Writing the Senior Thesis

The defense and writing of the senior thesis based on research work carried on in earlier courses. A senior thesis should examine a narrow area of physics that the student investigates under the supervision of a physics professor. The topic is chosen in the second semester of the junior year, and a proposal is written in consultation with a thesis advisor. Physics 480 or any of the physics professors will help to suggest thesis topics. In the first semester of the senior year, the research is carried out under the course numbers Physics 597 or Physics 481-483. In the second semester of the senior year, the actual writing of the thesis is carried out under Physics 575. Required in the field of concentration after the first semester of the senior year. A public presentation of the thesis is required.