You will find your honors thesis advisor in your junior year; hopefully by this time your idea folder is brimming with interesting ideas and questions and now it is time to find an advisor who can help you narrow your interests down into a project of manageable size and guide you through the various steps of your research or creative process. There are a lot of strategies you can use to create a ‘short list’ of potential advisors:
- Does a faculty appear over and over again in your idea folder? This might be someone who belongs on your list, but remember that your advisor should ideally be knowledgeable about the specific topic of your research. You may have taken three great courses on the history of Europe, but if you want to do a project on the history of a specific social movement in Latin America, then that specialist on European history might not be your best choice.
- Find a list of past thesis advisors and read through it. What types of projects do the faculty members in your major department tend to advise? If you are a University of New Haven student, you can find the list of thesis projects and advisors here.
- Go to the webpage for your department and read about the research interests of the faculty. Look for matches between your own interests and what faculty in the department research themselves.
- Talk over your project ideas with your academic advisor or the chair of the department. They may be able to recommend potential advisors.
What Does an Advisor Do?
Your thesis advisor will be your mentor throughout the honors thesis process. They will help you refine your project idea and methodology; help you find and think about relevant literature; and provide feedback on your written drafts. Depending on your project, your advisor may also share important contacts and/or data. This is a crucial relationship so you want to find someone who not only knows your topic, but someone who will have the time to dedicate to your project and someone with whom you feel comfortable asking questions.
Meeting With Potential Advisors
Unless your honors thesis is building directly off of a past research experience with the same faculty member, I think it is a good idea to meet with more than one potential advisor. If you do not already have a relationship with the faculty member, come prepared to introduce yourself – what are your interests, relevant skills and background, future goals? All of this will help the faculty member decide whether they are the right person for your project. Come to the meeting also with questions:
- Ask about their research interests, but do some homework first. You can find the research interests of most faculty on their faculty page on the university webpage.
- Have you advised a thesis before? Is there a thesis from one of your previous advisees that I should look at?
- How do you usually work with your students? How often do you like to meet with advisees?
- What are your and the department’s expectations for an honors thesis? For example, if you want to do a qualitative research project be sure that the department will accept it and that this faculty member is the right person to oversee that kind of thesis.
- My idea is x. Is that an appropriate topic for an honors thesis?
- I’m hoping my project will contribute x to the field. Does that sound like a reasonable goal or direction?
- My research might require y (labs, equipment, etc.). Would the department be able to provide that?
Sources
https://undergraduate.northeastern.edu/research/faculty-mentors/mentoring/
