Senior Thesis

Environmental Studies Senior Thesis

 

Pursuing a thesis in ES enables a student to examine a set of questions that they discover working closely with an ES faculty advisor during the course of an academic year. It provides the opportunity to develop a specialized set of analytical skills in order to make a significant research contribution to environmental studies. In addition to the thesis, the products of this inquiry often include presentations at Ruhlman conferences, national professional society meetings, and in some disciplines, may result in submission of a peer-reviewed manuscript. 

 

If you are interested in pursuing a thesis, we encourage you to read through the informaiton below and speak to a member of the ES Advisory Faculty early in the process.  Any member of the ES Advisory Faculty would be happy to talk with you!

 

You can see examples of successful ES thesis proposals here and final ES theses here.

 

The steps to a thesis are as follows:

  1. Discuss your interest with an ES Advisory Faculty member
  2. Submit a pre-proposal by 3/25/24 at 5pm. Follow instructions below.
  3. Discuss feedback on your pre-proposal with your advisor.
  4. If your pre-proposal moves forward, a full proposal is due by 4/28/2024 at 5pm.
  5. Approval of ES theses will be made in May 2024.

 

Goals of the Pre-proposal

The pre-proposal is a way for you to demonstrate your curiosity and passion for the topic and approach that will sustain your thesis.  A pre-proposal is a way to put boundaries on the topic you are interested in researching. It explains the initial questions you wish to explore and the means and tools you will use to answer them.  The ES Faculty will discuss the proposals and reach out to you (likely through your identified advisor) to discuss next steps.  If your proposal moves forward, a full thesis proposals are due by April 28, 2024  

 

Pre-proposal questions.  Please copy and paste these questions to a new document and answer each one.  Submit the Google Doc to Jay Turner (the current chair). 

 

  1. Working title (i.e., a place-holder title for now)
  2. 150-word statement of problem space and initial questions being researched. Think of this as the trailer to your full thesis proposal. Make every sentence count.
  3. Which ES Advisory Faculty member(s) have you consulted with about this pre-proposal?
  4. General lines of inquiry/methodology (e.g. what sorts of sources will be consulted? Is lab and/or field work required? What types of analyses will you do?) (< 200 words)
  5. 3-5 key references. A thesis builds on the existing scholarly literature. Please provide 3-5 references that demonstrate the preliminary research you’ve conducted and reflect the body of scholarship you wish to contribute to. Note, these should not be the first 3-5 references that you find; the sample references you submit should reflect the work you’ve already undertaken to scope out your topic and the scholarship relevant to it.  You may include 1 to 2 sentences (no more) about each source explaining its relevance.
  6. How do your experiences in ES at Wellesley and beyond inform your proposal?  Do you see it building on specific courses, research experiences, and/or study abroad experiences?(< 200 words)

 

By the end of the semester, the entire ES Advisory Faculty determines if the proposed plan of study is feasible and gives preliminary approval to start the honors thesis process.

 

Once approved, students should indicate who the primary advisor is and list additional potential committee members who would be helpful for the thesis process. The composition of the thesis committee will be determined by the ES advisory faculty in consultations with the thesis student.

The honors committee must include the following:

  • at least three and no more than four people
  • at least two people from the ES Advisory Faculty (including a primary advisor who is a member of the ES Advisory Faculty)

 

There are two options for pursuing a thesis: ES 355/365 will be for senior theses and ES 360/370 will be for senior honors theses. In both cases, a thesis is a chance to pursue in-depth research for a sustained project, involving careful project design and research, over the course of the entire senior year. In all cases, thesis work is in addition to the 10-course requirement for the ES major.

Any student interested in pursing a thesis should follow the application process outlined below, including identifying a thesis advisor and developing a proposal. To pursue an honors thesis and register for ES 360/370, students must have a GPA of at least 3.5 in all work in the major field above the 100-level and the department's permission. There is no GPA requirement to pursue ES 355/365, although the thesis proposal must be approved by the ES Advisory Faculty. 

 

 

The following schedule must be observed. Updated guidelines can be found on the Registrar's website.

Spring Semester, Sophomore Year: Students planning to study abroad should discuss their interest in honors with potential advisors during their sophomore year, and submit their application in April of their junior year abroad as explained below.

Spring Semester, Junior Year: Early in the spring semester of their junior year the potential honors thesis student will meet with a potential advisor to explore topics, determine scope, and to begin to think about forming a three to four person honors thesis committee that would support the area of study. Students and their advisor should also discuss the possibility of summer funding options (described below) as these applications typically have February deadlines. 

Summer Before Senior Year: Students will begin research for their proposed project. This research should directly contribute to the development of the expanded proposal as explained below.

Students are encouraged to apply for on or off campus fellowships to support their summer research. On campus applications for the summer research programs in Social Science and the Science center can be found at:

http://www.wellesley.edu/provost/students/summerresearch
http://www.wellesley.edu/sciencecenter/students/opportunities/summer

 

Fall Semester, Senior Year: Students will submit an expanded proposal to their committee before the first day of classes. This 7-10-page, double-spaced proposal should reflect the student’s summer research and include a detailed timeline.

During the first two weeks of the student's senior year (during add/drop period) the student will meet with the thesis committee to discuss the revised proposal and evaluate the status of the project. The ES Program Coordinator will help to schedule the meeting time and location with the student’s committee. If the committee decides that progress is satisfactory, students may enroll in ES 355/360. ES 360 students will fill out the Honors form at the Dean’s office.

Normally at the conclusion of the ES 355/360 a grade of TBG (to be graded) will be assigned. The final grade for the combined 360/370 process is assigned at the completion of the thesis.

Spring Semester, Senior Year: During the first week of the second semester, students will meet with their thesis committee and give a formal presentation and update on the progress of their project. At this point, the committee will decide if the student may advance to ES 365/370. A list of approved ES 365/370 students will be sent to the registrar and the office will register them. This is considered the halfway point of the thesis. If students are not able to continue with the thesis, the fall ES 355/360 is transformed into an ES 350 Independent Study course. Students choosing not to continue with the thesis can decide (in conjunction with their advisors) whether they want to continue on with Independent Study.

Students will submit a complete draft of their thesis to their committee in early to mid April, with a specific date to be determined by their primary advisor. After this draft is submitted, students will consult with their committee to schedule the one-hour thesis oral exam during reading period. Students, in consultation with their advisor, should also arrange for a Committee on Curriculum and Academic Policyvisitor to attend the defense. Follow the link to more information about the Procedure for Selecting Honors Visitors.

During the spring semester, students are expected to give a public presentation of their thesis research to the Wellesley Community. This 15-20 minute presentation and question & answer period will be for a general audience of ES students and faculty, and will take place over lunch.

Students will submit a final draft of their thesis in late April of their senior year, as scheduled by the Registrar's Office. The electronic repository will distribute copies of the thesis to the honors examining committee, including the honors visitor. If honors is conferred, the Registrar's copy of the thesis becomes the property of the College Archives. There are no extensions permitted for handing in theses.

During reading period, students will complete the pre-arranged oral exam/defense of thesis. In Environmental Studies, this will be a hybrid of the public presentation, and a more formal discussion (the defense component). The examination should be approximately one hour in length. The oral examination committee is composed of the honors advisor, the department chair/program director (or a designated representative), a third faculty member from the department/program, and a non-voting representative of the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Policy.

After the defense the committee and the student will determine the date when the final thesis with essential revisions is to be handed in. Submission of the revised thesis usually occurs within 10 days of the defense, and no later than commencement. If revisions to the thesis are suggested or required at the conclusion of the oral examination, the student is responsible for submitting the corrected copy of the thesis to the Office of the Registrar prior to graduation.

Honors Thesis Structure and Format

We expect that the thesis will follow one of two broad strategies. 1) Students may choose to complete a thesis that is broadly interdisciplinary, or 2) students may decide to have a focused thesis that includes an interdisciplinary component, which is broadly related to the thesis topic, but is not a separate entity supplementary to the thesis.

The thesis must include an executive summary that is accessible to the entire Environmental Studies community. The length of the executive summary should be approximately 2-4 pages, single-spaced. In general, this piece should be a concise presentation of the project and its relevance to environmental studies. The ES Advisory Faculty will provide examples of acceptable executive summaries.

There is no single, preferred stylistic format for the honors thesis. All archived copies of the thesis should, however, include a standard title page. See Sample Title Page. The candidate should consult her honors advisor about the acceptable forms for footnotes, bibliography, and other issues of form appropriate to the field. One often-consulted reference is Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations.

Electronic Copies

The Registrar's Office now requires all theses to be submitted electronically. Visit the registrar's office site for guidelines on the submission process. 

Financial Assistance

Limited funds are available to support student research with Wellesley College faculty members. Students seeking a research grant should submit an application form. These forms are available in the Office of the Dean of the College or on the Web.

Library Policy for Thesis Students

Study carrels are available at the Science Center, Art, Music Libraries (and Clapp after renovations) for thesis students. Request a thesis carrel.