Checklist for advisors of students registered for 360 (Senior Thesis Research) and 370 (Senior Thesis)

1. Work with the student to put together a thesis committee, according to your department/program’s specific guidelines. Thesis committees must consist of at least 3 faculty members.
2. CCI strongly encourages thesis committees to meet several times in the fall semester to follow the student’s progress.
3. Inform your students that small grants to cover research expenses are available from the dean’s office.
4. Inform the student about specific deadlines for submission of chapters, and presentation of work. CCI strongly encourages submission of a substantial piece of writing by the beginning of the spring semester.
5. A grade should be submitted for 360 work at the end of the fall semester. The grade may be “TBG,” but you should be convinced that the work done in the fall is deserving of a unit of credit.
6. By the end of January, departments/programs, in consultation with thesis advisors, should decide whether 360 students may advance to 370. Registration in 370 requires the signature of the advisor or department chair.
7. Beginning in the middle of the spring semester, advise the student on scheduling a thesis exam. These exams may take place only during reading period. The chair of the department or director of the program (or designee)

8. Arrange for a CCI visitor to attend the thesis exam. Students may choose any tenured faculty member outside her major department as the visitor. Make sure that the visitor knows the time and place of the exam.
9. Remind the student of the deadline for submission of the final copy. For 2009/10, that deadline is Tuesday, April 28 at 4:30 pm to the registrar’s office. There are no extensions permitted for handing in theses.
10. Make sure that the student prepares sufficient number of copies for the committee members. The copy submitted to the registrar becomes the visitor’s copy. It is best not to bind the thesis in case there are corrections made after the exam.
11. The thesis exam generally lasts 1 to 1-1/2 hours. The format varies among departments and programs, but should allow time for questions from all committee members.
12. At the end of the exam, the student is excused from the room so that the committee can determine whether the thesis is of sufficient quality so as to confer honors in the major. The visitor brings a form that the advisor and committee members must sign, indicating honors or not. It is returned to the registrar’s office along with the visitor’s copy of the thesis.
13. The form also includes an indication of whether minor errors are to be corrected. The final copy, including all corrections, is due to the registrar’s office by a date to be determined by the advisor but no later than Commencement.
14. The visitors’ copy of the thesis is the official one deposit in the College Archives. Some departments/programs may also request a copy of the final version of the thesis.

For additional information about the program, please refer to Articles of Government, Book II, Article IV Honors at http://www.wellesley.edu/DeanCollege/bk2a4.html or to the CCI site at http://www.wellesley.edu/DeanCollege/CCI/Honors/main-thesis.html

• Jennifer Lewis
• Registrar's Office
• Date Created: Spring 2004
• Last Modified: April 2009
• Expires: June 2009