Seniors scramble to complete major, honors program requirements
Students with multiple theses attempt to research and write projects by the end of March
Katie Rose McEneely
Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: News
Seventeen seniors are writing an honors thesis and several are writing two theses this year, due to honors program and department requirements for graduation. Of Hillsdale College's 34 majors, 12 require a thesis and an additional five offer a senior thesis for those who wish to graduate with departmental honors, according to the course catalog.
Honors theses are due at the end of March and presented the first week of April. At this point, most seniors have started the writing phase of what is often a yearlong project, honors program Director David Raney said in an e-mail to The Collegian.
The honors thesis is, like the program itself, meant as an interdisciplinary study. There is no minimum or maximum length for a thesis, he said.
Senior Catherine Wood is writing an optional thesis for history and one for the honors program. The choice to write a second thesis was hers.
"I wrote a paper on the same topic [my sophomore year]. I loved it and I wanted to know more," she said.
David Stehlik, a senior double major in Christian Studies and political economy, doesn't have the same amount of leeway. Both his majors require a thesis and he is writing both this semester.
He has outlined his political economy thesis and plans to start work on his Christian Studies thesis this week, he said, after deciding on a topic. Like Wood, he has a previously written paper with which he'll supplement his political economy thesis.
"Like most students I think about a lot of different things, so narrowing down a paper topic can be daunting," Stehlik said.
David Wagner, a senior French and mathematics double major in the honors program, is writing two theses as well: one for the program and one for mathematics.
"I'm in the outlining stage but I haven't started writing it yet," he said. "Writing about math is different from writing about French or English. You have to approach it differently."
Senior Dawn Harris is writing theses for her American Studies major and the honors program.
Honors theses are due at the end of March and presented the first week of April. At this point, most seniors have started the writing phase of what is often a yearlong project, honors program Director David Raney said in an e-mail to The Collegian.
The honors thesis is, like the program itself, meant as an interdisciplinary study. There is no minimum or maximum length for a thesis, he said.
Senior Catherine Wood is writing an optional thesis for history and one for the honors program. The choice to write a second thesis was hers.
"I wrote a paper on the same topic [my sophomore year]. I loved it and I wanted to know more," she said.
David Stehlik, a senior double major in Christian Studies and political economy, doesn't have the same amount of leeway. Both his majors require a thesis and he is writing both this semester.
He has outlined his political economy thesis and plans to start work on his Christian Studies thesis this week, he said, after deciding on a topic. Like Wood, he has a previously written paper with which he'll supplement his political economy thesis.
"Like most students I think about a lot of different things, so narrowing down a paper topic can be daunting," Stehlik said.
David Wagner, a senior French and mathematics double major in the honors program, is writing two theses as well: one for the program and one for mathematics.
"I'm in the outlining stage but I haven't started writing it yet," he said. "Writing about math is different from writing about French or English. You have to approach it differently."
Senior Dawn Harris is writing theses for her American Studies major and the honors program.
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