Senior Thesis

Each Honors student writes a Senior Thesis in his or her major. All majors in Fordham College accept the Honors thesis as a course to be counted toward the major requirements. Double-majors choose which major the thesis will fulfill. The thesis cannot be done in a minor.

The Senior Thesis is an independent research project initially proposed in Spring of Junior Year by the student, and designed and written under the guidance of a Faculty Mentor in the major. Students choose their own mentors and work closely with them on the thesis. Humanities theses are around 35-40 pages (sometimes more). The final document is defended before a three-person Faculty Committee. The thesis defense is a capstone experience for an Honors student.

Humanities students enroll for the thesis in either the Fall or Spring semester of Senior year. It is strongly suggested that students register and complete the thesis in the Fall, as the Spring deadline required for graduation clearance is actually earlier than the end of the semester. In the sciences, the thesis is a two-semester project; the student registers for the thesis in one of the two senior semesters, and for a science research course in the other, as advised by the major department. All students participate in a non-credit Senior Thesis Seminar, with the Director of the Honors Program. In this seminar, which meets about every two weeks, students present their research projects to their peers for questions and suggestions. The setting is informal, and presenters are also responsible for refreshments.

Students should start thinking about the thesis project as early as possible, particularly regarding the selection of a mentor.

Some Recent Thesis Titles

• Sufficient to Have Stood, Though Free to Fall: Reason and Ignorance in Milton's Heavenly Hierarchy
  Madeleine Metzler ‘11, English
• Unforgettable Trauma: Central European Memory of the First World War in Literature and Film
  Kevin Crenny ‘11, History
• Land-Use and Nutrient Effects on Benthic Algal Biomass, Nutrient Stoichiometry and Species Composition in an Urbanized Watershed
  Matthew Cashman ‘10, Biology
• Designing a Conditional Cash Transfer Program to Enhance Healthcare Delivery in Nigeria
  Oludolapo Fakeye ‘10, Economics
• From Kyoto to Copehagen: The Role of NGOs in Climate Change Politics
  Kristine Beaudoin ‘11, Political Science
• Selfless Self and Selfless Non-Self: Implications of Buddhist and Thomist Metaphysics in the Burmese Monks’ Protests
  Quang D. Tran ‘08, Philosophy
• "Oh Lord, Why Did You Smite Me With This Family?" Gerbner's Cultivation Analysis and Portrayals of Religion on The Simpsons
  Nicholas Thibideau ‘10, Communications and Media Studies
• A Minority in Crisis: Coptic Christians and the Islamization of Modern Day Egypt
  Faye Cassell ‘08, Middle East Studies
• Religiosity and Beliefs about Work and Child Care
  Caitlin Hynes ‘10, Psychology