Thesis Schedule: Fall Semester, Senior Year

In the fall of your senior year you should:

1. Begin meeting with your advisor once per week.

2. Narrow the focus of your thesis. Now that you know the field better, you must be more specific in the problem you are addressing - the odds are that the question or topic you began with in the spring of your junior year was too broad.

3. Write the preliminary chapters. Typically, these chapters will include:

• Presentation of the problem you will be addressing in your thesis.
• Motivation for your problem - why is it important?
• Survey the canonical answers to your question.
• Critique these answers.
• Submit this and a cover letter to the department by the Monday after Thanksgiving break.