OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Stage 4 supports you through writing your thesis and preparing for your defense. In this stage you may ask:
This stage of the process typically takes two to four terms to complete. You must complete Stage 4 no later than the term you graduate. If you have questions, please contact an HC academic advisor.
If your plan has changed, update your Thesis Map.
Register for HC 408 Thesis: Stage 4 - Compose & Complete
OR
Complete Stage 4: Compose & Complete tasks independently
☐ Create and Submit Thesis poster
☐ Participate in the Honors College Thesis Fair
The HC does not provide guidelines for formatting the body of your thesis. Follow the style guide of your discipline to format the text of your thesis. However, there are specific requirements for formatting the title pages, abstract, copyright page, and signature approval page. Refer to our Formatting Your HC Thesis page and templates.
Begin by talking with your mentor about the writing process. You may begin by writing a rough draft that brings the sections of your project together and allows your mentor to see your progress as well as provide feedback. The content of the rough draft and how many revisions are to be made are determined by you and your mentor.
It is critical during the drafting process to give yourself plenty of time to follow recommended writing techniques, including “cool-downs” and targeted proofreading.
Throughout the process, work with your mentor to determine what revisions need to be made for the final draft of the thesis. You can utilize the OSU Writing Center for additional help. Schedule a Writing Center appointment.
All graduates are required to prepare a poster for public presentation. Among other important requirements, the poster must:
Use the video tutorial for design assistance. The Student Multimedia Service team provides free personal design consultation. Photos from previous Thesis Fair events can also be found on the HC photo gallery.
After completing the poster, submit a PDF of your poster to the HC at bit.ly/S4Poster.
The Honors College Thesis Fair, held every spring, is an opportunity to display your work, discussing it with the general public. Spring graduates are required to participate in the fair. HC Summer, Fall, and Winter graduates are welcome and strongly encouraged to participate. All posters displayed at the Thesis Fair will be judged by faculty in three categories (engineering; science; or humanities, social science, and business) with one from each category being selected for a cash prize!
The Spring 2021 Thesis Fair will include a brief audio or video presentation (2-5 minutes) to accompany your poster. Information on the audio or video presentation will be sent to you via your OSU email after you submit your poster.
To begin scheduling your defense, work with your mentor and committee members to find a two hour block of time that you and your committee can attend. Once you have a date and time for your defense it is vital that you notify the HC of your scheduled thesis defense at bit.ly/S4Defense. This will prompt the HC to send you the appropriate paperwork for the defense.
HC Thesis Defenses can be public (anyone can attend) or private (only those you invite can attend). The HC does not require a thesis defense to be open to the public or closed, but your major department may require an open defense.
HC thesis defenses will be virtual and conducted via Zoom at least through Spring term. The mentor should schedule and host the Zoom meeting so that they can create a breakout room where the student will “go” during the portion of the defense when the committee confers. You and the mentor can use the Zoom link to invite the committee and if you choose friends, family, and other guests. To avoid unwanted complications don’t share the link on social media.
Once you have revised your draft in consultation with your mentor, prepare an examination copy. The examination copy should conform to all the formatting requirements of the Formatting Your HC Thesis page and should be sent to each committee member at least ten days before your defense.
A Typical Defense Agenda may look like :
Please note that nearly every thesis needs revision after the defense. If your thesis mentor or committee have requested any revisions, update the examination copy with those edits.
Follow the Undergraduate Thesis Submission Instructions to submit the PDF copy of your thesis, without the signatures, electronically to [email protected]. Refer to [email protected] research guide if you need assistance logging in or making changes to your submission.
Your thesis submission and signatures are due at the latest the Friday of week 10 of the term you are graduating. These are absolute deadlines; you will not graduate with the Honors Baccalaureate diploma without submitting a completed thesis. If you are unable to submit your thesis by this deadline, you must immediately contact an HC academic advisor to discuss your options.
Spring 2021 Graduates Deadline: Friday, June 4th BY 5:00 p.m.
Shortly before your scheduled defense date the HC Advising Office Coordinator will send you the HC Thesis Submission Approval Form through DocuSign. Once you’ve signed it (online), the form will go to your committee and the HC Dean for signature. All signatures must be completed through DocuSign by the latest 5PM on Friday of Week 10 of the term you are graduating. If you have any non-OSU affiliated committee members, sending the email address(es) to the HC Advising Office Coordinator before your defense will reduce the time needed for signature after your defense.
You will be emailed a link to surveys after you alert us of your thesis defense. You and each of your committee members should fill this out. You need to email your mentor and each committee member the link, as they need to fill their survey out individually. These are anonymous surveys and are solely intended to gather data and are not attached to any one person.
For those who wish to submit their thesis to the Honors College thesis library, follow the HC Bound Thesis Printing Specifications for specific requirements for printing and binding the thesis. Please follow these guidelines precisely as an improperly produced thesis will require reprinting and rebinding. You can submit your thesis to be printed through this Printing and Mailing webform.