Senior Thesis

The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.

Sir William Bragg

The Senior Thesis project is the capstone experience of the majors in Biology. It provides you with the opportunity to pursue a research project of interest to you, in close collaboration with a faculty mentor or other scientist. In your thesis research, you will experience firsthand the application of the scientific method in a contemporary research setting and will gain a greater appreciation of how science is done.  

Your thesis may take the form of a laboratory research project, or teaching biology, or a critcial analysis of the literature. 

• Laboratory Research Thesis: Research projects can be conducted in the laboratory of a Biology faculty member or outside of the Department (such as with faculty members in the Medical Center, NIH, or Smithsonian) with the mentorship of a Biology faculty member. (available to majors in Biology, Neurobiology and the Biology of Global Health) 
• Teaching Thesis: This thesis project will engage students in the development and teaching of high school biology curriculum modules. Students will have the opportunity to explore topics in Biology of great interest to them and grapple with conveying the theory and practice of these topics to middle school students through classes, laboratories, and projects. (available to majors in Biology and the Biology of Global Health)
• Literature Analysis Thesis: Critical analysis of the literature is conducted under supervision of a Biology faculty member in an area of his or her own expertise. (available to majors in Biology and the Biology of Global Health)

All undergraduate majors from the Department of Biology conduct an independent, 4-credit research project during the senior year. Motivated students are encouraged to begin such research as a tutorial during the junior year (required for the Neurobiology major).

• Senior Thesis Mentor Declaration form.  Juniors will submit this form in April.
• Pre-registration Information. This link describes which course number and which section number to enroll in for Senior Thesis and for Research Tutorials. 
• Timeline during the senior year.
• Objectives and expectations.  Standards for evaluation are described here. Be aware that each mentor may have additional requirements. 
• Preparation of the Senior Thesis: This document details the formating specifications for the final document. 
• Thesis Abstract.  This document describes the senior thesis abstract and the formating for it. 
• Sample thesis.  This is an example of a laboratory research thesis.  Formating has been modified for the web.  (not available on-line currently; see the theses from previous years in the Conference room)
• Thesis titles by class year.