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Honors Thesis Timeline

Thesis Timeline

About

Students work throughout the process with their advisors and the Chair. After completing the Senior Seminar (COLT 85), students enroll in COLT 87. A written thesis is usually 60-80 pages double spaced pages in length, and students also give an oral presentation based on their project.

 

Thesis Timeline

Junior Year

  • Identify a topic of interest;
  • Identify and contact two potential faculty advisors Start thinking about what is comparative in your work and how you understand comparison (COLT 85 will help you articulate this with academic sources);
  • Write a one-page proposal in consultation with faculty advisor by June 1 to include:
    • Topic
    • Faculty Advisor
    • Brief bibliography of summer research readings.

Summer Term

First week of July, as a rising Senior:

  • submit a narrative description of the topic you intend to pursue to your two advisors and the chair. If you change your mind and decide to write a thesis late in the summer, make sure you do this by August 25th at the very latest.
  • Start drafting your formal proposal (guidelines below).

Senior Year

Fall Term

Second week of classes, senior year-(AY 2025-26 deadline: October 15, 9 AM): submit a formal thesis proposal, signed by two advisors, submitted to Liz Cassell for the steering committee approval.

Content of the proposal:

I: Name, tentative title, explanation of the title;

II: 2-4 pages double-spaced pages, including the following:

  • a very brief introduction of the texts/artifacts that you plan to analyze;
  • a clear description and explanation of what is comparative about your approach and why this comparison matters;
  • an explanation of what questions you intend to ask and what approach you intend to use to answer them. If you are already clear about your methodological orientation, say so;
  • an indication of the direction that background reading on the topic might take (including  theoretical writings, historical background on a given period, criticism of a given author's works);
  • a brief statement of what you hope to find out in the course of this work, as well as how it matters in the bigger scheme of discussions in present-day scholarship, criticism, and/or society.

 III: a bibliography of primary and secondary works.

Please get feedback of the draft from your advisors and the chair before submitting. Also get feedback from peers and cohort, if you can.

**NOTE: Students who miss the deadline may not be able to write the thesis.

Winter term:

  • Enroll in COLT 85;
  • Research, read, write in consultation with faculty advisor and meet for regular consultations. COLT 85 will provide a writing schedule and peer review. 

Spring Term

  • Enroll in COLT 87 to complete your thesis;
  • Finish writing, format thesis using MLA guidelines and submit it to your advisors by the third Monday in May;
  • Public oral presentation : TBA in the 4th week in May;
  • Upload your final thesis to digital commons, (instructions) due date June 1st
Two-paper Option

You may choose to write two senior papers (about 20 pages each) in lieu of a thesis. This is a non-honors option. You still have to file a preliminary proposal in the spring of your junior year and a final proposal in the fall of your senior year along with the honors theses. Please note the deadlines.

The first paper will be written for CL 85 in the winter. The second paper is usually written in the context of a course taken in spring term or an independent study (CL 79). If you do the two-paper option you will not enroll in CL 87.

The two papers may be related, but this is not required. They do have to integrate your areas of interest in the languages you have studied. You will work closely with your advisors while writing both essays. You can opt to do the oral presentation.

Grading of Seniors in CL85 and CL87

In order to graduate with honors standing, Comparative Literature honors majors must achieve an average of at least a B+ in CL 85 and CL 87.

Grades for CL 85 and CL 87 are awarded at the end of the two-term sequence. The criteria for evaluating the Honors Thesis is as follows:

The grade for CL 85 will reflect effort and participation in the seminar, the quality of prepared work for the thesis, the balance between close work with an advisor and intellectual independence achieved, and the quality of the oral presentation.

The grade for CL 87 will be based on the scholarly quality of the completed thesis and will be given by the advisors. A number of factors will be considered in the evaluation process: cogency and critical sophistication of the argument; quality of the writing (style, elegance); appropriateness and consistency of approach; presence within the thesis of the comparative approach studied throughout the major; and ambition, clarity, and complexity of the questions raised.