Thesis format

Traditional long-format thesis. Minimum page length: 25 pages.

Who is eligible to be a faculty thesis mentor?

Tenure-line faculty, career-line faculty and adjunct faculty in the mathematics department may serve as mentors. Faculty from outside the department may serve as co-mentors with a member of the mathematics department, who for the mathematical content of the [...].

If a faculty mentor leaves the University before the thesis is complete, then they may either continue to serve as mentor in absentia or else transfer the responsibility to another faculty member.

Are collaborative theses permitted?

A collaborative thesis is one where an Honors student works with one or more collaborators on the thesis.

Collaborative work is allowed on the research, but each individual thesis shall be unique to the Honors student. Joint papers either published or submitted for publication may be included in a thesis, but there must be supporting material that is original to the author of the individual thesis.

Are joint theses permitted?

A joint thesis is a single thesis that satisfies the requirements of multiple majors.

A joint thesis is permitted, but the mentor must either be from the mathematics department or there must be a co-mentor within the mathematics department.

How does the Honors Thesis relate to other aspects of the major (e.g., a Capstone Project)? What departmental coursework supports the thesis?

Mathematics is cumulative. Honors Linear Algebra and Differential Equations are foundational courses that are part of an essential toolkit for the Honors student in mathematics. In addition, the Department has many undergraduate research opportunities and an undergraduate research course (Math 4800) that are highly recommended for a student interested in writing an Honors thesis.

Additional information for students

The department supports a wide variety of thesis concepts, but all successful theses should be a) well-written with multiple references, b) unique to the student, though collaborative work is welcomed as part of the thesis, and c) mathematically rigorous, utilizing mathematics at and beyond the level of the foundational courses in Linear Algebra and Differential Equations.