Completely Unofficial Undergraduate Thesis Guide
By Stephanie Beckett

This guide is intended to be a realistic look at the honors thesis. It’s written by a student for students. I feel that this is a good supplement to the thesis manual. It’s completely unofficial, and it’s mainly for people who want to learn what an undergraduate thesis is and why someone would choose to produce one.

What is the undergraduate thesis, in a nutshell?

The undergraduate thesis is a new (in 2006-07) option to Engineering Honors Program (EHP) participants. A thesis is a two-semester commitment with a three-hour class each semester. The class is essentially independent study with a professor, however, so the usual three-hour block of scheduled time will not be required.

The thesis itself is supposed to be approximately 7500 words, or about 25-35 pages. There is also a brief presentation requirement.

Is it required?

The thesis is not required in any way. However, there are a number of advantages to doing an undergraduate thesis.

What are the advantages?

First, the most direct advantages: some departments within the College of Engineering may take the thesis as technical elective or technical communications credit.

Further, completing an undergraduate thesis and receiving an “A” in each semester will gain you “Special Honors” upon graduation. This honor will appear on your transcript, and completing a thesis is the only way to receive this honor. Do keep in mind, however, that doing a thesis has nothing to do with graduating with Highest/High/normal Honors; that’s based completely on your GPA.

Probably the biggest reason to complete an undergraduate thesis, however, is if you are truly serious about graduate school. By taking on an undergraduate thesis, you are showing a serious interest in and commitment to research, which is something that the top graduate programs value greatly. Your peers at institutions such as Caltech and MIT may well complete undergraduate theses, and many foreign institutions seem to encourage the undergraduate thesis option. Therefore, you make yourself more competitive by completing a thesis.

At the same time, many bright UT engineering students have made it into top graduate programs without the thesis option (which is obvious because the thesis option was just introduced), so completing a thesis is by no means required.

How is my thesis evaluated?

This is obviously a very important question because you need A’s in the thesis courses to graduate with Special Honors.

Fortunately, you select the people who review your thesis. You decide on both an advisor and a second reader to review the thesis. From a student’s perspective, then, it’s extremely important that you choose two individuals with realistic expectations.

Part of your grade for the thesis is also determined by the EHP folks because you do a presentation during your second semester of research, and the EHP people decide 15 percent of your grade based on the presentation. Although I can’t confirm this for certain, my impression is that the EHP people are just trying to ensure that you don’t blow off the presentation by telling you that, if you do, you get a B in the class (and therefore don’t graduate with Special Honors). But, take this opinion with a grain of salt.

When do I need to get started?

The sooner the better. It’s really best for a technical thesis to already be involved in research by the time you pick out a topic so that you know what you’re going in for. So, if you’re a junior or lower, you should try to find a lab you’re interested in and get involved in research. Probably the very latest time you can get started on the thesis is the second semester of your second to last year (junior year for four-year finishers). This is the time you have to pick out a topic, find an advisor, and begin on the steps to get the topic approved.

Well, I’m sold. How do I get started?

Eventually, you’ll have to review the EHP information in detail at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/academics/honors/. The most important first step, though, is choosing an advisor and a topic. How do I find an advisor?

Unfortunately, there probably won’t be much help available to you here. If you’ve worked with a professor who you’d like to work with again, you’re in great shape. Otherwise, ask professors who do research you’re interested in if they have any suggestions. It’s best to ask professors you’ve had a class with (they tend to be more responsive, particularly if you did incredibly well). And, it helps to have reviewed some of the professor’s papers before you talk to him or her.

Also, look through the other portions of the EHC website that are related to undergraduate research. Part of the rationale in putting together this website was that it would eventually be a database that would at least point you in the right direction to find a thesis advisor. For example, if a professor has previously taken on undergraduates, they are far more likely to take you on, so look through the listing of undergraduates who have performed research and see if anyone has worked in a field similar to your interests. Then contact that professor and see if he/she is willing to take on another undergraduate. It’s important to note that your advisor is essentially the final word on your grade in the course. So, it’s very important to lay out each of your expectations right from the start. For example, if the professor thinks that your undergraduate thesis needs to be PhD or even Master’s level quality, you might want to run away quickly.

How do I find a topic?

You should probably have a general area in which you’re interested. If you don’t have a very specific project in mind, your advisor will probably have to help you substantially in this regard. Remember that the whole purpose of the PhD is to teach students how to think up research projects independently. Even Masters-level students don’t really think up projects on their own (most of the time). So, if your advisor isn’t much help, it might be time to choose another advisor.

If you’re dead set on a thesis but you don’t have much support on technical issues, your best bet might be to try out a technology policy-related thesis topic. You may be able to produce a thesis like this without as much guidance as a laboratory- or design- based topic. Still, this may not look as good to graduate schools (although it might help for, say, an MBA program).