The Senior Essay or Senior Thesis
Every student who completes the major in Comparative Studies writes a senior essay or a thesis. The essay or the thesis is completed in CS 4990, “Senior Seminar,” a writing workshop offered every Spring in which students share drafts, present their work orally, and receive detailed feedback from their peers.
You may choose between two options:
- The Senior Essay, usually between 12 to 15 pages, written largely during the semester you take CS 4990, though often building on earlier class work.
- The Senior Thesis, which requires a semester of CS 4999 or 4999H (usually taken autumn of senior year; that is, ideally before the spring term you plan to graduate), “Undergraduate Thesis” or “Honors Thesis,” working closely with a professor who you select to serve as advisor to your thesis. This option is usually between 25 to 40 pages. Students who choose to write a Senior Thesis may plan to fulfill the requirements for either “Research Distinction” or “Honors Research Distinction". Details on these options are offered below.
Whichever is chosen, the senior research project serves as a capstone experience for students in the major, and results in a piece of original work that can be shared with the Comparative Studies community. The essay or thesis may also be valuable as a writing sample if students apply to graduate or professional schools, or pursue a wide range of careers that value individual initiative and effective communication.
The Process: What You Need to Know to Get Started
Both the senior essay and the thesis require some advance planning, though the timeline for the thesis is typically longer. If you choose to write the senior essay, you should have selected a paper to revise and expand, or else identified a topic for a new research paper, no later than the semester before you enroll in COMPSTD 4990. You will need to submit your draft or proposal for a first round of peer review early in Spring semester.
If you choose to write the thesis, you should have identified a topic and an advisor by the start of Autumn term of your senior year (some students choose a topic in the Spring of junior year and begin work in the summer) so you can enroll in COMPSTD 4999/4999H and begin your research.
In either case, take note that prior to enrolling in COMPSTD 4990, you'll have already taken the required 4000-level course (all of which require the completion of a research paper). The research paper written for that course often provides / may provide the paper that you choose to use for the senior essay or the senior thesis option.
Whether you write the senior essay or the thesis, nothing is more important than the choice of a topic. It should be something that engages you, that sparks your curiosity or imagination, and that has stakes that matter to you. But it should also be a topic of manageable scale, one that can adequately be explored in the time available to you. Your faculty advisor can help you to shape your project at the outset, and to make any necessary adjustments along the way.
No formal advisor is required for the senior essay. If you choose to revise and expand an earlier paper (such as the one you would have written for your 4000-level research course), you may want to reconnect with the instructor for whom you wrote the original. They may be willing to serve as an informal advisor as you undertake your revisions. If choosing a new topic, you may wish to speak with a professor in the department or on our affiliated faculty with expertise in the subject matter. Each of you also has your own faculty advisor with whom you can confer, as well as the professor who will be teaching COMPSTD 4990.
If you write a thesis you must have a formal thesis advisor; you may also elect to have a co-advisor. They will supervise any thesis research courses you take (COMPSTD 4999), the writing of the thesis itself, and the oral exam at the end of the process. This might be the same person as your faculty advisor but it need not be. You should choose someone with whom you are comfortable (usually because you have been in a class together before) and who has enough knowledge of the subject matter to guide your work. You may wish to speak informally with more than one professor before making a final decision.
Senior Essay or Thesis?
If you choose to write the senior essay you will complete most of the work of research and writing during the Spring semester of your senior year, while enrolled in CS 4990, “Senior Seminar.” You may either revise and expand a paper you wrote for another course (usually, but not always, a course in Comparative Studies), or begin and complete a research paper on a new topic. Senior essays vary in length, but are typically around 12–15 pages (and sometimes longer if they are expanded versions of earlier essays).
If you who choose to write a thesis you will typically begin working on it during the Autumn semester of senior year (and sometimes during the preceding summer) by enrolling in CS 4999 or 4999H (“Undergraduate Thesis” or “Honors Thesis”). You will then complete the writing while enrolled in CS 4990, “Senior Seminar.” Theses vary considerably in length, but are typically between 25 and 40 pages. The thesis process also includes an oral "defense" (really more like a conversation about the completed work with your advisor and one or more other faculty members). If you choose the thesis option you may be eligible to graduate with “Research Distinction” or “Honors Research Distinction.”
To graduate with Research Distinction in Comparative Studies or with Research Distinction (if the thesis is completed in another discipline), you must meet the following requirements:
- Complete a minimum of 60 graded credit hours at Ohio State
- Graduate with minimum GPA of 3.0
- Submit the “Application for Graduation with Research Distinction,” usually upon enrolling in COMPSTD 4999 (i.e., the semester before the semester you intend to graduate), through the 10th Friday of the semester before you intend to graduate. Note that you cannot submit the Application for Graduation with Research Distinction any earlier than the semester before you intend to graduate.
- Students intending to graduate at the end of Autumn term: Application due no later than the first Friday of the previous February
- Students intending to graduate at the end of the Spring term: Application due no later than the first Friday of the previous October
- Students intending to graduate at the end of the Summer term: Application due by the first Friday of December
- Complete at least 4 credit hours of COMPSTD 4999 (these may be spread over more than one term)
- Complete and successfully defend the thesis during an oral examination
For a more detailed list of instructions, see: https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/academics/current-students/advising-academics/graduation
If you are in the Honors Program you may graduate with Honors Research Distinction in Comparative Studies or with Honors Research Distinction (if the thesis is completed in another discipline) by meeting the following requirements:
- Be enrolled in the ASC Honors Program and complete an approved Honors Contract
- Complete a minimum of 60 graded credit hours at Ohio State
- Graduate with minimum GPA of 3.4
- Submit “Undergraduate Thesis Application” to the ASC Honors Office upon enrolling in COMPSTD 4999H, or no later than the 3rd Friday of the semester you intend to graduate
- Complete at least 4 credit hours of COMPSTD 4999H (may be spread over more than one term)
- Complete and successfully defend the thesis during an oral examination
For a more detailed list of instructions, see: https://aschonors.osu.edu/honors/research-thesis
Other Useful Information
There are several sources of funding for undergraduate research. Arts and Sciences awards two kinds of scholarships on a competitive basis each academic year; each requires a letter of support from an academic advisor, and preference is given to students planning to write a thesis. Undergraduate Research Scholarships range from $500 to $12,000. Applications for a given academic year are due in early February of the preceding year. International Research Grants provide up to $4,000 for research-related travel abroad for students in Arts and Sciences. There are two application cycles per academic year. For more information, see: http://aschonors.osu.edu/opportunities/scholarships/undergrad.
The Division of Arts and Humanities provides Undergraduate Research Small Grants (up to $500) to help fund travel to things like conferences, research collections, and exhibitions and to purchase materials for research or creative activity. The Aida Cannarsa Endowment Fund offers grants of $500 to $3,000 to students in arts and humanities, with priority given to those with demonstrated financial need. Applications for both are reviewed twice a year.
See: https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/academics/current-students/scholarships-grants/research.
There may be additional sources of funding, on and off campus, for particular kinds of projects. You should consult with your advisor and the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Please note that research funding involving human subjects may require prior IRB approval.
Every Spring, there are opportunities for Comparative Studies students to present the results of their research, whether they choose to write the senior essay or the thesis. The Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum is a university-wide showcase of undergraduate work that awards prizes by areas of interest (for example, Humanities). There is a competitive abstract submission process in January, and a day devoted to presentations in late March. Though most of the forum involves poster presentations, Humanities majors give brief oral presentations (8-10 minutes) on their work to faculty judges.
In April, the Department of Comparative Studies hosts its own Undergraduate Research Colloquium. Working closely with their advisor, students prepare and submit paper abstracts in February—300 words or fewer that describe the project’s central questions, methodologies, theoretical framework, and (tentative) conclusions. Students may choose to give a 10-minute presentation on work in progress or a 20-minute presentation on completed work (by April everyone enrolled in 4990 should be ready to give a presentation). This is a more relaxed atmosphere, with an audience of your peers and friends, as well as faculty and graduate students in the department.
Autumn of senior year
- Choose a topic
Spring of senior year
- Enroll in COMPSTD 4990, “Senior Seminar”
Spring of junior year
- Identify an advisor
- Choose a topic
Summer between junior and senior years (optional)
- Enroll in COMPSTD 4998 or 4998H, “Undergraduate Research in Comparative Studies” (2 credits)
Autumn of senior year
- Submit “Application for Graduation with Research Distinction” or “Undergraduate Thesis Application”
- Enroll in COMPSTD 4999, “Undergraduate Thesis” or 4999H, “Honors Thesis” (2 credits)
Spring of senior year
- Enroll in COMPSTD 4990, “Senior Seminar”
- Enroll in Enroll in COMPSTD 4999, “Undergraduate Thesis” or 4999H, “Honors Thesis” (2 credits)
- Oral exam
Additional Information
- You can find copies of undergraduate theses online at the OSU Knowledge Bank: https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/handle/1811/134.
- Further information on undergraduate research opportunities is available at: https://ugresearch.osu.edu/.