Senior Honors Thesis

In their senior year, English majors may apply to write an honors thesis. A full-time faculty member, willing to direct the project, must present the student’s written proposal at a department meeting early in the fall term, so students are expected to confer with potential thesis directors well in advance, ideally in the spring of junior year. Only those proposals that receive a favorable vote of the English Department faculty are permitted to go forward as Honors Theses. Once she or he has received approval, the student should work out a schedule and a committee in consultation with her or his advisor. For information on Tufts' resources for senior thesis support please visit the Writing Teaching Services webpage.

Tisch Library offers Research 4 Success: Using the Library for Thesis and Capstone Projects.

For a critical writing thesis, a student is expected to have done previous course work or other research in the proposed field, to have demonstrated an ability to sustain an extended independent project, and to present a detailed and seriously thought-out proposal.

For a creative writing thesis, a student must have taken at least two courses in the relevant genre, one of them above the beginning level, and must have the support of two full-time members of the department, having submitted for their consideration a substantial body of creative work.

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