The Gaines Fellowship Senior Thesis

THE GAINES FELLOWSHIP SENIOR THESIS

General Procedures

Writing your Gaines thesis should be one of the most challenging (and rewarding) experiences of your life. You will have the opportunity to do sustained work on a topic that you choose with the help of a talented group of faculty advisers. You should therefore begin early and diligently to define the subject, to compile and judge the material, to organize the paper.

NATURE OF THE THESIS:

The aim of the thesis is to give you an opportunity to investigate a subject that interests you, to analyze sources on that subject, and to formulate and develop a hypothesis that will help to explain the subject. Viewed as a modest, undergraduate variant of a doctoral dissertation, the thesis is not, however, required to bear the marks of an original or new proposal, nor to be an exhaustive review of extant literature. Although no number of pages is pre-assigned, the thesis should be well developed and well argued, thereby suggesting no less than 50 pages of text.

In preparing the thesis, the Fellow should learn how to amass support for an argument (including judicious use of quotations), how to prepare a critical bibliography, how to choose a suitable methodology, and how to organize a paper topically.

SELECTION OF THE TOPIC:

Each Gaines Fellow, using available Fellowship and university resources, is responsible for selecting a thesis topic. The topic may be on any subject that appropriately employs one or more of the humanities (broadly concerned with literary criticism, history, art history, music history and philosophy).

Before a committee is established, the Fellow must submit the draft prospectus to the Gaines Center Director for endorsement. The Director will assist the student in the selection of a thesis committee.

SELECTION OF THE THESIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

The student is responsible for establishing an appropriate committee, for requesting one member to chair the committee, and for informing the Center office of committee membership so that each advisor can be informed of thesis procedures and schedules. The chairperson of the thesis committee should be that faculty member whose research interests are nearest the subject under research. At least one of the committee members must be a professor of a humanistic discipline.

FACULTY RESPONSIBILITY:

Faculty advisors should treat the assignment as an independent study under their direct supervision. In addition to meeting as specified in the Gaines Fellowship academic schedule, they should feel free to meet with the Fellow whenever this seems desirable. Email is an excellent way to stay in contact with Fellows between meetings.Grading requirements are described below in AcademicCredit/Grading.

FELLOW'S RESPONSIBILITY:

The student is required to participate in the Senior Thesis Workshop.

The student is responsible for attending/arranging all required meetings and reviews, and for meeting scheduled deadlines.

Written material must be delivered to each member of thesis committee.

The student is to maintain an active correspondence with the advisory committee, keeping them informed of progress and utilizing their expertise and guidance as the thesis develops. Lack of contact with faculty advisers is a sign of trouble for all concerned.

THE PROSPECTUS:

A thesis prospectus must be submitted to the Gaines Center office by the date noted on the Gaines Fellowship academic schedule. This deadline is to assure establishment of a thesis committee before the student completes advance registration for the following fall semester.

The prospectus must include:

a. a detailed outline and a typed 7-10 page statement of the proposed topic;

b. an additional page of tentatively selected bibliography and/or proposed research techniques;

c. a completed prospectus cover sheet bearing the committee chair's approval of the proposed thesis and his/her endorsement of the proposed number of credit hours in each semester.

Review and approval of the prospectus by the Fellowship Program Director must be completed before research begins. This requirement is made with the understanding that topics may vary after approval as research continues.

RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY:

The topic should be researched carefully, with emphasis given to the use of primary sources (documents, interviews, field research) where appropriate. The student should be attentive to methodology, and should work with committee members early on to work out a methodology appropriate to his or her particular project.

Research Grants: The Undergraduate Research Office offers research grants; check the website for details and deadlines for submitting grant proposals ( Gaines Fellows have traditionally done well in this competition. The GainesCenter also has modest funds for Fellows' research. A request may be submitted at any time for a GainesCenter research grant.

FORMAT:

Although no predetermined length can be provided because each subject will be different, in most cases the thesis should be a minimum of 50 double-spaced, typed pages (about 13,000 words). From time to time, a student might wish to undertake an artistic thesis in a medium other than writing (e.g. a film, an architectural design, a musical lecture-recital). In such cases, the final project must be accompanied by appropriate written commentary of a minimum of 25 double-spaced, typed pages (about 6,500 words). Examples might include: a grant proposal and reflective statement on the film-making process, a cultural/historical contextualization of the architectural design, detailed program notes and a cultural reflection on the lecture-recital).

Notes should be placed at the end of the thesis and should follow the format suggested in The Chicago Manual of Style (see Thesis Format Guidelines for details).

REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLETION:

Prospectus -- due in Center office as noted in schedule.

Detailed outline and sample of the text (15 pages), working bibliography and meeting with Thesis Committee and Director for approval to proceed. See senior academic schedule for actual date.

Meetings -- as noted in Gaines Fellowship academic schedule for the academic year.

Thesis draft -- due to Center office and to all members of the committee as noted in senior schedule for review and approval to proceed.

Finished thesis -- due as noted in senior thesis schedule.

Oral defense of thesis -- due as noted in senior thesis schedule.

ACADEMIC CREDIT/GRADING:

1.Fellows must register for a minimum of six credit hours in HMN 497. Total credit hours over fall and spring semesters must be between six hours and 15 hours.

2.Following university policy on research that extends beyond one semester, a grade of "I" will be assigned for the fall semester, if you have registered for HMN 497 credit in the fall semester.

3.The chair of your committee will determine 75% of the final grade. Upon receipt of this grade, one bound copy, and an electronic copy of your thesis, the final Fellowship stipend will be paid.

The other 25% of your grade will be determined by your work in the thesis workshop. This workshop will begin early in the fall semester. You will be given the responsibility of evaluating the work of your peers in the workshop and submitting draft portions of your thesis for your peers to review.

4.On completion of the defense and acceptance by the committee, and no later than the deadline specified in the senior thesis schedule, the student is responsible for delivering one bound copy and an electronic copy of the completed thesis to the Center office. One copy will be kept permanently in the GainesCenter.

5.When both the grade card and the required copies (bound and electronic) of the thesis have been delivered to the Center office, a grade change will be processed to change the fall grade (I) to the final letter grade assigned (if hours were taken in the fall semester). That grade will apply to the total number of credits registered for HMN 497. NOTE: To receive the fellowship stipend and to graduate in the Gaines Fellowship Program, the student must receive a grade of B or better on the thesis.

WAIVER NOTICE:

Any Senior Gaines Fellow who may wish to alter the thesis schedule and completion date must have the permission of the Director of the GainesCenter.

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