Students intending to pursue a senior thesis project should first find a faculty advisor to oversee their project. Ideally, students should have found a thesis advisor by the end of their junior year, or during the summer between their junior and senior year. The student should work with the thesis advisor to draft the thesis proposal.
The thesis proposal constitutes the application for the senior thesis. This proposal must be submitted electronically to the department chair no later than the first Monday of the Fall semester. Click here to download the cover page and instructions for the thesis proposal.
Students should assume that their application will be accepted, so they should register for Chem-498 (Senior Thesis Part 1) for the Fall semester of their senior year. Students must complete the special registration form for a senior thesis and submit it in person to the Registrar’s office before the end of the Fall semester Add/Drop period. Copies of this form are available in the Chemistry Department office (Clement 208). The signature of the thesis advisor is required on this form.
Upon receipt of the thesis applications, the faculty of the Chemistry Department will read the documents and vote on whether to accept or reject the application. If the application is accepted, the department chair will appoint a three person thesis committee, consisting of the thesis advisor and two other faculty members. The chair will notify the applicants whether their thesis applications have been accepted or rejected.
At the time of acceptance, each thesis student will be notified of the due dates for when specific parts of the thesis are due to the members of their thesis committee. In the Spring semester thesis students will present their work publicly during the Friday afternoon seminar, usually at the end of April.
Each student will be provided with a bound copy of their thesis. Normally, the bound thesis will be mailed to the student during the Fall semester following their graduation.