committee will review all proposals.

Are proposals accepted without alteration?

Yes, many proposals are accepted without alteration, while others may require further explanation and revision. If revision is required, the Thesis Director will inform you of specific changes or clarifications they would like to see in the revised proposal.

Are any proposals rejected? If so, why are they rejected and what does this mean?

Yes, a proposal can be rejected, but that is rare. It is much more likely that a proposal will be returned to a student for revision and explanation of critical points identified by the Proposal Committee. When the student responds to those questions with cogent answers, the revised submitted proposal will be approved and the research can begin.

May I do my research in collaboration with a fellow Honors student?

Yes, but each student’s contribution to the thesis must be stated in the proposal and be very clear to all reviewers of the thesis.

May I compile a journal and use that for my thesis?

Yes, you may compile a journal of your experiences, but you must ask and answer an academic question to fulfill the Honors Thesis requirement.

When is my completed thesis due in Honors?

There are numerous opportunities to present each semester. An electronic copy of your thesis (including the Thesis Advisor Signature Page), will be due on the Monday of the week prior to your presentation date.

When will I give my oral presentation?

Oral presentations are held during various weeks through the fall and spring semesters. You will choose a date that works for you, your thesis advisor, your chosen discipline evaluator, and the Honors College. Dates will be advertised each semester. Summer presentations are scheduled only in exceptional cases depending on the availability of the Honors faculty and WSU faculty who serve as evaluators.

What style and format do I use for my thesis?

The style (e.g. APA, MLA) should reflect that used by the major academic journals in your disciplinary area. You and your advisor will agree on which style you will follow. However, all theses must follow a specific format. See “Formatting Your Completed Thesis” on this website.

Who will attend my thesis presentation?

Anyone may attend your presentation. We encourage you to invite your family and/or friends, but that is up to you. Your thesis advisor, your chosen discipline thesis evaluator, one evaluator selected by the Honors College, and you are required to attend your presentation. The Honors-chosen reviewer may or may not be from your disciplinary area, so you must prepare an oral presentation that is accessible to the whole academic community.

How will I know if I have passed?

At the end of your 20-minute oral presentation, you can be asked questions by anyone present. When there are no more questions, you will be asked to step outside the room. Only an Honors representative, your thesis advisor, your discipline thesis evaluator, and the Honors-chosen evaluator will stay to discuss your thesis. In five to ten minutes, you will be invited to return to the room and be told whether you have passed. The total time allotted for each presentation is one hour.

What if I receive a pass contingent upon making revisions?

You will have two to three weeks to make all corrections, get your thesis advisor’s approval of the changes, and submit one new, corrected, electronic copy to the Honors College.

What if I do not pass?

All students must complete the thesis to the satisfaction of their thesis advisor and the Honors College. A “do not pass” rating may reflect a lack of effort, content, or overall performance. Each case will be dealt with on an individual basis. A completely revised thesis must be submitted electronically to the Honors College. In the case of a satisfactorily revised thesis, another oral presentation is not required. An altogether different thesis will require a new oral presentation.

What is “Pass with Distinction?”

A “Pass with Distinction” designation is considered when the major professor and the two evaluators believe the thesis and oral presentation breaks significant new ground or represents an unusual amount of care and effort by the student. Thesis evaluators and the advisor must be unanimous in their evaluation of the thesis, and a nomination letter from the advisor is forwarded to the Honors Council for final review and determination of this award.

Thesis Examples

Copies of several Honors students’ theses are online at Libraries’ Research Exchange.

Or, follow this link to view the Honors College Theses Collection.

Proposal Examples

Colville, WA, and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic

Prostate-Specific Antigen in Cancer Diagnostics*

Lake Osoyoos Investments

Awareness of Hemochromatosis*

*Final theses available in the Research Exchange.