The impending end to the semester brings finals stress, summer excitement and, for many graduating seniors, the pressure of finding a job.
A handful of students will be finishing their undergraduate education with an upper hand in the graduate school and career-finding markets through a program called the Senior Honors Thesis, a year-long curriculum that allows students to conduct research and write comprehensive theses within their major and area of choice.
Students participating in the Honors Thesis program put their hard work on display during this month’s Spring Academic Showcase. | File photo/The Daily Cougar
“It hones your writing, cultivates your research abilities and you can work one-on-one with a professor for an entire year,” said Karen Weber, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research.
“Especially for those students going to graduate school, it models that of a Master’s thesis or a dissertation, so they’re actually defending their project before a committee, getting them used to talking about, researching and writing about their findings and working with faculty within and outside their field.”
The program takes place during a student’s senior year of school and provides them with six credit hours and a particular honors designation at graduation, Weber said.
Although English, biology and psychology are the most dominant fields, there are many departments that get involved each year with the program, allowing students across campus to participate with ample flexibility.
“The best part of the program is the personal latitude,” said architecture and environmental design senior Ian Spencer.
“You are free to define your research direction any way you like, according to your passions and analyses of the subject. We are able to select everything, from the location of the project to its typology and formal characteristics.”
Over the course of the year, seniors can put in anywhere from 250 to 300 hours into their thesis, but the benefits of the program can be seen even before graduation.
“I am hoping that my thesis demonstrates to graduate schools and future employers that I am dedicated to research as an integral part of architectural design,” said Spencer, whose thesis explores the development of a resilient coastal plan for the Houston Ship Channel.
“In fact, it has already helped in my admission to the master of architecture post-professional degree program at Yale University.”
The Senior Honors Thesis program is a tool the University offers students to excel in their personal growth and academic development.
“I would absolutely recommend the thesis program to other students who have a particular interest in a certain discipline,” said political science and philosophy senior Safa Ansarai-Bayegan. “Not only is it a worthwhile endeavor for students who plan to go to graduate school, it is also very rewarding on a personal level.
“Writing a thesis is not for everyone. It can be very stressful and requires a lot of work and diligence, but it’s a perfect example of the challenging opportunities the University of Houston offers its students.”
