what are senior thesis

Senior Theses

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Doing a senior thesis is an exciting enterprise. It’s often the first time students are engaging in truly original research and trying to develop a significant contribution to a field of inquiry. But as joyful as an independent research process can be, you don’t have to go it alone. It’s important to have support as you navigate such a large endeavor, and the ARC is here to offer one of those layers of support. 

Whether or not to write a senior thesis is just the first in a long line of questions thesis writers need to consider. In addition to questions about the topic and scope of your thesis, there are questions about timing, schedule, and support. For example, if you are collecting data, when should data collection start and when should it be completed? What kind of schedule will you write on? How will you work with your adviser? Do you want to meet with your adviser about your progress once a month? Once a week? What other resources can you turn to for information, feedback, and support? 

Even though there is a lot to think about and a lot to do, doing a thesis really can be an enjoyable experience! Keep reminding yourself why you chose this topic and why you care about it. 

Tips for Tackling Big Projects:  

• When you’re approaching a big project, it can seem overwhelming to look at the whole thing at once, so it’s essential to identify the smaller steps that will move you towards the completed project. 
• Your advisor is best suited to help you break down the thesis process with field-specific advice. 
• If you need to refine the breakdown further so it makes sense for you, schedule an appointment with an Academic Coach . An academic coach can help you think through the steps in a way that works for you. 
• Pre-determine the time, place, and duration. 
• Keep it short (15 to 60 minutes). 
• Have a clear and reasonable goal for each writing session. 
• Make it a regular event (every day, every other day, MWF). 
• time is not wasted deciding to write if it’s already in your calendar; 
• keeping sessions short reduces the competition from other tasks that are not getting done; 
• having an achievable goal for each session provides a sense of accomplishment (a reward for your work); 
• writing regularly can turn into a productive habit. 
• In addition to having a clear goal for each writing session, it’s important to have clear goals for each week and to find someone to communicate these goals to, such as your adviser, a “thesis buddy,” your roommate, etc. Communicating your goals and progress to someone else creates a useful sense of accountability. 
• If your adviser is not the person you are communicating your progress to on a weekly basis, then request to set up a structure with your adviser that requires you to check in at less frequent but regular intervals. 
• Commit to attending Accountability Hours at the ARC on the same day every week. Making that commitment will add both social support and structure to your week. Use the ARC Scheduler to register for Accountability Hours. 
• Set up an accountability group in your department or with thesis writers from different departments. 
• It’s important to have a means for getting consistent feedback on your work and to get that feedback early. Work on large projects often lacks the feeling of completeness, so don’t wait for a whole section (and certainly not the whole thesis) to feel “done” before you get feedback on it! 
• Your thesis adviser is typically the person best positioned to give you feedback on your research and writing, so communicate with your adviser about how and how often you would like to get feedback. 
• If your adviser isn’t able to give you feedback with the frequency you’d like, then fill in the gaps by creating a thesis writing group or exploring if there is already a writing group in your department or lab. 
• The Harvard College Writing Center is a great resource for thesis feedback. Writing Center Senior Thesis Tutors can provide feedback on the structure, argument, and clarity of your writing and help with mapping out your writing plan. Visit the Writing Center website to schedule an appointment with a thesis tutor . 
• Working on a big project can be anxiety provoking because it’s hard to keep all the pieces in your head and you might feel like you are losing track of your argument. 
• To reduce this source of anxiety, try keeping a separate document where you jot down ideas on how your research questions or central argument might be clarifying or changing as you research and write. Doing this will enable you to stay focused on the section you are working on and to stop worrying about forgetting the new ideas that are emerging. 
• You might feel anxious when you realize that you need to update your argument in response to the evidence you have gathered or the new thinking your writing has unleashed. Know that that is OK. Research and writing are iterative processes – new ideas and new ways of thinking are what makes progress possible. 
• It’s also anxiety provoking to feel like you can’t “see” from the beginning to the end of your project in the way that you are used to with smaller projects. 
• Breaking down big projects into manageable chunks and mapping out a schedule for working through each chunk is one way to reduce this source of anxiety. It’s reassuring to know you are working towards the end even if you cannot quite see how it will turn out. 
• It may be that your thesis or dissertation never truly feels “done” to you, but that’s okay. Academic inquiry is an ongoing endeavor. 
• Thesis work is not a time for social comparison; each project is different and, as a result, each thesis writer is going to work differently. 
• Just because your roommate wrote 10 pages in a day doesn’t mean that’s the right pace or strategy for you. 
• If you are having trouble figuring out what works for you, use the ARC Scheduler to make an appointment with an Academic Coach , who can help you come up with daily, weekly, and semester-long plans. 
• If you’re having trouble finding a source, email your question or set up a research consult via Ask a Librarian . 
• If you’re looking for additional feedback or help with any aspect of writing, contact the Harvard College Writing Center . The Writing Center has Senior Thesis Tutors who will read drafts of your thesis (more typically, parts of your thesis) in advance and meet with you individually to talk about structure, argument, clear writing, and mapping out your writing plan. 
• If you need help with breaking down your project or setting up a schedule for the week, the semester, or until the deadline, use the ARC Scheduler to make an appointment with an Academic Coach . 
• If you would like an accountability structure for social support and to keep yourself on track, come to Accountability Hours at the ARC. 

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Search the site, search suggestions, preparing for a senior thesis.

Every year, a little over half of Harvard’s senior class chooses to pursue a senior thesis. While the senior thesis looks a little different from field to field, one thing remains the same: completion of a senior thesis is a serious and challenging endeavor that requires the student to make a genuine intellectual contribution to their field of interest.

The senior thesis is a significant task for students to undertake, but there is a variety of support resources available here at Harvard to ensure that seniors can make the best of their senior thesis experience.

Wandering the library stacks at Widener.

I do most of my research in Widener Library. Hannah Martinez

As a rising senior in the History department, I am planning on pursuing a senior thesis on the history and use of the SAT in college admissions, and I am using the following support systems and resources to research and write my thesis:

• Staff at the History department. Every student within the department is assigned an academic advisor, who is a graduate student studying History at Harvard and knows the support available within the department. My academic advisor has helped me throughout the thesis process by connecting me with potential faculty members to advise my thesis and pick classes with a lighter course load so I can focus on completing my thesis. The Director of Undergraduate Studies in History (the History DUS) has also been pivotal in making sure that I attended a lot of information sessions about what the thesis looks like and how much of a commitment it is.
• History faculty at Harvard! All of my professors in History have been incredibly helpful in teaching me how to write like a historian, how to use primary sources in my essays, and how to undertake a serious research project over the course of a semester. Of course, while the thesis will require me to go far beyond what I’ve ever done before, I feel prepared to take on such a task because of the unwavering support from the History faculty. My mentor, Emma Rothschild, is one of the members of the faculty who has been invaluable in encouraging me to go as far as I am able.
• And last but certainly not least: funding. Funding, whether in term-time of the summer before senior year, is crucial towards making the senior thesis possible. Harvard’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships is dedicated to connecting Harvard students to funding sources across the university so they can pursue their research and get paid for it. This summer, I received a grant from the university of almost $2,000 so I am able to travel to libraries, buy books, and potentially take time off of work and do my research. Without such a grant, it would be incredibly difficult for me to do enough research so I can write a thesis this upcoming fall.

As you can see, there are multiple avenues for support and resources here at Harvard so your senior thesis is as easy as possible. While the senior thesis is still a challenging project that will take up a lot of time, Harvard’s resources make it possible for senior students to do their very best in all of their theses. I’m excited to start writing this fall!

Hannah Class of '23 Alumni

Hello! My name is Hannah, and I am a rising senior at Harvard concentrating in History from southeast Los Angeles County.

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The Senior Thesis

From the outset of their time at Princeton, students are encouraged and challenged to develop their scholarly interests and to evolve as independent thinkers.

The culmination of this process is the senior thesis, which provides a unique opportunity for students to pursue original research and scholarship in a field of their choosing. At Princeton, every senior writes a thesis or, in the case of some engineering departments, undertakes a substantial independent project.

Integral to the senior thesis process is the opportunity to work one-on-one with a faculty member who guides the development of the project. Thesis writers and advisers agree that the most valuable outcome of the senior thesis is the chance for students to enhance skills that are the foundation of future success, including creativity, intellectual engagement, mental discipline and the ability to meet new challenges.

Many students develop projects from ideas sparked in the classes they’ve taken; others fashion their topics on the basis of long-standing personal passions. Most thesis writers encounter the intellectual twists and turns of any good research project, where the questions emerge as they proceed, often taking them in unexpected directions.

Planning for the senior thesis starts in earnest in the junior year, when students complete a significant research project known as the junior paper. Students who plan ahead can make good use of the University's considerable resources, such as receiving University funds to do research in the United States or abroad. Other students use summer internships as a launching pad for their thesis. For some science and engineering projects, students stay on campus the summer before their senior year to get a head start on lab work.

Writing a thesis encourages the self-confidence and high ambitions that come from mastering a difficult challenge. It fosters the development of specific skills and habits of mind that augur well for future success. No wonder generations of graduates look back on the senior thesis as the most valuable academic component of their Princeton experience.

Navigating Colombia’s Magdalena River, One Story At A Time

For his senior thesis, Jordan Salama, a Spanish and Portuguese major, produced a nonfiction book of travel writing about the people and places along Colombia’s main river, the Magdalena.

Embracing the Classics to Inform Policymaking for Public Education

For her senior thesis, Emma Treadwayconsiders how the basic tenets of Stoicism — a school of philosophy that dates from 300 BCE — can teach students to engage empathetically with the world and address inequities in the classroom.

Creating A Faster, Cheaper and Greener Chemical Reaction

One way to make drugs more affordable is to make them cheaper to produce. For her senior thesis research, Cassidy Humphreys, a chemistry major with a passion for medicine, took on the challenge of taking a century-old formula at the core of many modern medications — and improving it.

The Humanity of Improvisational Dance

Esin Yunusoglu investigated how humans move together and exist in a space — both on the dance floor and in real life — for the choreography she created as her senior thesis in dance, advised by Professor of Dance Susan Marshall.

From the Blog

The infamous senior thesis, revisiting wwii: my senior thesis, independent work in its full glory, advisers, independent work and beyond.

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Senior Thesis Resources

How to use this guide, brush up on your research skills, we're here to help.

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This guide includes a range of library and writing center resources that will help you with the skills and tools you need to be successful in completing your senior thesis. The guide is divided into sections on the left of the page. You can skip ahead to the section that is relevant to you or browse through all the sections.

For most students, their senior thesis is the most sustained research project of their academic career. This guide is designed for students to spend some time up front to build the research skills necessary for a successful senior thesis. Finding and filling the gaps in your research knowledge will save you time in the long run and help you build a stronger senior thesis.

Use the Basic Research Skills and Advanced Research Skills options in the navigation menu to get started.

In addition to your senior thesis advisor, there are people who can help with different aspects of your senior thesis. It's a good idea to identify the librarian for your subject area early in your research, as well as finding out what kinds of support your campus writing center provides for students working on theses.

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Senior Thesis

A senior thesis is more than a big project write-up. It is documentation of an attempt to contribute to the general understanding of some problem of computer science, together with exposition that sets the work in the context of what has come before and what might follow. In computer science, some theses involve building systems, some involve experiments and measurements, some are theoretical, some involve human subjects, and some do more than one of these things. Computer science is unusual among scientific disciplines in that current faculty research has many loose ends appropriate for undergraduate research.

Senior thesis projects generally emerge from collaboration with faculty. Students looking for senior thesis projects should tell professors they know, especially professors whose courses they are taking or have taken, that they are looking for things to work on. See the page on CS Research for Undergrads . Ideas often emerge from recent papers discussed in advanced courses. The terms in which some published research was undertaken might be generalized, relaxed, restricted, or applied in a different domain to see if changed assumptions result in a changed solution. Once a project gets going, it often seems to assume a life of its own.

To write a thesis, students may enroll in Computer Science 91r one or both terms during their senior year, under the supervision of their research advisor. Rising seniors may wish to begin thinking about theses over the previous summer, and therefore may want to begin their conversations with faculty during their junior spring—or even try to stay in Cambridge to do summer research.

An information session for those interested in writing a senior thesis is held towards the end of each spring semester. Details about the session will be posted to the  [email protected] email list.

Students interested in commercializing ideas in their theses may wish to consult Executive Dean Fawwaz Habbal about patent protection. See  Harvard’s policy  for information about ownership of software written as part of your academic work.

Thesis Supervisor

You need a thesis supervisor. Normally this is a Harvard Computer Science faculty member. Joint concentrators (and, in some cases, non-joint concentrators) might have a FAS/SEAS Faculty member from a different field as their thesis supervisor. Exceptions to the requirement that the thesis supervisor is a CS or FAS/SEAS faculty member must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. For students whose advisor is not a Harvard CS faculty member, note that at least one of your thesis readers must be a Harvard CS faculty member, and we encourage you to talk with this faculty member regularly to help ensure that your thesis is appropriately relevant for Harvard Computer Science.

It’s up to you and your supervisor how frequently you meet and how engaged the supervisor is in your thesis research. However, we encourage you to meet with your supervisor at least several times during the Fall and Spring, and to agree on deadlines for initial results, chapter outlines, drafts, etc.

Thesis Readers

The thesis is evaluated by the thesis readers: the thesis supervisor and at least one other reader. Thesis readers must include at least one Harvard CS faculty member/affiliate . Ordinarily all readers are teaching faculty members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences or SEAS who are generally familiar with the research area.

The student is responsible for finding the thesis readers, but you can talk with your supervisor for suggestions of possible readers.

Exceptions to these thesis reader requirements must be approved by the Directors of Undergraduate Studies.

For joint concentrators, the other concentration may have different procedures for thesis readers; if you have any questions or concerns about thesis readers, please contact the Directors of Undergraduate Studies.

Senior Thesis Seminar

Computer Science does not have a Senior Thesis seminar course.

However, we do run an informal optional series of Senior Thesis meetings in the Fall to help with the thesis writing process, focused on topics such as technical writing tips, work-shopping your senior thesis story, structure of your thesis, and more. Pay attention to your email in the Fall for announcements about this series of meetings.

The thesis should contain an informative abstract separate from the body of the thesis. This abstract should clearly state what the contribution of the thesis is–which parts are expository, whether there are novel results, etc. We also recommend the thesis contain an introduction that is at most 5 pages in length that contains an “Our contributions” section which explains exactly what the thesis contributed, and which sections in the thesis these are elaborated on. At the degree meeting, the Committee on Undergraduate Studies in Computer Science will review the thesis abstract, the reports from the three readers and the student’s academic record; it will have access to the thesis.  The readers (and student) are told to assume that the Committee consists of technical professionals who are not necessarily conversant with the subject matter of the thesis so their reports (and abstract) should reflect this audience.

The length of the thesis should be as long as it needs to be to present its arguments, but no longer!

There are no specific formatting guidelines. For LaTeX, some students have used this template in the past . It is set up to meet the Harvard PhD Dissertation requirements, so it is meeting requirements that you as CS Senior Thesis writers don’t have.

Thesis Timeline for Seniors

(The timeline below is for students graduating in May. For off-cycle students, the same timeline applies, but offset by one semester. The thesis due date for March 2025 graduates is Friday November 22, 2024 at 2pm. The thesis deadline for May 2025 graduates is Friday March 28th at 2pm.

Please be aware that students writing a joint thesis must meet the requirements of both departments—so if there are two different due dates for the thesis, you are expected to meet the earlier date.

Senior Fall (or earlier) Find a thesis supervisor, and start research. 

October/November/December Start writing.

All fourth year concentrators are contacted by the Office of Academic Programs and those planning to submit a senior thesis are requested to supply certain information, including name of advisor and a tentative thesis title. You may use a different title when you submit your thesis; you do not need to tell us your updated title before then. If Fall 2024 is your final term, please fill out this form . If May 2024 is your final term, please fill out this form .

Early February The student should provide the name and contact information for the readers (see above), together with assurance that they have agreed to serve. 

Mid-March Thesis supervisors are advised to demand a first draft. (A common reaction of thesis readers is “This would have been an excellent first draft. Too bad it is the final thesis—it could have been so much better if I had been able to make some suggestions a couple of weeks ago.")

March 28, 2025 Thesis is due by 2:00 pm. Electronic copies in PDF format should be delivered by the student to all three readers and to [email protected] (which will forward to the Director of Undergraduate Studies) on or before that date. An electronic copy should also be submitted via the SEAS online submission tool on or before that date. SEAS will keep this electronic copy as a non-circulating backup. During this online submission process, the student will also have the option to make the electronic copy publicly available via DASH, Harvard’s open-access repository for scholarly work. Please note that the thesis will NOT be published to ProQuest. More information can be found on the SEAS  Senior Thesis Submission  page.

The two or three readers will receive a rating sheet to be returned to the Office of Academic Programs before the beginning of the Reading Period, together with their copy of the thesis and any remarks to be transmitted to the student.

Late May The Office of Academic Programs will send students their comments after the degree meeting to decide honors recommendations.

Thesis Extensions and Late Submissions

Thesis extensions Thesis extensions will be granted in extraordinary circumstances, such as hospitalization or grave family emergency, with the support of the thesis advisor and resident dean and the agreement of all readers. For joint concentrators, the other concentration should also support the extension. To request an extension, please have your advisor or resident dean email [email protected] , ideally several business days in advance, so that we may follow up with readers. Please note that any extension must be able to fall within our normal grading, feedback, and degree recommendation deadline, so extensions of more than a few days are usually impossible.

Late submissions Late submission of thesis work should be avoided. Work that is late will ordinarily not be eligible for thesis prizes like the Hoopes Prize. Theses submitted late will ordinarily be penalized one full level of honors (highest honors, high honors, honors, no honors) per day late or part thereof, including weekends, so a thesis submitted two days and one minute late is ordinarily ineligible to receive honors. Penalties will be waived only in extraordinary cases, such as documented medical illness or grave family emergency; students should consult with the Directors of Undergraduate Studies in that event. Missed alarm clocks, crashed computers, slow printers, corrupted files, and paper jams are not considered valid causes for extensions.

Thesis Examples

Recent thesis examples can be found on the Harvard DASH (Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard) repository here . Examples of Mind, Brain, Behavior theses are here .

Spectral Sparsification: The Barrier Method and its Applications

• Martin Camacho, Advisor: Jelani Nelson

Good Advice Costs Nothing and it’s Worth the Price: Incentive Compatible Recommendation Mechanisms for Exploring Unknown Options

• Perry Green, Advisor: Yiling Chen

Better than PageRank: Hitting Time as a Reputation Mechanism

• Brandon Liu, Advisor: David Parkes

Tree adjoining grammar at the interfaces

• Nicholas Longenbaugh, Advisor: Stuart Shieber

SCHUBOT: Machine Learning Tools for the Automated Analysis of Schubert’s Lieder

• Dylan Nagler, Advisor: Ryan Adams

Learning over Molecules: Representations and Kernels

• Jimmy Sun, Advisor: Ryan Adams

Towards the Quantum Machine: Using Scalable Machine Learning Methods to Predict Photovoltaic Efficacy of Organic Molecules

• Michael Tingley, Advisor: Ryan Adams

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Senior Thesis & Undergraduate Research

Every year, approximately 45%-55% of senior History concentrators choose to cap their Harvard careers by writing a senior honors thesis.

The senior thesis tutorial is a two-semester sequence  comprising Hist 99a and Hist 99b . While the overwhelming majority of students who start a thesis choose to complete it, our process allows students to drop the thesis at the end of the fall semester after History 99a (in which case they are not eligible for departmental honors).

The senior thesis in History is a year-long project involving considerable primary- and secondary-source research and a good deal of writing; finished theses are expected to be between 60 and 130 pages in length , and to make an original contribution to historical knowledge.

The department’s senior thesis program is one of the strongest in Harvard College. In recent years, one quarter or more of our thesis writers have received  Hoopes Prizes , which is well over the College average.

History 99 Syllabus 2022–2023

History 99: Senior Thesis Writers’ Tutorial Wednesdays, 6–7 and 7-8 PM Robinson Conference Room

Click here to view the History 99 syllabus for this year.

A Sampling of Past History Thesis Titles

For a list of thesis titles from the past five years, please click here .

Senior Thesis Conference

The History Department's annual Senior Thesis Writer's Conference is an opportunity for thesis writers to present their projects as members of three-to-four person panels moderated by a faculty member or advanced graduate student, to an audience of other faculty and graduate students. Their aim is to get the critical and constructive feedback they need to clarify their arguments, refine their methods, and ultimately transform their research projects into theses.

Like our faculty, our student presenters are conscious of their reliance on other disciplines in almost every aspect of their work. This conference supplies opportunities to engage in cross-disciplinary dialogues. Audience members also learn from these dedicated and talented young scholars even as they teach them new ways of conceiving and pursuing their projects.

For more information about the conference or the Department's thesis program as a whole, please write to the  Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in History, or visit the Senior Thesis Writers Conference and History 99a website. The  Conference is open to all active members of the Harvard community.

All seniors writing theses receive as part of the History 99a and 99b seminar materials a Timetable for Thesis Writers which lists approximate deadlines for staying current with work on this large-scale project. (For current copies of these documents, please click here .) Many thesis writers will submit work in advance of the deadlines listed on the timetable, following schedules worked out with their individual advisers. Several of the deadlines listed on the timetable must be met:

• Students who wish to enroll in History 99 must attend the first meeting of the seminar on Wednesday, September 5th at 6:00 pm in the Robinson Lower Library.
• By the beginning of the fall reading period, students must submit substantial proof of research to both their adviser and the 99 History instructors. This usually takes the form of a chapter or two of the thesis (20–30 pages).
• Theses are due to the History Undergraduate Office (Robinson 101) on Thursday, March 10, 2022  before 5:00 pm. Theses that are handed in late will be penalized.

Thesis Readings

Each History thesis is read by at least two impartial members of the Board of Tutors, assigned by the Department. The Board of Tutors consists of (1) all department faculty in residence and (2) all graduate students teaching History 97 and/or a Research Seminar, as well as those advising senior theses. If History is the secondary field of a joint concentration, there is only one History reader. Each reader assigns an evaluation to the thesis (highest honors, highest honors minus, high honors plus, high honors, high honors minus, honors plus, honors, or no distinction), and writes a report detailing the special strengths and weaknesses of the thesis.  Theses by students with a highest honors-level concentration GPA and one highest-level reading will automatically be assigned three readers. Additionally, a thesis by any student may be sent to a third reader when the first two evaluations are three or more distinctions apart (e.g., one high honors plus and one honors plus).

Department Standards for the Thesis Program

Seniors who wish to write a thesis must meet certain prerequisites:

• a ‘B+’ average in the concentration;
• a ‘B+’ average on a 20-page research seminar paper
• the recommendation of their Research Seminar tutor(s).

Students who do not meet the above standards may petition the  History Undergraduate Office for admission to the senior thesis; successful petitions must include a detailed thesis proposal, and will be evaluated at the discretion of the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies (Asst. DUS).

The Awarding of Departmental Honors in History

THE AWARDING OF DEPARTMENTAL HONORS IN HISTORY

 Nominations for departmental honors are made by the Board of Examiners at the degree meeting each spring.  In making its nominations, the Board first takes two elements into account:  the average of course grades in History and thesis readings.  All students who may be eligible for a recommendation of highest honors will then be given an oral examination by the Board of Examiners; performance on this exam will be considered in determining the final recommendation.  The standing of those students at the border of two different degrees may also be determined through an oral examination administered by the Board of Examiners.

To be considered eligible for highest honors in history, a student will ordinarily have a grade point average greater than or equal to 3.85 in courses taken for departmental credit, and have received at least two highest -level thesis readings.  In addition, the student must convince the Board of Examiners of their qualifications for the highest recommendation through their performance on the oral examination.  Whether any particular student falling into this numerical range receives highest honors in history will be determined in part by the performance on the oral examination. 

To be considered eligible for high honors in history, a student will ordinarily have a grade point average greater than or equal to 3.7, and will ordinarily have received two high -level readings on the thesis. 

To be considered eligible for honors in history, a student will ordinarily have a grade point average greater than or equal to 3.3, and will ordinarily have received two honors -level readings on the thesis. 

Please note that the Department recommends students’ English honors (highest, high, honors, no honors) and sends these recommendations to the College which determines students’ Latin honors based on total GPA.  Please visit:   https://handbook.fas.harvard.edu/book/requirements-honors-degrees    for more information on how the College awards Latin honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, cum laude, no honors).  In addition, you should consult with your Resident Dean.  Any degree candidate who does not receive the A.B. degree with honors in History will be considered by the FAS for the degree of cum laude.  

Departmental Support

Students who do decide to enter the thesis program benefit from a great deal of departmental support. The Department encourages its thesis writers to consider the possibility of devoting the summer prior to their senior year to thesis research, whether on campus or around the world. Each year a large number of rising seniors find funding for summer thesis research. The Undergraduate Office holds a meeting to advise students on how to write a successful fellowship proposal. In addition, we maintain a  listing of organizations that have supported concentrators’ thesis research.

The Department also supports its senior thesis writers through two semesters of a Senior Thesis Seminar, History 99a and 99b , which provide a useful framework for thesis writers as they work through the intermittent difficulties that all thesis students inevitably encounter. For many seniors, their thesis will turn out to be the best piece of writing done while at Harvard. It will also be the longest and most complicated. Consequently, the seminars will focus much attention on the unique challenges of writing an extended, multi-chapter work. History 99a and 99b also provide a common forum in which seniors can share with thesis-writing colleagues their feedback, successes, frustrations, interests, and techniques. This kind of collegiality and exchange of ideas is at the heart of the academic seminar, and it can be the most rewarding aspect of the seminar series.

Students must enroll in the Thesis Seminars in order to write a thesis by obtaining approval from the Asst. DUS  on their study cards.

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What Is A Senior Thesis And How To Write It?

First, what is senior thesis? A senior thesis is a written project where you use different hypotheses, theory, argument, or creative thinking. It is usual practice for most students to take this project work in the senior year of college or high school.

A senior thesis tends to be more demanding than a research paper in terms of the amount of work and the length of the write-up. However, it is less than the work required for any Master’s thesis.

Is a Senior Thesis Required?

It is understandable to want to know if a senior thesis is required. I mean, anyone would want to know just how important it is before choosing to dedicate much time to it.

Well, a senior thesis is not compulsory in every college/university, and neither is it compulsory for every course of study.

In general, you can write a senior thesis if you have an overall GPA of 3.2, are ending your junior year, and meet your departmental requirements. If a senior thesis is not a requirement for completing your degree, you may decide to write one for several reasons. Some benefits are:

• It will look good on your resume
• It will give you an opportunity for some independent research
• You get some experience managing your project, etc.

If you cannot commit to finishing a senior thesis, then you shouldn’t start it. But if you would like to write one, then we’ve got lots of senior thesis topics and ideas for you! You will also get to learn how to write a senior thesis in this article!

How To Write a Senior Thesis

Writing a senior thesis can be a lot easier if you know what to do. First, you need to choose the right adviser, select a topic you would like to work on, write a proposal, and get approved. Here are some things you need to know about writing your senior thesis.

A thesis proposal is a short overview of what your senior thesis papers will look like. This document carries detailed descriptions of your senior thesis topic. Your thesis proposal can be between 1 to 5 pages long and should carry any relevant information. The proposal will also carry a list of books you’ve used or that you intend to use during the writing of your senior thesis.

The length of a senior thesis may vary depending on several reasons. The senior thesis length can be dependent on strict specifications by the college. Your senior thesis may be between 10,000 to 20,000 words long.

The senior honors thesis is a 6-credit final thesis that you must present as a written formal document. The senior thesis title page, also known as the cover page, is the page that carries, at first glance, details of the project. The information on this page includes the thesis title, name of the student, name of college, name of supervisor, etc.

The senior thesis defense is an avenue created for faculty and examiners to ask you about your research work. You are to tell them the outcome of the research to the point when you’re asked. The questions center around what you have in your senior thesis paper, so ensure you have remarkable up-to-date information at every point.

Senior Thesis Topic

It is essential that you find excellent senior thesis topics. Finding these excellent topics is the pain point for many students. Well, we are here to help you with some senior thesis topics.

Checking out past senior thesis topics can also set you on the right path earlier in your research. For example, if you are a student writing a CMC senior thesis, senior thesis UF, senior thesis Princeton, or yale senior thesis, you can search for award-winning senior thesis topics. These topics can give you an idea of topics that may best suit your purposes. Never forget that you should always choose topics that you find interesting. Here are some history senior thesis topics that you can choose from:

• Yankees of the East: 20th Century America
• History of the German Ford Motor Company
• How women saw themselves in the Jazz Age
• The Emergence of Great Societies
• The roles of women post WWII

Get A Senior Thesis Example

Looking through some senior thesis examples can help you easily get the hang of what a senior thesis looks like. You can also request past projects from senior friends and colleagues, as this can significantly reduce the stress on you.

Senior Thesis Format

Now, I’ll give you a working senior thesis format. If you want an excellent and well-written thesis, you can follow the senior thesis outline given below. Here is an outline according to the guidelines for writing UF senior thesis or Princeton senior thesis.

In this chapter, you have to discuss the significance and purpose of the thesis. Also, you should state what you hope to achieve by the work.

Here, you will discuss the theory behind your research work. This chapter discusses past theoretical works that are related to your research.

This chapter explains how you intend to gather your data. Here, you state the method and experiments you followed to arrive at your results. It would help if you also described the analysis of your data. This must be done conscientiously.

This chapter addresses the findings from your experiments and data analysis only. You begin by listing out the types of tests taken and the outcome. You can use tables and charts to illustrate numeric results as the case may be.

Here you don’t just restate your findings, but you expatiate on the deductions you made from your findings. This chapter answers the “so what?” question. This is not a section to mince words when you explain what the results mean to the theory.

Include all references at the end of work.

Senior Thesis Ideas

There are many fields and sources to get senior thesis topic ideas from. These fields include health, technology, social media, education, religion, music, environment, etc. If you want to do a UF psychology senior thesis research, for example, these are some senior thesis psychology topics you can explore.

• The deep-seated reasons for discrimination and prejudice
• Personal perception and social cognition
• Marketing, propaganda, and persuasion
• Eating behaviors and outlook about life
• Phobias and antisocial behaviors
• Group therapy profile
• False memories and dreams.

Graphic Design Senior Thesis

When you become a senior in the Graphic Design Program at your institution, you can choose a social or personal problem to address through a design problem-solving technique or process. It may take you a semester or session to complete this work, so you have to start early enough. After completing the thesis, you can showcase your work and experience an exhibition. Don’t forget to put in your best effort.

High School Senior Thesis

The high school senior thesis is a document of at least 2,000 words written by high school seniors. This exercise usually strengthens research capabilities. Some high school senior thesis topics may include:

• A documentary on a place
• Learning about programming
• Research about the nature of colors and lots more.

In conclusion, when you’ve decided to write a senior thesis, the best thing to do is segment your work into small doable bits. Also, you need to schedule your time so that you can complete the thesis in due time or contact professional thesis writers . We wish you good luck!

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University of Notre Dame

Program of Liberal Studies

College of Arts and Letters

• Home ›
• The Major ›
• Requirements ›

Senior Thesis

PLS ecourages all of its students to write a senior thesis. This 35-60 page thesis (~9,000-15,000 words) is your chance to explore a topic or a text of your choosing in greater detail from across the disciplines, and to work one-on-one with an advisor who will support you in bringing this capstone project to completion. Many PLS students produce extraordinarily creative and intellectually rigorous pieces of scholarship that allow them to integrate their wide-ranging interests.

There are three ways to complete the thesis in your senior year:

• Register for the two PLS Thesis Tutorials with a PLS professor as your advisor.
• Register for the two PLS Thesis Tutorials with a non-PLS professor as your advisor.
• Complete the thesis process in another major (many majors offer the senior thesis as an "honors" option).

While students follow many paths to completing the thesis, below is a rough timeline to help you begin to think about yours.

"Writing the thesis was really an experience of synthetic creation. Though we write a number of papers in the Program, spending a full year (or more) on the singular project was a rewarding process of leading myself to make a contribution to a greater academic conversation, building it in a structure-free environment that is unmatched in most courses. I'm confident that the experience will prove profoundly effective for more substantially cultivating skills of synthesis and independent creation." — Sam Cannova, PLS '21, Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company.

Senior Thesis Timeline

Sophomore fall.

If you are planning to study abroad in the summer or in the spring of your junior year (which is the best time for most PLS students), applications are typically due in November of your sophomore year. As you begin to think about whether and where you would like to go, you might consider your experience abroad as an opportunity to get a jump start on the research for your senior thesis.

Many PLS students have used their study abroad experience to visit archives, libraries, and sites relevant to their topics, to conduct interviews, to gain further mastery of requisite research languages, or to take classes on the topic that may not be available at Notre Dame. Some study abroad programs offer special research fellowships, like the London Kennedy Scholars  and Rome International Scholars , that will help you develop research skills and hone your research questions. Notre Dame also offers a number of other research funding opportunities  to get you started.

Sophomore Spring

Regardless of whether you plan to study abroad, which is certainly not a necessary step in the thesis process, you might consider using one of your elective spaces in the spring of your sophomore year to take a class that will help you explore a possible area of research interest, especially if you are interested in something that is not covered in depth by the PLS curriculum or is not studied until the senior year. This may be true of topics engaging more contemporary issues or authors.

You might also talk with your PLS professors to see if you can write a research paper for one of your PLS classes. Many excellent theses begin as shorter papers completed for one of the PLS Seminars or Tutorials. This is a great way to try out a topic to see if it holds your interest and to begin a conversation with a potential faculty advisor.

Junior Summer

It is probably no surprise that members of the PLS community have fairly extensive summer reading lists. This summer you might take note of what kinds of books are populating your list and think about how one or more of them might be the germ of a thesis topic. This could be especially helpful if you are having trouble narrowing down a topic (or, really, have no idea where to begin!).

Often the best projects grow out of personal interests that may not seem immediately "research-worthy," but almost anything you can think of has its own body of literature and scholarly conversation around it. Once you start paying attention to the authors who cite, and are cited in, the books you love, you will probably find that your interests connect with a whole world of fellow seekers. Getting to know that world and becoming a part of it is what research is all about!

Junior Fall

This is the time to start having exploratory conversations with potential faculty advisors. To identify faculty in your general area of interest, you should begin by consulting their departmental faculty page and, if they are PLS faculty, their senior thesis profile, which is updated annually.

Don't worry if you are still casting about for a topic. Faculty have a lot of experience refining their own research questions, and they will be able to help you find your way from a general disciplinary interest, like philosophy or literature or theology, to a well-defined and manageable line of inquiry. Even if you feel like you know exactly what you want to do for your thesis, don't be surprised or discouraged if faculty suggest ways of further narrowing the scope or adjusting the aims of your research. The more work you do at this stage to clarify your thinking, the fewer headaches you will have a year from now, when you realize that what you had set out to do is not feasible.

Faculty might also suggest that you speak with their colleagues in PLS or in other departments. Again, don't be discouraged. All of the faculty want to be sure that you get the best support possible for your project, and they want you to find someone whose research interests and expertise will most closely match your own.

While there are plenty of resources at Notre Dame to help you complete your thesis, there are also many opportunities to access resources beyond the campus. If you are interested in a topic related to Italy, you should consider applying for PLS's Monteverdi Prize , the deadline for which is usually in late December. If you are looking for funding for a summer research trip, you should explore the opportunities available through the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts ,  Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement , and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies .

If you already have plans to study abroad in the spring and hope to get some research done while you are there, you should begin identifying the archives, libraries, and other points of interest before you go. Some institutions require researchers wanting to access their materials to make arrangements ahead of time. Thus, it is advisable to do a little planning in advance so that you find all of the doors open to you when you get there. Finally, if you ever simply don't know where to begin, ask one (or more!) of the PLS faculty. We are here to help!

Junior Spring

The formal senior thesis process begins in the spring of junior year, when you submit your research proposal and are matched with a faculty advisor. If you are writing your thesis in another major, you do not need to complete the full proposal and matching process. You should speak with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) for that major to be sure that you are clear about their expectations for completing a senior thesis. When you have confirmed your plans with them, you should send an email to the DUS for PLS, Dr. Eric Bugyis ( [email protected] ), indicating the department, advisor, and proposed topic of your thesis. You should also copy the DUS for the major in which you are writing the thesis on this communication. You will follow the deadlines and other thesis expectations for that major.

If you plan to work with a non-PLS faculty person and they have agreed to supervise the thesis, you should confirm this by sending an email to Dr. Bugyis, indicating the topic and advisor. You should copy the non-PLS faculty advisor on this communication. Dr. Bugyis will then create a section of the PLS Thesis Tutorial for that advisor, who will set the expectations for the work to be completed each semester and will submit your grade. You will register for this Thesis Tutorial section and follow the PLS deadlines and formatting protocols.

All students writing their theses in PLS with a PLS faculty advisor must submit a proposal to the department administrator, Becky Badger ( [email protected] ), by the deadline for that year, which will typically be in March. Most proposals will be about 1-2 pages (~500-1500 words), and they will give a general orientation to the body of literature or literatures you plan to engage, culminating in a clearly articulated research question or set of closely related questions and an initial bibliography. You are encouraged to work with one or more faculty to help you craft your thesis proposal, even if those faculty do not end up advising the project.

There will be a matching day shortly after the proposals are due when the faculty will meet to determine which faculty person is the best fit for each of the thesis projects proposed. Once you are matched with a PLS faculty advisor, you will register for their section of the PLS Thesis Tutorial for senior fall and begin the process of meeting with them to determine how best to proceed with the project.

Senior Summer

By the end of your junior year, you should have a rough outline of your thesis project and an initial list of sources to get you started. You should also have met at least once with your faculty advisor to come up with a research plan.

The summer is a great time to get a running start on your research by reading through the sources on your initial bibliography and finding new sources on the basis of that reading. This is also a great time to visit archives and other places of interest with funding from the sources listed above or to begin analyzing the information you collected while you were studying abroad. If your project does not involve such site-specific research (and many will not), just find a comfortable chair in a beautiful spot, crack open a book, and, with a notebook at your elbow, start collecting your thoughts.

Senior Fall

At the beginning of the fall, you and your advisor will determine a regular schedule of meetings and the work that is to be completed for those meetings. This will vary from advisor to advisor and student to student. But you should plan to keep in regular contact with your advisor about your progress.

Faculty know that the research and writing process tends to ebb and flow. So, don't be worried if you fall behind at particular points in the semester. The important thing is that you remain in contact with your advisor. It is at those points when you feel overwhelmed and just plain stuck that faculty can often be the most helpful in reframing the project, finding new paths forward, and offering much-needed perspective.

The goal is to produce a full draft of the thesis by the end of the fall. This is not the polished final draft, but a rough draft that both you and your advisor will expect to be significantly revised. The best writing is rewriting!

Senior Spring

You are in the home stretch! The work of this semester is revision. This may involve targeted research to find sources to shore up a particular part of your argument or significantly rewriting earlier sections of the thesis that can now be strengthened or clarified by work that you did later in the fall semester. Once again, your advisor will help you determine a plan for producing a polished final draft by the deadline, which is typically in March.

When you submit your final draft to the PLS office, your advisor will also send up to three names of possible second readers to the DUS for PLS, Dr. Eric Bugyis ( [email protected] ). The second reader and your advisor will each write a letter assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the thesis and, possibly, offer suggestions for future work. Thus, the thesis is only the beginning of a lifetime of learning.

At the annual PLS senior dinner to celebrate graduation, the best thesis for that year will be recognized with the Bird Award , named in honor of PLS founder Otto Bird.

The Senior Thesis

From the outset of their time at Princeton, students are encouraged and challenged to develop their scholarly interests and to evolve as independent thinkers.

The culmination of this process is the senior thesis, which provides a unique opportunity for students to pursue original research and scholarship in a field of their choosing. At Princeton, every senior writes a thesis or, in the case of some engineering departments, undertakes a substantial independent project.

Integral to the senior thesis process is the opportunity to work one-on-one with a faculty member who guides the development of the project. Thesis writers and advisers agree that the most valuable outcome of the senior thesis is the chance for students to enhance skills that are the foundation of future success, including creativity, intellectual engagement, mental discipline and the ability to meet new challenges.

Many students develop projects from ideas sparked in the classes they’ve taken; others fashion their topics on the basis of long-standing personal passions. Most thesis writers encounter the intellectual twists and turns of any good research project, where the questions emerge as they proceed, often taking them in unexpected directions.

Planning for the senior thesis starts in earnest in the junior year, when students complete a significant research project known as the junior paper. Students who plan ahead can make good use of the University's considerable resources, such as receiving University funds to do research in the United States or abroad. Other students use summer internships as a launching pad for their thesis. For some science and engineering projects, students stay on campus the summer before their senior year to get a head start on lab work.

Writing a thesis encourages the self-confidence and high ambitions that come from mastering a difficult challenge. It fosters the development of specific skills and habits of mind that augur well for future success. No wonder generations of graduates look back on the senior thesis as the most valuable academic component of their Princeton experience.

Navigating Colombia’s Magdalena River, One Story At A Time

For his senior thesis, Jordan Salama, a Spanish and Portuguese major, produced a nonfiction book of travel writing about the people and places along Colombia’s main river, the Magdalena.

Embracing the Classics to Inform Policymaking for Public Education

For her senior thesis, Emma Treadwayconsiders how the basic tenets of Stoicism — a school of philosophy that dates from 300 BCE — can teach students to engage empathetically with the world and address inequities in the classroom.

Creating A Faster, Cheaper and Greener Chemical Reaction

One way to make drugs more affordable is to make them cheaper to produce. For her senior thesis research, Cassidy Humphreys, a chemistry major with a passion for medicine, took on the challenge of taking a century-old formula at the core of many modern medications — and improving it.

The Humanity of Improvisational Dance

Esin Yunusoglu investigated how humans move together and exist in a space — both on the dance floor and in real life — for the choreography she created as her senior thesis in dance, advised by Professor of Dance Susan Marshall.

From the Blog

The infamous senior thesis, revisiting wwii: my senior thesis, independent work in its full glory, advisers, independent work and beyond.

Brookdale Senior Living: No Change After Q2, Operating Assets Not Pulling Economic Weight

• Brookdale Senior Living operates 652 senior living communities, providing care to around 59,000 residents.
• The stock has rallied 74% since last year, but economic realities of growth ad low profitability tell a different story.
• Q2 earnings show growth in revenue per occupied room and occupancy rates, but capital reallocation is poor with little compounding ability beyond here in my view.

Matteo Colombo

Investment Update

Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE: NYSE: BKD ) operates a network of 652 senior living communities spread across 41 states. The company provides senior and aged care residential services to ~59,000 residents.

Since my last publication on BKD in August last year, the stock has rallied 74% to the upside. I reiterated the business hold then based on numerous factors, namely:

• The economic realities of the company's growth weren't investment-grade in my view.
• It is a capital-intensive, profit-light business producing anaemic returns on the capital that's been invested into it to operate.
• FCFs routinely negative (which is fine in a high ROIC business) but funds are being deployed back into an enterprise earning ~4-5% on every $1 recycled.
• Valuations unsupportive with the company valued >2x capital at the time which in my view was unsustainable.

Following its Q2 '24 numbers overnight my views on the investment prospects of the company remain unchanged. I continue to rate the stock a hold on 1) fundamentals, 2) quality being low [low ROICs + profitability], and 3) valuations. My view is the business is worth ~$11–$15/share today, supporting a hold.

This is a name I have covered extensively here on SA. See my earlier publications here , here.

Tradingview

Q2 earnings insights

It was another period of top-line growth for the business in Q2 with resident fees +420bps YoY to $740mm, on cash OpEx of $64mm and total OpEx of $537mm (+120bps YoY). Fees were higher YoY as revenue per occupied room ("RevPOR") was +430bps YoY to ~$6,200, but were down sequentially.

Additional takeouts from the quarter include the following:

• Revenue per available room (RevPAR) was +6.4% to $4,800 – driven by annual in-place rate increases it put in place this year. Occupancy rates (discussed below) were also higher, contributing to the growth.
• Same-community weighted average occupancy for Q2 2024 was +160bps YoY to 78.1% – this continues the uptrend observed in prior quarters. But, as with resident fees + RevPOR, it was 20bps lower sequentially due to mix shifts. This resulted in lower occupancy rates and RevPAR vs. Q1 '24.
• Same-community operating margins decompressed 160bps YoY , underlined by the ~6% growth in revenue and a moderate 3.6% growth in facility operating expenses.
• Management now guides RevPAR growth of ~6.75% at the upper end of range and sees adj. EBITDA of ~$95mm on this. This excludes ~$180mm of CapEX. Consensus sees ~4-5% CAGR in sales by FY'26E with ~20% earnings growth. This appears fair in my view given 1) recovery to pre-Covid revenue growth, 2) the fact it's sorted the Omega Healthcare saga [discussed below] and 3) that management doesn't really have an extensive runway to redeploy capital at high rates of return, so I'm not expecting anything above long-term growth rates.

Company filings

• The amended master lease with Omega Healthcare Investors (covering 24 communities) provides up to $80mm in funding for CapEx through 2037 . I had viewed this as a major drag on stock performance in prior analyses. Whilst I'm acutely aware the capital restructuring is more or less resolved, it doesn't change my economic view of the company.
• Despite recent sales upsides, quarterly operating earnings aren't exhibiting upsides when adjusted for maintenance CapEx (approximated at the level of depreciation). Pre-tax earnings peaked in Q1 '23 (Figure 3) and have rotated around this mark since. My view is this trend is likely to consider as management continues to shed capital from the asset base.

• In fact it has shed ~$1.7Bn from the business since FY'21 and this has lifted earnings on that capital to a rate of 5.2% vs. 1.4% back then. Thing is, even with the sharp contraction in capital intensity (capital turns are now 0.4x vs. 0.3x), and more profit (post-tax margins are +800bps), this has only produced ~5% ROICs (Figure 4).
• The fact of the matter is though that management has not made any new investments into the business over this entire testing period, Q2 included. In the 12 months leading up to the second quarter, management divested around $58 million. Even though profit grew $12 million over this period, the returns on the base were still <10% as mentioned, and this does not align with our investment tenets. Especially in a highly competitive industry, and offering commodity-like economics. The fact is that aged care and community living are somewhat of a commodity type of service. Margins are tremendously low given this competitiveness, and it is often a race to the bottom on fees versus services provided. Then you have large national operators that consolidate operating expenses such that returns are a function of capital employed.
• Moreover, for a business with this much tangible operating capital I would expect far higher capital turnover on this. BKD is producing <$1 in revenues for every dollar of investor capital that has been put into the business (including retained earnings). As such it is not pulling its economic weight – especially the fact that these assets must be eventually “replaced” at today’s, highly inflated dollars. Whilst the business does have an accelerated depreciation schedule, creating a charge against earnings and providing a tax benefit, these depreciation charges also approximate maintenance capital expenditures.
• In my view, these expenditures are likely to increase over the next decade as 1) the cost of capital is now higher, 2) capital is now less abundant, and 3) to achieve a proper recovery of your underlying asset, including capital and return and capital, the benchmark is now far higher than it was over the past decade. Sure, embedded expectations are low. However, the quality factor of the business is not present and this is a mitigating factor to rating it a buy.

Trading below invested capital, not a statistical discount

The business is priced at a discount to sector peers at 0.5x sales, but BKD is valued correctly below 1x EV/IC in my opinion given the fact that produces such slack returns on its operating capital (Figure 5). A business should trade at a premium to capital if it is producing returns greater than what investors could reasonably expect to achieve elsewhere. This is not the case here, and the Market has got it right in my view. Moreover, this is not a statistical discount in my opinion given the low quality factor. As such, there is risk that we are paying less than 100 cents on the dollar for assets that are worth less than 100 cents on the dollar in the market.

Company filings, author

Valuation insights

• I have updated my modelling to reflect the company's latest numbers and projections. There has not been much of a change as the second-quarter results were largely in line with expectations. In my forward estimates (see: Appendix 1) I have the business reinvesting around 5 to 10% of post-tax earnings each 12 months, producing similar levels of returns on these incremental investments as it has been in the past (around 5%). At the current 0.8x multiple, this gets me to a valuation of $16 per share, fading down to $11.50 per share by FY 26. Critically, my estimates on valuation multiples also fade down to 15x which is a risk in the valuation calculus in my view.
• The other thing is in creating scenarios for the distribution of valuation outcomes, a tremendously high hurdle must be to corroborate a buy rating. For instance, my business must grow sales at 10% annually on pre-tax margins of more than 12%, turning over capital more than 1x every period. This would see it produce returns in capital above 11 to 12%, our threshold margin. However, it is difficult to see BKD achieving this any time soon therefore my opinion is that this is not a statistical discount and that we must look for more selective opportunities in this current climate.

Author's estimates

Risks to investment thesis

The major upside risk to the thesis is if management start producing sales growth greater than six or 7%. This could add a tailwind to the valuation and see investors pay a higher multiple. Further if it does reduce asset size more, and continues growing earnings, then business returns may increase as well. This would add a few points to my evaluation and could see it trade justifiably above $18 per share.

On the downside, the risk is in a further degradation of the business returns below 5%. This would occur with a major clamp on sales and or profitability. I give this a 30% probability given the current circumstances whereby capital is not as abundant and is more costly.

Investors must recognize these risks in full before proceeding.

BKD remains a hold in my opinion given the fact there has been little to no change in the fundamental economics of the business after its Q2 numbers. This is still a low-margin, low capital turnover enterprise, producing slack returns on all the capital that has been put into its operations – of which, there is plenty. Whilst management has been shedding capital from the asset base in recent years, this has not resulted in a corresponding uptick in profitability beyond levels investors could reasonably achieve themselves elsewhere. As such, there is an economic opportunity cost for holding this name in my firm opinion, and we are guided to more selective opportunities elsewhere. Net net, reiterate hold.

Appendix 1.

This article was written by

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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HISTORY 495S/496S: Honors Thesis Seminar 2024/25

• Topic: Counter Culture and Black Power Movements
• Thesis Writers & Duke Libraries
• Browse all Guides at Duke Libraries
• Define Archival Materials and Primary Sources
• Appreciate the "Finding Aid" for Archival Material
• Search Across Finding Aid Portals
• Organize and Cite Your Sources
• Topic: The West and the Soviet Union
• Topic: France Colonialism
• Topic: NAZI Germany Persecution US Perceptions
• Topic: US and Bosnia 1992–1995

Subject Librarians

Primary sources and archives, secondary materials: books, secondary materials: articles.

• Topic: Canada and the American Civil War
• Topic: Asante Female Power
• Topic: Trinity College, Black Workers, and Durham
• Topic: Cherokee Women, Property, Law, and Slavery

Kelley Lawton , Librarian for United States History, [email protected]

• United States History

Heather Martin , Librarian for African and African American Studies, [email protected]

• African American Studies
• Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window Includes a full run of the Black Panther newspaper with images and searchable text (see "Featured Content" on database homepage) plus books, essays, articles, speeches, letters and interviews of leading African Americans.
• The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives 1960-1974 This link opens in a new window Search for primary sources texts, footage and documentaries that explore events from the sixties and early seventies.
• Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s This link opens in a new window Search for primary source documents from the FBI related to political, social, cultural, and economic issues in the 1960s
• Independent Voices This link opens in a new window A collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.
• ProQuest Black Studies This link opens in a new window Combines primary and secondary sources, leading historical Black newspapers, archival documents, government materials, video, writings by major American Black intellectuals and leaders, and essays by top scholars in Black Studies.

Start with a  Keywords  search, using words that describe your topic, and see what you find.

You might try different combinations of the following, as  Subject  searches:

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• Youth International Party
• Radicalism--United States--History--20th century
• Counterculture--United States
• Nineteen sixties
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Search a collection of important scholarly journals representing a range of disciplines.

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Home > STUDENT_SCHOLAR > Engineering Senior Theses > MECH_SENIOR > 136

Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses

Small scale wave energy convertor for remote applications.

Rafael Torres Rodriguez John Stephenson Max Mailloux-Beauchemin Brandon Nguyen Ryan Chang

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Document Type

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2024

Mechanical Engineering

First Advisor

Pete Woytowitz

The following thesis showcases the yearlong culmination of a senior design project focused on the development of a small-scale wave energy generator intended to provide consistent and sustainable energy for remote marine environments. This project’s main customers include, but are not limited to, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, and scuba diving sites worldwide. Based on these identified customers and their needs, a target power output of 50 watts was determined. Beyond this power requirement, the generator is required to resist corrosion, withstand rough marine conditions, and be modular as well as requiring low maintenance. All of these requirements allow for an improved alternative to the current choice of solar panels.

The scope of this project focused on supporting remote research and maritime companies with a more reliable power source than solar and fossil fuel systems. The currently employed solar panels suffer from long downtimes and high maintenance costs. This project serves as a better alternative. The general life cycle of the generator is as follows: deployment, standby, operation, maintenance, and retrieval. At the end of the life cycle, the generator will be recycled.

This senior project aims to deliver a simplistic, low-maintenance, and modular wave energy solution to provide a reliable power source for remote maritime research. Our project was able to theoretically produce a peak energy of 100 Watts via manual testing and modeling but was so far only able to produce 4 Watts in real testing due to constraints of our testing pool and wave size. Arguably, in phase II testing, with the removal of the inefficiencies seen in phase I, we believe that our output will be significantly higher and ideally close to our theoretical outputs. We were able to meet all other requirements outlined by our customers, such as size, cost competitiveness, and continuous uptime.

Recommended Citation

Rodriguez, Rafael Torres; Stephenson, John; Mailloux-Beauchemin, Max; Nguyen, Brandon; and Chang, Ryan, "Small Scale Wave Energy Convertor for Remote Applications" (2024). Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses . 136. https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/mech_senior/136

Since August 08, 2024

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