With approximately 114 seniors currently signed up to produce honors theses, the class of 2007 is positioning itself for a record-breaking year.
Last spring, 97 students wrote senior honors theses, up 40 percent from the spring of 2001, and between 2001 and 2006 numbers have increased in all but one year.
Although it is not clear whether all students signed up will produce a thesis, Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser said that it is clear that senior honors theses have become increasingly popular.
Glaser attributed the increase between 2001 and this year to multiple initiatives, including the use of the Summer Scholars Program, which gives students the opportunity to work with faculty members on paid research jobs. It was created in 2003 and corresponded with the largest single year increase in the number of theses, from 77 in 2003 to 92 in 2004.
He said that another factor has been departmental initiatives. "Many departments have put together programs to nurture [honors thesis] writers. These programs break the isolation that many feel and address common ethical, organizational and research issues," he said.
Associate Professor of History Jeanne Penvenne, whom Glaser called "the hero of the honors thesis program," said that these departmental efforts build "communities of scholars."
"I attribute the increase in senior honors theses to the added sense of structure," she said. "There are seminars, meetings, wine and cheese events, and some students even get together for dinner once a week."
The history department and international relations (IR) program, for example, each have periodic gatherings for seniors writing honors theses, and the political science department offers a class that helps with the thesis process, she said.
Penvenne also cited the International Research Colloquium (IRC), which was created several years ago, as a contributing influence to the increase. According to the IR program's Web site, the half-credit, Web-based pass/fail course "encourages students to approach their study abroad or other international programs as opportunities to conduct quality research that might later form the basis of a senior project, research seminar paper or thesis."
Penvenne said that she and Associate Professor of Political Science Richard Eichenberg started the IRC as a way to get sophomores thinking about research before they went abroad. "Too many students came back from abroad having squandered opportunities for research," she said.
According to Penvenne, the result has been "a very gratifying, terrific harvest of theses."
"They are such delightful students and it is such exciting work," she said. "Students who complete them feel a great sense of accomplishment - it's like writing a book."
Glaser agreed. "Writing honors theses helps students develop skills and confidence in their ability to gather and synthesize data. It is empowering to conquer such a large project - it's a wonderful way to actively learn and meet one's passions," he said.
"Although honors theses are not for everyone, they are certainly for more people than those who are completing them now," he said. "The creation of knowledge is what our university is all about - and that includes students as much as it does faculty."
Still, both Glaser and Penvenne caution that the senior honors thesis is not something that should be taken on lightly.
"There is often great sacrifice involved," Glaser said. Penvenne described it as "a very lonely endeavor."
Senior Philip Moss, who is writing a history honors thesis on citizenship and naturalization in early twentieth century America, said that the process of writing a thesis requires more effort than preparing for classes.
"You really need self discipline for the deadlines - too many people wait 'til there is very little time left to complete their theses in the manner intended," he said.
Moss, who "started kicking around with the topic junior year," began poring through archives last summer. "It is very rewarding to write a massive 80-page original document and see your effort come to fruition," he said.
For some who decided not to write a thesis, the issue of timing was also important. Senior and international relations major Glen Gullickson said that finding a topic was problematic. "Going abroad made it complicated, and everyone told me that it was too late to start when I came back," he said.
Even though honors theses have become increasingly popular, Penvenne still sees potential room for improvement.
"Do we have the faculty to support the seniors?" she said. "It is important for [thesis] directors to be involved with their seniors, and I worry that we need to be more serious if we really want to encourage more seniors to write theses."
