What is the Senior Thesis? A senior thesis is a large, independent research project that students take on during their senior year of college to fulfill their graduation requirements. For this project, the student must selects an environmental research problem that will be studied through the application of the scientific method.
- CINA4997 (first semester): The student will prepare a research proposal that is discussed and developed with his/her advisor (mentor of the research project) and with the course professor proposal. It includes the definition of the problem, literature review, hypothesis, methodology of data collection and analysis.
- CINA4997 (second semester): After the proposal is approved, research is initiated or completed with the course mentor. At the end, a formal research document is submitted, whose structure and writing must conform to the requirements established in the “Guide for the Preparation of Dissertations” of the Department of Environmental Sciences and modifications to this guide as explained in the course rubric. In addition, a scientific presentation of the research project is made before a public forum.
Prerequisites:
- Authorization from the course professor or the Academic Advisor of the Department of Environmental Sciences.
- Letter of endorsement from a mentor to supervise the research work, proposal writing and dissertation (CIAM 4997-202).
- Successful completion of the Introduction to Statistics course (MATE3026) and 2/3 of the natural science courses required for graduation with Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences diploma or teacher approval.
- It is recommended (but not required) that the student has participated in CIAM 4990 prior to taking this course.