Course Description
Faculty-supervised independent or collaborative inquiry into fundamental and applied problems within a discipline that requires students to gather, analyze, and synthesize and interpret data. Students will write or produce a thesis or other professional capstone product, such as a report or portfolio that describes their systematic and in-depth inquiry.
Athena Title
Senior Thesis
Non-Traditional Format
This is a capstone course under the direct supervision of a faculty member. This course may be the culmination of the 4960R-4980R sequence. Students will write a thesis or other professional capstone product, such as a report or portfolio that describes their systematic and in-depth inquiry into an unknown, fundamental, or applied problem. Participation in senior thesis requires the submission of a proposal the prior semester that was approved by the supervising faculty member and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The thesis or capstone product is written in close collaboration with the faculty member and must be approved by that faculty member and a second faculty reader. The student will apply understanding of the discipline to identify or shape the research question and apply skills and techniques learned to complete the research project. The student will have gathered data, synthesized relevant literature and materials, analyzed, and interpreted data. The student will demonstrate in writing the contribution of their work to the discovery and interpretation of knowledge significant to their field of study. The student will have presented results in the form of a properly formatted, professionally rigorous thesis document and through the formal presentation of the thesis to faculty and peers during an approved event (e.g., Senior Thesis and Senior Project Symposium). The student will receive feedback from the faculty member on the overall execution of their thesis project, the written thesis, and their presentation. The student may be required to participate in meetings or workshops organized by the faculty research mentor or a Senior Thesis Coordinator and to attend a minimum number of presentations by peers.
Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall, spring and summer
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course is offered as one of two options to fulfill the capstone and Experiential Learning Requirement for all majors within the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. It is designed for highly motivated undergraduates interested in pursuing independent scholarly research and with the potential longer-term goal to matriculate into a graduate research program. The expected learning outcomes for a student writing a thesis based on directed research are: 1. The student will demonstrate in writing the contribution to the discovery and interpretation of knowledge significant to their field of study. 2. The student will have presented results in the form of a properly formatted, professionally rigorous thesis document and through the formal presentation of the thesis to faculty and peers at an approved event (e.g., Senior Thesis and Senior Project Symposium). 3. The student will develop professional skill through participation in meetings or workshops and attending a minimum number of presentations by peers.
Topical Outline
Students are required to identify a faculty research mentor, develop and submit a proposal to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs the semester prior to enrolling in Senior Thesis, and have at least a 3.0 major GPA. Students that do not meet the GPA requirement must appeal to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to enroll. Thesis topics will vary among students and is an independent collaboration between the faculty member and the student. As such, there is no set topical outline.