Senior Thesis Guidelines

1. As a general rule, a senior thesis should consist of 5 chapters: an introduction, 3 content chapters of about 10 pages each, and a conclusion.
2. Students are advised to visit the Writing Center for help while writing their theses. In particular, you should strongly consider visiting the Writing Center to get help in creating the second draft from the first draft. You may want to call the writing center in late January to schedule an appointment.
3. Include a cover page with the honor code statement and a place for you to sign. Also include a place for the advisor to sign, indicating approval of the thesis. The names of the student and advisor should be printed under their respective signature lines. Your advisor can show you an example cover page.
4. Include a table of contents with page numbers for chapters and sections.
5. If figures are used, include a list of figures, with the captions and page numbers of the figures.
6. If you have written computer code as part of your thesis, you should include the full code as an appendix. You may also want to include parts of the code in the body of the thesis. Remember to include screenshots as appropriate.
7. Provide at least four (4) copies to be signed, one for the advisor, one for the department, one for the library, and one for the student. If there is more than one advisor, adjust appropriately. You should also burn your computer code as well as the text of your thesis on a CD and give this CD to your advisor so he/she will have easy access to your code.