Women's and Gender
Studies Program

WGS > Undergraduate Program > Senior Honors Thesis

Senior Honors Thesis

 

Guidelines and Expectations

 

What is the honors program?

The honors program is a two-semester sequence (WMGS 198a in the fall followed by WMGS 99b in the spring – please note that WMGS 99b does not count as one of the nine courses required for the major) during which select Women’s and Gender Studies students independently research and write a senior thesis. Only WGS majors in the honors program can graduate with Honors, High Honors or Highest Honors in WGS.

Who should pursue Honors in Women’s and Gender Studies?

The senior thesis program is for the student particularly motivated to work in depth for a year on a specific topic. The student must be highly disciplined, motivated, organized, and self-directed:  keep in mind that most students do not write theses. We encourage rising seniors who are majoring in women’s and gender studies and have a GPA of 3.5 or better in women’s and gender studies courses to consider an honors degree. Students with a GPA below 3.5 should consult their adviser and the WGS chair to determine whether undertaking an honors thesis is advisable.  

Applying to the honors program

Eligible students must, on their own initiative, conceive of a research project and seek out a WGS faculty member who agrees to advise the project. Ideally this process begins by the end of the junior year or during the summer before the senior year. A student may contact the Undergraduate Advising Head (UAH) for help in selecting and approaching a possible faculty adviser.

By the third full week of classes students should declare to the UAH, the WMGS 198a professors and the WGS program office their interest in writing a Senior Thesis. Students should also have identified and planned to meet with their prospective faculty adviser.

By the Thursday before Thanksgiving students must submit to the WGS program office electronically a 2-3 page thesis proposal and a copy of what the student considers his/her best WGS research paper for a WGS course during his/her undergraduate career. The thesis proposal is an opportunity for students to reflect on the writing process as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

The thesis proposal should include:

• the thesis topic
• why the topic is interesting and important
• the central questions to be examined
• methodology
• preliminary bibliography
• a proposed schedule of research and writing

The program faculty will review the proposal, and students will be notified within one week whether their proposal has been provisionally accepted and they have been admitted into the Women’s and Gender Studies Senior Thesis Program.

By the end of the fall semester, thesis writers must have written a paper or chapter of 15 to 20 pages. This will be accomplished through participation in WMGS 198a. Should the 198a instructors agree that the student's course work has been superior, she/he will be allowed to enroll in WMGS 99b for the spring semester. The student must also fill out the “Thesis Declaration Form” and submit it to the WGS program office.

Thesis Adviser

The thesis adviser is the student's primary intellectual adviser for the year-long project. Following WMGS 198a, the student continues thesis work by enrolling in WMGS 99b with the thesis adviser. The student should determine her/his adviser by the first semester of his/her senior year.

Thesis Readers

In consultation with the thesis adviser students must choose two additional readers for their thesis. At least one and preferably two of the three readers should be core faculty members in WGS (core faculty members are listed on our website). The third reader must be a Brandeis faculty member but does not need to be on the WGS core faculty. The readers must represent at least two different departments.

Double-counting

Students pursuing honors in another department or program may petition to submit this thesis as a WGS thesis if the project has a significant focus on women and/or gender. Students should contact the WGS Program Office to submit this petition.  At least one reader from the WGS core faculty is required in order to count the project for honors in Women’s and Gender Studies.

Defense and decision on level of honors of thesis

An oral defense of the thesis is required, with all three readers present. The defense usually lasts about one hour and is confined to the honors research (it is not a test of general WGS knowledge). Typically, students open the oral defense with a brief summary of the central argument(s) of the thesis, along with a discussion of anything they wish the committee to know. Students may comment, for instance, on the discovery process that led them to write the thesis to begin with; on certain field-related or theoretical difficulties they encountered along the way; or on unresolved issues or questions that they did not discuss in the written document. The discussion that follows will allow faculty a chance to ask the student questions about his/her research and to converse with the student about the contents.

The defense must take place before the WGS degree meeting, which is typically the Monday before graduation. At the defense, the thesis is awarded highest honors, high honors, honors, or no honors.  The level of honors is indicated on the thesis defense form and signed by all members of the committee, although it will not be communicated to the student. The student will be informed of the final level of program honors

Evaluation of the thesis

Evaluations take place at several points in the honors thesis process:

• WMGS 198a: The professor(s) for the course will grade the student on the progress made on the thesis during the fall semester.
• WMGS 99b: The adviser of the student’s thesis section will grade the student.
• Honors thesis/oral defense: The defense committee, made up of the adviser, a second reader, ideally from WGS, and a third reader from another department, determines a recommendation for honors at the time of the defense. The committee will base this recommendation upon both the written thesis and the oral defense.
• Program Honors: Determination of program honors is a decision of the WGS core faculty and is dependent not only on the level of honors earned for the thesis but also on the student’s academic record in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program. The level of program honors awarded will be highest honors, high honors, honors, or no honors.

Requirements for the spring semester

• Students will meet regularly with their thesis adviser and as needed with their second and third readers. The adviser will make assignments for research and writing.
• By the third Friday in March students will submit the first completed draft of the thesis.
• By the third Friday in April students will submit the completed version of the thesis.
• Students will schedule the defense with the three readers before the program degree meeting.

Women's and Gender Studies Program  |  Rabb 105  |  415 South Street, MS 082, Waltham, MA 02453  |  (781) 736-3045