When students first learn about the honors thesis, a common reaction is to wonder how in the world to decide what to write about. Ultimately you will need to develop a research question to guide your work, but even before that step it helps to spend some time thinking about your interests. You will be reading about, thinking about, working on your thesis for a year (or more!) so you want to be sure it’s on a topic that you find engaging and meaningful! Here are some tips:
Keep an Idea Folder
Even as early as your first semester on campus, it helps to create an idea folder. This could be a physical folder or, more likely, just a file on your computer. Whenever you come across an idea, concept, quotation, article, etc. that you find interesting add it to your folder. What else would you like to know about that idea or concept or topic? Add those questions. Remember you are writing for your future self so add enough detail so in a couple of years, your notes will still make sense.
Take Note of Projects that Excite You
Do you find yourself always doing the work or the reading for one class first because you enjoy it more? Was there a paper or project in a course that got you really excited? Could your work for that paper or project be the seed of your thesis research? Were questions raised by a project that still need answering? Add notes about such courses and projects to your ideas folder and consider meeting with the instructor of the course to discuss it further. The faculty member may be able to help you think about research questions that could be developed from your work.
Think About Your Future Goals
The honors thesis is not only the culmination of your undergraduate studies, it is also a springboard to whatever you want to do next. So when considering what kind of thesis to pursue, think about your future goals. Do you want to go to graduate school in your major field of study? Then an analytical or empirical research project is probably your best choice. Or do you want to go get a Master of Fine Arts or work in a creative field such as theater, music or video game design? Then you might consider doing a creative project – write a play, compose music, or design a game. Or is there a particular industry you are hoping to work in? Then think about how you can use your thesis to demonstrate the skills you will need in that industry.
