Thesis Introduction and Timeline
The senior thesis is an excellent opportunity for Religion majors to sustain thoughtful and creative research on a significant topic of their choosing. The thesis serves for many as the capstone experience of their undergraduate career. The senior thesis presents the opportunity to conduct independent research, work closely with a faculty advisor, and develop and test analytical and interpretive skills.
Majors in the Religion Department are encouraged, but not required, to write a thesis in their final year of study. This opportunity is available to all majors in the department.
Choosing a topic and thesis advisor
Most students choose a topic relevant to some of their previous course work in the study of religion. Choice of a topic should be made with the guidance of a faculty member who will approve their proposal and supervise their project. In every case, the thesis topic should be specific enough to allow for depth of treatment. At the same time, however, the topic should not be so narrowly or technically construed as to allow students to lose sight of its relation to the broader issues in the study of religion.
We encourage students to meet with several professors as they develop a thesis topic (or with the Director of Undergraduate Studies) early in the process to generate ideas, think through possibilities, and determine the best faculty advisor for the project. Deciding on a topic and connecting an idea to explore to a plan of research is an important part of the process and develops over time.
During the spring of their junior year students need to enlist a Religion faculty member to serve as an advisor during their senior year. The first step in selecting an advisor is to make an appointment with one or more faculty members who have some familiarity with the field, period, tradition, or topic the student proposes to investigate. Students ought to talk over their ideas with the faculty member and discuss their project. Students may go to several faculty members to discuss the project, but must identify one as their primary advisor. That faculty member should be available to oversee the thesis process throughout their senior year. This does not preclude students from seeking advice from other faculty members during the course of the research project. Indeed they are encouraged to do so. Senior theses are read and evaluated by two readers, one of whom is the thesis advisor; in many cases the second reader is a faculty member with whom students have discussed their thesis.
The Junior Year
All junior religion majors and concentrators should enroll in RELI UN3199 Theory (formerly the Junior's Colloquium). A central purpose of the colloquium is to ensure that all majors and concentrators have an introduction to some of some of the major theories and methods employed by scholars in their explorations of religious phenomena. Students who intend to write a senior thesis should approach Theory as an important setting in which to think about theoretical and methodological approaches that they might apply to their thesis.
The Department typically holds a thesis information session in the first week of the Spring term, and also sends a reminder about the timeline by email. Students are encouraged to begin to speak with professors about their ideas; those who wish to apply for summer funding should aim to have a draft of their thesis proposal written by mid-March.
The Senior Thesis Application is due the first week of May, and must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The thesis application consists of a 5-7 page prospectus and approval from a Religion faculty member who will serve as the thesis advisor. Most senior thesis writers spend some time during the summer preparing for writing, whether doing research in archives, reading intensively, or conducting ethnographic research. Typically (but not always) thesis writers will check in with their advisors informally once or twice during the summer months.
The Senior Year
Thesis writers should plan to meet regularly with their advisor in the Fall term. As the department sets few formal deadlines for the thesis, students ought to work with their advisor to create a set of intermediate due dates for feedback on research and writing. A sample timeline is noted below. Students may choose to enroll in Guided Reading and Research with their thesis advisor (students should discuss this option with their thesis advisor in the spring of their junior year). Some Columbia and GS students apply to take part in the fall semester of the Barnard Religion Department’s thesis writing seminar. This seminar is open to CC and GS students with instructor’s approval.
The letter grade for Guided Reading and Research or the Barnard thesis course is separate from that of the thesis, which is graded as pass, fail, or distinction.
The Spring term is spent finishing up, and students generally continue to meet informally with their thesis advisors. The finished thesis is always due in the first week of April, and is submitted to a first reader (the thesis advisor) and a second reader (another Religion faculty member). The readers determine the grade for the thesis and provide written feedback.
Columbia undergraduate thesis writers are also invited to take part in the joint Barnard-Columbia thesis presentations symposium and party in late April or early May.
The “timeline” outlined below provides an example of how students might pace their thesis writing and research.
- Early October: Revised Project Proposal Due
- First week of December: Outline of Project Due
- Last week of January: Draft of one chapter due
- First week of March: Draft of project due
- First week of April: Completed project due