Senior Thesis in Comparative Literature and Society
Senior Thesis in Medical Humanities
A vademecum
General Information
The Senior Thesis in Comparative Literature and Society and the Senior Thesis in Medical Humanities give students the opportunity to deepen and refine their interest in a particular subject, establish a sustained intellectual relationship with a Columbia or Barnard Faculty member, and be considered for ICLS Departmental Honors.
Students are advised to start thinking about their thesis, including possible topics and faculty members who might serve as Thesis Supervisors, in the Spring Semester of their junior year.
CLS and Medical Humanities majors are encouraged to consult with the DUS early in the process. The DUS can offer early advice on topic and Supervisor selection.
Note: Medical Humanities majors are also encouraged to consult with Professor Rishi Goyal ( [email protected] ), Director of Medical Humanities, for advice on the early steps of thesis construction. If you plan to use the Health Sciences Library, please see the slide show from this Fall 2022 orientation.
Students who decide to write a thesis will enroll in a year-long course (CPLS3995) starting in the Fall of their Senior Year. This year-long, 3-credit course (1.5 credits in Fall, 1.5 credits in Spring) will allow students to receive academic credits for their thesis, and to count the thesis towards completion of their major requirement when necessary (Requirement #10 of the CLS Course Chart).
The Thesis: What Is It?
The Senior Thesis is a piece of scholarly research, the model for which is an academic journal article. A translation or a piece of creative work, such as a piece of creative writing, can be submitted with the prior approval of the DUS, and must be accompanied by an explanatory introduction or foreword of no less than 5000 words in length.
The Senior Thesis must be between 11,000 and 15,000 words, in 12-point font, and double-spaced. The total page count includes the preface or introduction, the main body of the thesis, references and/or a bibliography, and appendices (when applicable). The following items (all of which are optional and are not required) do not count toward the total page number: Title page; Table of contents; List of charts, graphs, and illustrations.
The Thesis must be written in English unless the student has received permission to write in another language. The citational and bibliographical style will be decided in consultation with the Thesis Supervisor.
Who Can Be Your Thesis Supervisor?
Any Columbia and Barnard faculty member can serve as Thesis Supervisor. This is usually a person you have worked with previously or taken a class with, or who is an expert in your subject matter. You are encouraged to discuss with your DUS before finalizing your choice.
Why Write A Senior Thesis?
The Senior Thesis is the culmination of a student’s journey through the major. It presents a unique opportunity to utilize one’s skills in research, critical analysis, and sustained written argumentation while developing a topic of choice and, in the process, gain valuable scholarly expertise. Being completed in close collaboration with a Faculty member, the Senior Thesis provides an occasion to develop a close academic relationship with someone who is an expert in their field, and to experience the rewards and demands of academic research during this year-long process.
The Senior Thesis is the capstone of a student’s undergraduate studies, and represents valuable experience – and precious training – for those considering a graduate career in academia, as well as any other endeavor involving research and writing.
Thesis Proposal in Junior Year
Students interested in writing a senior thesis (or, in the case of Barnard students, students who have to write one) will submit a thesis proposal in the Spring semester of their junior year. The proposal should be short, no longer than 1 page single-spaced , and should include the name of your advisor. This early preliminary work on your thesis will help you prepare better for the challenge of writing it. The thesis proposal should ideally indicate your topic, justification, methodology, aims, questions that concern you, and a sketch of the overall argument. Your proposal should also include a tentative title. Of course, it is to be expected that all these might change over the course of your research and writing. For Spring 2024, thesis proposals for juniors are due on May 3. Contact Profs. Bugnevicius and Goyal to discuss your thesis idea or if you need help with finding an advisor.
On the Construction and Completion of the Thesis
1 How to Find and Shape a topic?
If you are still reading, you may indeed end up writing a Senior Thesis in ICLS! Let me now address you directly, (future) thesis writer.
First, how do you find a topic? Topics arise from curiosity, interest, love at first sight with a text or work of art, and the desire to explore and learn more about a particular issue or a complicated question. In the early steps of the process of identifying a topic, you should cast a wide net: What is it that you like to study? What are the areas, events, authors, exchanges, issues, or archives that have nourished your curiosity? How are they connected? In answering the last of these questions, you are beginning to shape your thesis comparatively . The way you decide to explore and organize the comparison will shape the structure of your work.
The topic for your thesis is often – but not necessarily – the result of your engagement with a particular question, theme, or set of works in a class you have taken. You have the option, in accordance with your Supervisor, to develop the Senior Thesis from a research paper you have already written.
After identifying the broader contours of your topic, your focus should shift to progressively scaling down and refining your topic so that a limited, manageable, yet clear and fruitful set of questions will guide your thesis. The nature of your revised frame of inquiry should remain comparative: How do texts, contexts, events, images, or social practices inform each other and amplify information when they are brought into shared frames of analysis? What might comparing, contrasting, or otherwise juxtaposing material allow us to see that we might not otherwise see when we read or interpret materials separately, or solely within their tradition, context, or medium?
Identifying your sources is crucial to defining your topic and to constructing an appropriate set of methodology(ies) for your thesis. Like other aspects of writing a senior thesis, deciding what kind of sources to use or what text/material to include or exclude is a process of refinement that will require time and that will invariably involve making a set of difficult choices. It is not possible, nor should one try, to write about everything at once!
Some helpful tips:
* Start locating and assembling the corpus of your thesis early, in terms of both primary sources (novels, art pieces, archival sources, etc.) and relevant secondary sources (scholarship).
* Continue to refine that corpus in conversation with your Supervisor while remaining attentive to your evolving interests and preoccupations, until the final core texts or authors become clear.
* Do not be afraid to change your mind, but at the same time bear in mind that this is just one serious piece of writing. There will be others.
* Because the thesis is limited in scope – and one of your first research experiences – it cannot encompass all of your interests. If you are dealing with a large quantity of material, in the very early stages of the process your attention should be directed to breaking down your interests (and the materials that will allow you to develop them) into smaller, more manageable chunks. Your thesis will grow out of this process of selection, execution, and imagination.
3) Research and early Writing: the Outline and a Preliminary Bibliography:
The goal of the Fall semester of your Senior year should be completing a good amount of research and reading. Do not wait for research to finish to start writing: research never finishes. To start and grow your work, take advantage of the structure of the Senior Seminar, which is aimed to encourage you to start writing early, even if that only means a few sentences, a paragraph, or a page. Make an outline and keep it up-to-date and useful. As you keep reading and narrowing the scope of your intervention, keep revising the outline and, in light of it, readjust the direction of your writing. Submit your abstract and writing to your Supervisor throughout the Fall semester, and by the time Spring comes, you will have a clear roadmap, as well as sufficient progress, to finish the thesis as thoroughly and carefully as it deserves, while preventing the April 15 th deadline from becoming a source of anxiety.
4) Funding your research You may apply through research funding through your college. Students in Columbia College see this page . Note the deadline is usually in the Fall term. Students in the College of General Studies may apply in either term, information can be found here . Consult these websites for application details and updated deadlines. Barnard College students can find funding resources here . *Note that this page also has additional funding resources for which CC and GS students may be eligible.
5) Coversheet details We do not have strict guidelines regarding the format of the coversheet but we ask that you include: the thesis title, the date, your name, the phrase “Senior Thesis in (your major) at the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University,” and your thesis advisor and their department.
Submission Deadline and Grading
The deadline for submitting the Senior Thesis is April 15 th .The Thesis will be submitted electronically to the DUS of ICLS and to the Thesis Supervisor. Medical Humanities majors will also submit, at the same time, to Professor Rishi Goyal, Director of Medical Humanities. The Thesis Supervisor is solely responsible for the final grade.
Submission Extension Policy
Short extensions of the submission deadline can be requested with prior approval of your Thesis Supervisor. Any request for extension should be submitted to your DUS by email as early as possible, and your Supervisor should be copied. Please be advised that being granted an extension makes you ineligible for Departmental Honors and Prizes .
Click here to watch the 2020 Senior Thesis presentations .
DOWNLOAD MATERIALS
Students who decide to write a thesis will enroll in a year-long course (CPLS3995) starting in the Fall of their Senior Year. This year-long, 3-credit course (1 credit in Fall, 2 credits in Spring) will allow students to receive academic credits for their thesis, and to count the thesis towards completion of their major requirement when necessary (Requirement #10 of the CLS Course Chart).
The deadline for submitting the Senior Thesis is April 15 th .The Thesis will be submitted both electronically and in hard copy to the DUS of ICLS and to the Thesis Supervisor. Medical Humanities majors will also submit, at the same time, to Professor Rishi Goyal, Director of Medical Humanities. The Thesis Supervisor is solely responsible for the final grade.
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Senior Thesis Advising
Columbia College offers modest stipends to defray associated expenses that College students may incur as they work on a senior thesis or honors project.
The process for requesting funds is as follows:
- Students must complete the online Columbia College Senior Thesis Funding Application .
- An automatic email will be sent to the student's Faculty Adviser for their approval on the proposed senior thesis project and budget. This email will contain instructions and a link for online approval.
- The deadline for senior thesis funding each year is the last day of classes for the Fall term. Applications will be reviewed after the deadline.
- Students with approved applications will receive a notification from Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.
General questions about Senior Thesis Funding can be directed to the office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships at [email protected] . Faculty who have specific questions may contact Ariella Lang, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of Undergraudate Research and Fellowships at [email protected] .
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Senior Honors Thesis Information
Students interested in writing a senior honors thesis in economics are invited to attend an information session on Wednesday, April 24th. Bernard Salanie and Susan Elmes will provide general information about the application and selection process. Current thesis writers will share their experiences writing a thesis. This event is open to all students who are considering a thesis including freshmen and undeclared students. This event is in-person only. If you cannot make the information session then you should review the information posted on the Honors and Prizes Page (see Senior Thesis section) at Honors and Prizes | Columbia | Economics
Senior Thesis Information Session Wednesday, April 24th 6:10 PM – 7:10 PM 1027 IAB
Students are also encouraged to submit a preliminary proposal for a senior thesis by May 17 to get feedback on their proposed project before the summer. The preliminary proposal form is posted on the wiki page. The information session will also include guidance on how to complete the preliminary proposal form.
RSVP for the Information Session at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5g588aJJRQRgoTyYp_pxp2dVfnWw0yn6g1GtVxeuLyHqucg/viewform?usp=sf_link
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Doctoral Theses
Academic Commons holds the full text of doctoral theses written since 2011 at Columbia and of theses written for a Doctorate of Education at Teachers College since mid 2018. A selection of dissertations from Union Theological Seminary, and from Columbia before 2011, are also available. You can start exploring theses by selecting one of the doctoral programs below.
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Columbia College Senior Thesis Funding
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Provides funding for Columbia College students completing a senior thesis project.
Columbia College offers a modest stipend, in the amount of $250, to defray associated expenses that Columbia College students may incur as they work on a senior thesis or honors project.
In order to apply for CC Senior Thesis Funding, please complete an application (available by clicking 'Start An Application') by the deadline stated, which is the last day of classes for the Fall term.
Eligibility is limited to current Columbia College juniors and seniors.
Applications will be reviewed once a year at the end of the Fall semester.
Required steps for requesting this funding:
Complete the online Columbia College Senior Thesis Funding Application by clicking 'Start An Application' above. (Please note this link will not be live after the deadline has passed.)
Inform your Thesis Adviser that they must sign off on your project via the link which will be sent to their email. (You will be asked to provide your Thesis Adviser’s email in the application.) This email will contain additional instructions for your adviser. If you or they have any questions or issues, please email us at [email protected] .
Students with approved applications will receive a notification from Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.
Students majoring in architecture, dance, theatre, visual arts should speak with their respective Directors of Undergraduate Studies about funds available for particular thesis projects.
The deadline for senior thesis funding each year is the last day of classes for the Fall term. Please refer to the Academic Calendar to confirm the date for the last day of classes.
Dates & Deadlines
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COMMENTS
History majors have the option of writing a senior thesis. This process involves original research, normally with extensive use of primary materials. The department encourages students with a strong interest in a particular historical subject to consider a thesis and strongly advises all students considering an academic career to write one.
The Senior Thesis is an optional project open to Art History, History and Theory of Architecture, and combined Art History+Visual Arts majors. Submitting a senior thesis qualifies students to compete for departmental honors and (indirectly) strengthens dossiers for university honors. It is also an opportunity for students interested in graduate ...
The Senior Thesis in Comparative Literature and Society and the Senior Thesis in Medical Humanities give students the opportunity to deepen and refine their interest in a particular subject, establish a sustained intellectual relationship with a Columbia or Barnard Faculty member, and be considered for ICLS Departmental Honors.
The senior thesis is an optional project for Art History, History and Theory of Architecture, and Art History/Visual Arts majors. ... Grants for thesis research during the academic year are also available through Columbia College and General Studies. Please visit their websites for more information. Deadlines for the 2021-22 Senior Thesis Program.
The series includes: a) enrolling in a 3-semester Senior Thesis Research Intensive series, which includes a weekly seminar and research commitment, that must occur consecutively in your Junior year spring semester and Senior year (fall & spring), or equivalent [NOTE: this research course includes performing intensive, independent research with a lab mentor, writing a final thesis, and oral ...
Page: Senior Thesis Advising - Columbia College offers a modest stipend, up to $250, to defray associated expenses that Columbia College students may incur as they work on a senior thesis or honors project. The process for requesting funds is as follows: Students must complete the online Columbia College Senior Thesis Funding Application.An automatic email will be sent to the
Senior Thesis. Majors in the Department of Religion are encouraged to write a thesis in their final year of study. Many students choose to write a senior thesis in order to pursue an advanced topic in greater depth or to work on a particular area of interest with a professor of their choosing. This opportunity is available to all students who ...
A senior thesis is a substantial piece of philosophical work undertaken at the undergraduate level during the senior (final) year of study. Theses are intended to serve as the culmination of a period of focused study of a topic, problem, theme, or idea within philosophy. It is the result of thorough research conducted by the student under the ...
The Honors Thesis and the Senior Seminar. The senior seminar is a thematic research course required of all LAIC majors in their senior year. Students who wish to write an honors thesis develop the fall semester's senior seminar research essay into a larger thesis project over the course of the spring semester.
A Barnard or Columbia Slavic major who is writing a senior thesis will usually begin serious work on his or her project in the Senior Seminar, taken in the fall semester of the senior year. Some students may have undertaken preliminary research in the preceding summer, either independently or with the assistance of a Harriman Institute ...
The Senior Research Seminar, offered jointly with Barnard College, can be taken in the Spring/Fall or Fall/Spring sequence and includes guided, independent, in-depth research as well as discussions about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods, and scientific writing culminating in the senior thesis.Each student is responsible for oral research ...
The heart of the undergraduate major is the senior thesis seminar, a small-group course in which students work closely with an individual faculty member on some subject. Undergraduate majors are not required to write a senior thesis, however in order to receive departmental honors a senior thesis must be completed.
SENIOR THESIS, 3 pts, UN3002. SENIOR THESIS. Prerequisites: the departments permission. Required for all thesis writers. ... Main Office 826 Schermerhorn Hall . Mailing Address Art History and Archaeology · Columbia University, 826 Schermerhorn Hall · 1190 Amsterdam Ave · New York, NY 10027. Barnard Art History Office The Diana Center ...
Questions concerning this research fellowship may be addressed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies in French, Professor Aubrey Gabel ([email protected]). CC/GS Senior Thesis Funding. Eligibility: Seniors (Columbia College and General Studies) who are enrolled in a senior thesis seminar or independent senior thesis section in the fall term
Senior Thesis Information Session. Wednesday, April 24th. 6:10 PM - 7:10 PM. 1027 IAB. Students are also encouraged to submit a preliminary proposal for a senior thesis by May 17 to get feedback on their proposed project before the summer. The preliminary proposal form is posted on the wiki page. The information session will also include ...
The Senior Thesis Seminar in Anthropology (ANTH UN3999), a two-term course, is a combination of a seminar and a workshop that will help students conduct research for, write, and present an original senior thesis in anthropology. ... Note: The senior thesis seminar is open to Columbia College and School of General Studies majors in Anthropology ...
Doctoral Theses. Academic Commons holds the full text of doctoral theses written since 2011 at Columbia and of theses written for a Doctorate of Education at Teachers College since mid 2018. A selection of dissertations from Union Theological Seminary, and from Columbia before 2011, are also available.
The School of General Studies offers a small stipend ($250) to defray associated expenses for GS seniors working on a senior thesis or honors project. Eligible students should submit the Senior Thesis Application by the appropriate deadline: December 15 for fall-term or academic-year thesis projects*. April 19 for spring-term thesis projects.
Senior Thesis Proposal. ab•stract \ n. a brief statement of the essential content of a book, article, speech, court record, etc.; summary. pro•po•sal \ n. a statement, theorem, etc. set forth for argument, demonstration, proof, etc.; refers to a plan, offer, etc. presented for acceptance or rejection. pro•spec•tus \ n. a statement ...
Columbia College offers a modest stipend, in the amount of $250, to defray associated expenses that Columbia College students may incur as they work on a senior thesis or honors project. In order to apply for CC Senior Thesis Funding, please complete an application (available by clicking 'Start An Application') by the deadline stated, which is ...
SENIOR THESIS SEM IN ANTHROPOL. This two-term course is a combination of a seminar and a workshop that will help you conduct research, write, and present an original senior thesis in anthropology. Students who write theses are eligible to be considered for departmental honors. The first term of this course introduces a variety of approaches ...
Senior Theses Prizes & Honors Winners: 2012-2023. Prize Descriptions. Albert Marion Elsberg Prize : Given by the College for a sophomore, junior, or senior who has demonstrated excellence in modern history. Allen J Willen Memorial Prize: The prize is awarded to the Columbia College student who writes the best seminar paper on a contemporary ...
Thesis Prizes and Honors. 2024 Winners. Charles A. Beard Prize. Given by the Department for a senior thesis of distinction in any historical field or period. Ali Zaher Mintsa Younes - The "Shiᶜi peasant" and the Colonel: Inventing the modern Shiᶜa sect under the mandate. Garrett Mattingly Prize.
Department of Mathematics at Columbia University - Senior Thesis Showcase. Home » Programs » Undergraduate Program » Independent Study » Senior Thesis Showcase.