Honours and Advanced Major Theses

Thesis

All Advanced Major and Honours students normally meet with the Chair of the Department in March of their Junior year for advice on senior seminars and/or to discuss their thesis topic. If the thesis is to be written as part of the requirements for a senior seminar, the student is not normally required to set a topic in the Junior year. Every Advanced Major and Honours student must complete a thesis by March 31 in his or her senior year. The Honours thesis will be judged by the Department Thesis Committee; the Advanced Major thesis will be judged by the supervising professor. The Advanced Major supervisor may choose to consult the Thesis Committee should he or she feel it is necessary. Advanced Major students will write their theses based on work done in any 300 or 400-level class, taken in the Fall term of their Senior year. Honours students will normally write their theses separately from their senior seminars unless special arrangements are made with their seminar professor. A successful Honours thesis will be granted 6 credits.

Thesis Guidelines

All Honours and Advanced Major English students shall write a senior thesis to be completed by March 31 of their senior year. While the Department recognizes that guidelines will vary as the needs of the writer and the material dictate, exceptions to the following should be submitted to the Thesis Committee for approval.

1. All Advanced Major and Honours students normally meet with the Chair of the Department in March of their Junior year to discuss their thesis topics.
2. Advanced Majors students write a thesis in the form of a research paper or senior essay as part of any 300 or 400-level course, taken in the Fall term of the Senior year. It is the responsibility of the course professor to ensure that Advanced Major theses meet the Departmental Guidelines below.
3. Honours students write their theses separately from senior seminars under the supervision of a professor who has agreed to work with the student on her or his proposed project. It is the responsibility of the Thesis Committee to ensure that Honours theses meet the Departmental Thesis Guidelines below.
4. The professor of the senior seminar will not expect Honours students to write an essay exceeding 5,000-6,000 words in length.
5. The Honours thesis will be judged by the Department Thesis Committee for the Department's Honour Thesis Prize; the Advanced Major thesis will be judged by the supervising professor.
6. The Thesis Committee shall consist of three members selected by the Department.
7. The Honours thesis pass/fail status will be decided by a second reader, nominated at the beginning of the Senior year. The second reader will normally, but not always, come from the Department of English at StFX.

Advanced Major Thesis

1. The Advanced Major thesis should be a minimum of 5,000 and a maximum of 7,000 words.
2. The Advanced Major thesis must be of a quality sufficient to earn a grade of 70%; any student applying for an Advanced Major in English literature should demonstrate superior academic skills.
3. Theses should conform to MLA style for citation and documentation.
4. Theses can be developed based on work done in any 300 or 400-level class, taken in the Fall term of the Senior year.

Honours Thesis Options

We encourage students interested in pursuing English honours degrees to be in touch with a potential supervisor during their third year. Contacting a potential supervisor earlier rather than later can open doors for award and job applications. Supervisors will let the department chair know about upcoming honours students by the end of May. Late applications for honours students will be considered until the first week of classes in September.

Option 1: Specialized Thesis

Stage 1: 1,500 words (roughly 5 pages, exclusive of works cited) that outline primary texts to be considered and/or others that need be considered.

Goals: Development of thesis project; creation of a working thesis statement; rationale for project and primary works to be considered
Presentation: Project presentation to supervisor and second reader
Due Date: no later than the first Monday of October

Stage 2: a 3,000-4,000-word paper (roughly 10-12 pages, exclusive of annotated bibliography) that maps the field of inquiry and existing critical practices. This paper will also include a discussion of how the project contributes to this critical landscape. An annotated bibliography of at least twelve secondary sources is also required (annotations should be 100-250 words each).

Goals: Demonstrate awareness of project’s scale and import; demonstrate awareness of relevant criticism and theoretical discussions. Refinement of thesis project and thesis. 
Presentation (end of November): State-of-the-field presentation to supervisor, second reader, and any interested faculty. Students invited to attend. 
Due Date: last Monday in Fall semester

• A minimum grade of 75% to continue in the Honours thesis
• A grade below 75% will revert the project to a Directed Study
• The second reader’s approval is required

Stage 3: A 5,000-6,000-word (approximately 15-20 pages, exclusive of works cited) argumentative work of literary criticism.

Goal: Polished piece of critical prose 
Due date, first draft: 3,000-6,000-word draft, due the first Monday after Spring Break, to be circulated to the second reader and members of the department for recommendations.
Presentation: to be presented at the Honours Colloquium (first Friday after spring break)
Due date, first full draft: three weeks after the Honours Colloquium, to be submitted to the supervisor and the second reader
Due date, final draft: last day of classes of the Winter semester
Due to be uploaded to StFX scholar: a week after the last day of classes of the Winter semester (see this Library Guide for details). 
 

Option 2: Portfolio Thesis

This thesis option involves a series of explorations of an area of interest related to work undertaken in previous coursework. This route entails three or four papers—see stage 3—that develop related areas of studies:

Stage 1: An annotated bibliography of at least twelve secondary sources. Annotations should be 100-250 words each.

Due date: first Monday in October

Stage 2: a 2,500–3,000-word essay (roughly 8-10 pages, exclusive of works cited) 

Goal: Development of knowledge in the subject and of relevant theoretical and historical issues.
Due Date: first Monday in November
Presentation: Project pitch (second week of January) to two faculty advisors and any relevant faculty to discuss the essays and the annotated bibliography.

• A minimum grade of 75% to continue in the Honours thesis
• A grade below 75% will revert the project to a Directed Study
• The second reader’s approval is required

Stage 3, option A: a third essay of 5,000-6,000 words (roughly 17-20 pages), exclusive of works cited), considering matters that arose during faculty-student meetings and reflecting on the outcome of the specialization.

Stage 3, option B: two essays of 3,000 words each (roughly 10 pages each or 20 pages total, exclusive of works cited), exploring two related topics.

Goal: Polished piece(s) of critical prose.
Due Dates: Option A: First draft (min. 3,000 words) due first Monday after Spring Break (to be presented at the Honours colloquium). Option B: First paper due first Monday after Spring Break (to be presented at the Honours colloquium).

Second reader approval is required.

Presentation: To be presented at the Honours Colloquium of first draft (first Friday after Spring Break)
Due date, first full draft of portfolio: three weeks after the Honours Colloquium, to be submitted to the supervisor and the second reader
Due date, final completed portfolio: last day of classes of the Winter semester
Due to be uploaded to StFX scholar: a week after the last day of classes of the Winter semester (see this Library Guide for details).

Overarching

• The thesis will be written in MLA style.
• The professor of the senior seminar will not expect Honours students to write an essay exceeding 5,000-6,000 words in length.
• The thesis will not duplicate work completed in previous courses.
• The Honours thesis will be judged by the Department Thesis Awards Committee for the Department's Honour Thesis Prize. The Department Thesis Awards Committee shall consist of three members selected by the Department. Normally thesis supervisors (first readers) are not on this committee.
• The Honours thesis pass/fail status will be decided by the second reader, selected at the beginning of the fourth year. The second reader will normally, but not always, come from the Department of English at StFX.

Schedule of Dates for Theses

March 1 Junior Advanced Major and Honours students will consult the Department Chair before this date regarding senior seminars and a potential thesis supervisor.
March 15 After the initial meeting with the Chair, students will meet with the prospective thesis supervisor. For that meeting, students will prepare a brief 1-2 page proposal outlining their intended object of study and some possible research questions.
April 1 Junior Honours students will see the thesis supervisor for approval and registration of the thesis topic.
September 15 First meeting with Supervisor. Second reader decided.
October 1 Senior Honours students will submit theses' titles, outlines, and bibliographies to supervisors.
December Senior Honours students will submit a draft of a first section or chapter to their supervisor by one week prior to the last day of class.
February 15 Completed rough draft will be submitted to thesis supervisor.
March 1 Students will supply a title for their presentation at the English Honours Presentation Day.
March 5 Final draft shall be submitted to supervisor for final reading and correction.
March 31 Final version of thesis will be submitted to Thesis Committee.
April Corrected version of thesis will be submitted prior to the deadline for final grades as dictated in the Academic Calendar.