Students should seek a faculty mentor with whom they can work productively to complete the proposed project. The faculty mentor serves as the student's thesis committee chair.
The best mentors are typically professors that the student has had a course with in his/her major, and who explored topics of interest to the student. Students can ask professors directly or go through an honors administrator to assist in the process of acquiring a thesis chair.
Students should consult with their thesis chair to develop a reasonable timeline that accommodates the necessary work and which allows faculty mentors enough time to read and respond to drafts and installments.
The timeline is a mandatory part of the Honors Thesis contract.
The thesis chair plays a crucial role in helping guide a student through the process of completing an Honors Thesis. This mentor should begin by helping the student define a solid topic for the project—in most cases, this involves the selection of a research question that is interesting and weighty but that can be grappled with in the time frame available.
It is okay to start with a broad issue; the goal is to choose an aspect of that broad theme that will be the focus of the project. After the question for the project is clearly defined, the thesis chair will help the student learn how to find out about previous work on the topic and appropriate approaches to the question.
After the question for the project is clearly defined, the thesis chair will help the student learn how to find out about previous work on the topic and appropriate approaches to the question.
Finally, the thesis chair will meet regularly with the student to discuss the progress of the research as it is unfolding, helping the student through the process of completing a solid piece of work.