See the Senior Essay Calendar

By now you should have distilled your thoughts and questions about your topic into a thesis statement.  

On the top of the 3-page prospectus, write a one-sentence description of your topic. 

Your three-page prospectus should open with a short description of the topic and present your thesis statement.  Your thesis statement is the argument you hope to make based on your source materials. It is, in effect, the “message” you want to leave with your readers, the conclusion that will indicate the significance of what you have written.  At this point in your work your thesis may be tentative, and it may change as you continue your research.  That is fine.  But providing at least a provisional thesis statement is an important part of the process of moving forward on your essay. The three-page prospectus should offer a brief background on the topic and explain how your research will make a unique contribution to it.  This part will quite likely become the introduction to your senior essay.  Then discuss the major secondary literature that exists on the topic and describe the primary sources you will use to contribute an original addition to that literature. Later, this can become the core of your bibliographical essay.  

The DUS assigns first semester grades based on:

1. Timely submission of all required assignments in consultation with your advisor.  You must have completed the assigned tasks on or before the deadlines listed in the senior essay calendar to receive a grade of SAT.  Two or more late submissions will lead to a grade of NSAT.  These requirements are not negotiable.  Your advisor does not have the authority to override these requirements.
    
2. Participation in ALL mandatory meetings as outlined in the timetable.  If you must miss two or more meetings without excuse, the DUS will not grant a SAT.

Extensions can only be granted by the DUS.  To be eligible for an extension, a third of a grade will lower your final grade for the entire course. You need a Dean’s excuse outlining the reason you cannot meet the deadline.

If you pass RLST 4910 satisfactorily, your grade will be replaced at the end of the academic year by the grade of the essay.  However, should you receive a grade of NSAT for RLST 4910, then your final grade for the entire course will be lowered by a third of a grade.  For example, if you received a grade of NSAT for RLST 4910 and a grade of A-minus for your senior essay, the resulting grade for RLST 4910/RLST 4920 will be a B+.

During the spring term, a grade of NSAT in 4910 will be changed only if the grade was recorded in error.  There are no make-up assignments.

Students who receive an NSAT in RLST 4910 should still complete RLST 4920.

See the Senior Essay Calendar.

To begin writing sooner rather than later, you are required to hand in to the DUS and to your advisor ONE CHAPTER of your essay on the due date in early FEBRUARY as specified in the senior essay calendar.

Failure to submit this chapter on time will lower your final grade for RLST 4920 by a third of the grade.  For example, if your first chapter was late and your essay received an A-minus, the resulting grade for RLST 4910/4920 will be a B+.  If you receive a grade of NSAT for RLST 4910 and your chapter is submitted late, a grade of A-minus on the essay will be converted to a grade of B for the entire course.  The final grade for RLST 4910 cannot be changed – except in the case of an administrative error.

The grade for the senior essay will be determined through a combination of an evaluation of the written essay and the results of a ~30 minute oral defense. The oral defense will be jointly conducted by the thesis director and the DUS.  The DUS will henceforth serve as the “second reader” for all RLST senior theses and will, with the primary supervisor, determine the final grade.
It is suggested that 25% of the final grade be based on the oral defense.
 

The advisor or the DUS (upon receiving the readers’ reports) can also nominate your essay for prizes.