What is a senior honors thesis?
A senior honors thesis in Science, Technology and Society (STSC) is a substantial independent research project completed over the course of a year, from January to December. Students develop this scholarly essay (10,000 to 20,000 words or 40 to 80 pages, not including bibliography) in response to an original question of their own choosing that engages the interdisciplinary field of STSC.
What is the process?
- Enroll in STSC 4000 in spring of junior year.
- Submit a thesis proposal for approval at the end of the term.
- Research during the summer.
- Write the thesis during the fall term under an advisor's supervision (enrolled in STSC 4980, the senior honors thesis independent study).
- Submit the thesis by the end of fall exam period.
- Participate in Senior Research Symposium at the end of the spring semester of senior year.
Timetable for the Senior Thesis
Spring of Junior Year
Enroll in STSC 4000 (Research Seminar)
This course fulfills the Capstone requirement.
During this course you will:
- Develop a research question in keeping with the goals of the major and develop a project that engages the disciplines of STSC (science, technology, history, and sociology).
- Read the list of past STSC senior thesis topics to inspire and guide topic selection.
- Review secondary and primary literature for your topic.
- Write a research paper (this fulfills the Capstone requirement).
- Develop a formal thesis proposal [including a one-page letter of interest that explains why you want to do an honors project, your thesis proposal, your capstone paper, and letters of support from your capstone instructor and your advisor(s) - if this is the same person, you will only need one letter; recommenders email these letters directly to the Associate Director.].
- Apply for funding if needed for the summer or fall.
April of Junior Year
Apply to Write a Senior Honors Thesis
- Submit your formal thesis proposal to faculty committee [including a one-page letter of interest that explains why you want to do an honors project, your thesis proposal, your capstone paper, and letters of support from your capstone instructor and your advisor(s) - if this is the same person, you will only need one letter; recommenders email these letters directly to the Associate Director.].
- Receive permission from instructor and program director to proceed.
May through August Between Junior and Senior Year
Summer Research
- Continue research of existing literature and of new material.
- Stay in contact with your advisor.
Fall of Senior Year
Enroll in STSC 4980: Senior Thesis Independent Study
September
- Submit five-page write-up of summer research to your advisor.
- Submit schedule of meetings with your advisor, signed by the advisor, to STSC Undergraduate Chair and Associate Director.
- Attend mandatory meeting where you submit these materials.
October and November
- Attend mandatory monthly meetings with STSC Undergraduate Chair and Associate Director.
- Submit complete rough draft to advisor by Thanksgiving.
- Begin revisions on rough draft.
December
- Submit revised final draft of thesis to advisor by the end of fall term.
- NOTE: the final draft of the thesis must be turned in and graded for the fall term. No Incompletes are granted for STSC 4980.
January of Senior Year
Submit Final Copy of Thesis
- January 31 - Submit corrected and bound copy of thesis to the Associate Director.
April
Senior Research Symposium
- Present poster at Senior Research Symposium (attendance required).
- Get certified for honors at graduation.
2024
Zhangyang Xie, "COVID-19 with Chinese Characteristics: Panopticon, Laboratory, and the Biopolitical Economy of COVID-19 in People’s Republic of China" (Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Moreno)
2021
Tathagat Bhatia, "Crisis Talk: Food and Industry in Postcolonial India, 1951-65" (Advisor: Dr. Etienne Benson)
2020
Kelcey Gibbons, "A History of African American Computing Communities: 1940-1980" (Advisor: Dr. Stephanie Dick)
2019
Minna Fingerhood, "Assessing the Value of the Panoptican For Understanding the Current United States Prison System" (Advisor: Dr. Etienne Benson)
Ariel Friedman,"The Limitations of Anti-Trust Laws within the Web-Based Economy" (Advisor: Dr. Adelheid Voskuhl)
Avalon Morell, "Diebold, Automation and Productivity: Fear and Capitalism in Cold War America, 1945-1965" (Advisor: Dr. Stephanie Dick)
Kaylah Walton, "Nutrition Labels as an Informational Tool: Shifting Agency in Nutritional Science from Experts to Laypeople" (Advisor: Dr. John Ceccatti)
2018
Jack Becker, "The Vigor We Need. . .Numbers: Quantification in American Presidential Fitness Councils" (Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Moreno)
Jonathan Sadeghi, "Pokeman is the New Plastics: How Niantic Labs Uses Data" (Advisor: Dr. Etienne Benson)
2017
Robert Levine, “Modern Architecture and Ideology: Modernism as a Political Tool in Sweden and the Soviet Union” (Advisor: Dr. Adelheid Voskuhl)
2016
Kelly Bridges, “Climate Change, Scheduled Casters And Scheduled Tribes: Analyzing Socioeconomic And Climate Change Vulnerabilities Amongst Female Farmers In Rural Madhya Pradesh” (Advisor: Heidi Voskuhl)
2015
Paul Marett, "Making Science Public: The Today and Tomorrow Series and the Place of Science in Early 20th Century Britain" (Advisor: Etienne Benson)
Hillel Neumark, "Terminal Insecurity: Passenger Screening's Historical Journey Toward Landing Legitimacy" (Advisor: John Tresch)
Emma Schad, "Neoliberalism and the Urban Park: Community Involvement in theManagement of the Philadelphia Park System" (Advisor: John Tresch)
2014
Randa Atkins, “The American Elephant” (Advisor: Ann Greene)
Emily Fisher, “Deconstructing The CSI Effect: Forensic Science & The Media” Advisor: John Tresch)
Christina Hu, “Living In A Sudoku World: The Societal Shift Caused By Technology’s Integration Into Our Every Day Lives” (Advisor: John Tresch)
Grace Mutuko, “Big Science Research Trends & Funding Policies: A Comparative Study Of The United States, The Netherlands & South Korea Research Landscapes” (Advisor: John Tresch)
2013
Will Corbit, “Boeing: Seattle’s Sporadic Spouse” (Advisor: Matthew Hersch)
Julia Eckstein, “How Science Found Mona Lisa’s Pearl Necklace: The Evolution of Scientific Involvement in Art History from the Nineteenth Century to the Twenty-First Century” (Advisor: Jonathan Moreno)
Will Kearney, “Tuzo Wilson in China: Tectonics, Diplomacy and Discipline During the Cold War” (Advisor: John Tresch)
Lara Maggs, “Cognitive Enhancement by Elective Psychopharmacological Intervention in Academia" (Advisor: Jonathan Moreno)
Alison Miller, “United States Policy and Solar Energy: A Study of the Political Implementation of Solar Energy Technologies in the United States, 1970-1980” (Advisor: Ann Greene)
Spencer Small, ‘“Let’s See That Again”: The Progress of Instant Replay in Sports Officiating’ (Advisor: Jonathan Moreno)
2012
Hilary Gerstein, “Nor Any Drop To Drink: A Systems Approach to Water in America” (Advisor: Ann Greene)
Rebekah Larsen, “The Political Nature of TCP/IP” (Advisor: Ann Greene)
Brittany Leknes, “The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Versus the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: A Historical Comparison of Two Philanthropic Powerhouses in Education” (Advisor: Ann Greene)
Amanda Piarulli, “Forming Bioethics” (Advisor: Jonathan Moreno)
Daniel Sholler, “Wind Energy Development and Theories of Technological Change” (Advisor: Ann Greene)
2011
Yelena Baras, “Modeling How Parents Make Decisions About Childhood Vaccination" (Advisor: Adriana Petryna)
Allison Mishkin, “The Social Shopping Network: Leveraging Peer Networks in e-commerce Environments” (Advisor: Nathan Ensmenger)
2010
Jacqueline Boytim, “Of Mice, Men, and Laboratory Architects: Standardization and Professionalization in the Development of the Jackson Laboratory, 1929-1964” (Advisor: Nathan Ensmenger)
2009
Eileen McKeown, “The Role of Information Systems in Fundraising and Advertising for Community Service Organizations.” (Advisor: Nathan Ensmenger)
David Reinecke, “Folk Technologies, or How to Construct Artifacts to Assemble Around.” (Advisor: John Tresch)
2008
Schuyler Ferguson, "Dynamic Trust Mechanisms In Cyberspace: How Do Users And Systems Respond To Anonymity Online?" (Advisor: Nathan Ensmenger)
Victoria Frings, "Forecasting The Future: Environmental Science Non/Fiction" (Advisor: John Tresch)
General Information
What a senior thesis looks like:
In general, we expect the final thesis will structured similarly to an article or book published in the core disciplines.
This would include:
- Title Page
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures/Illustrations (if applicable)
- Acknowledgments (optional)
- Introduction
- Two to four substantive chapters/sections
- Conclusion
- Bibliography, divided into source type (archival, primary, secondary, etc,)
Who should do a senior thesis?
Many students seem to think that if they have done well in the major so far, they should do a senior thesis. However, a senior thesis is different than taking an advanced class. It involves a magnitude, mentorship, and advance planning far in excess of anything required by other research projects. Most importantly, it requires an investment in and commitment to the topic that can sustain the student through months of research, writing, and frustration--as well as satisfaction.
The term "honors" can be misleading: some of our most outstanding and accomplished students don't graduate with honors. For various reasons each of these students choose not to write a thesis. On the other hand, some majors who write excellent honors theses don't have the highest GPAs in the major. Writing a thesis is not for everybody, and it isn't necessary for being successful in the major. After many years of supervising honors theses--successful and, well, not quite so successful--our advice would be something along these lines: you don't choose a thesis, a thesis chooses you. If there is a project or a topic that you have been thinking about already, and can't shake--something that has grabbed hold of you and won't let go--and you have (or will have) a solid advising structure in place, go for it. We will support you 100%.
A few things to keep in mind:
Most of your thesis research will be completed during the summer before your senior year.
- Grants: In past years students have been successful at earning grants to help defray the costs associated with research (including living expenses!) over the summer. The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) is an excellent resource.
- Summer jobs/internships: While we expect that students will be pursuing other work and pursuits over the summer, committing to writing a thesis necessitates that you allot time for research. This may constrain the choices you make regarding work, etc.
- How writing a thesis impacts study abroad: Students who want to study abroad during spring of junior year or fall of senior year cannot do a thesis.
- Course load: We strongly recommend that, in addition to the senior thesis "course" (STSC 4980), you take only three other courses in the fall semester of senior year, since you will be writing the bulk of your thesis and meeting with your advisor during this semester. The thesis is always more work than students expect and the bulk of it happens in the last six weeks of the term.
Eligibility for Honors
- Successful completion of senior thesis by the last day of exam period in December
- Grade of A or A- on the senior thesis
- Attendance and presentation of research poster at Senior Research Symposium
When is my thesis due?
The thesis is due on the last day of the fall exam period term. Submit your thesis to your advisor. This should be the penultimate (last but one) draft of your thesis. The only things that should remain to be done to this version are minor tweaking of the text and correct formatting of the thesis for printing, e.g., correct formats for footnotes and endnotes, bibliography, margins, proofreading, etc.
How long is a thesis and in what format?
We expect that the thesis will fall between 40 and 80 pages (10,000-20,000 words) and be in the format of a standard research essay or journal article in Science and Technology Studies.
To whom do I submit the thesis?
To your thesis advisor. Please discuss in advance with your thesis advisor what format (hard copy or digital) they would like to receive the thesis in.
Who grades my thesis?
Your primary thesis advisor. If you are working with two advisors, or if there are other advisors involved in the thesis process, they may be asked to read the thesis as well and consult with the primary advisor on the grade.
When is the final printed version of the thesis due?
This is due by February 1st (submit to the Associate Director as well as to your thesis advisor). Polish the final draft with correct formatting of notes, bibliography, margins, title pages, pagination, etc., proofread it, and have several copies inexpensively printed and bound. One hardcopy goes to the department, one copy to your advisor, and you might want a few copies for yourself and to show to a future employer/admissions officer, etc.
How does the senior thesis independent study course (STSC 4980), which must be taken in the fall while completing the thesis, count in the major?
STSC 4980 can be used as a departmental elective or concentration course.
What and when is the Senior Research Symposium?
The Senior Research Symposium for thesis writers in the History and Sociology of Science Department (i.e., in STSC and HSOC) is held on the Monday in the last week of spring semester classes. It is required for all senior thesis writers and is the final step of getting honors in the major.
Each candidate displays a research poster based on their thesis on the third floor of Cohen Hall.
What costs will I incur as an honors candidate?
There are no books to purchase for STSC 4980, but candidates will incur these costs: printing and binding of the thesis (January) and printing of the research poster (April).
Candidates may incur research costs; they should discuss funding sources with the STSC Undergraduate Chair or Associate Director.