Procedures governing approval of the CIS Senior Thesis projects are described in the Tufts University AS&E Bulletin . Arts, Science, and Engineering students who wish to write a senior thesis outside their major area of concentration may be eligible to write a CIS senior thesis. The student must satisfy the CIS Board that the topic falls outside the purview of any department or interdisciplinary program and that significant coursework and/or faculty-directed research relevant to the thesis topic has been accomplished. The student must assemble a committee of three faculty readers with expertise in the disciplines involved, one of whom is designated as the chair of the committee and who is responsible for submitting a grade and designating the amount of credit for the thesis coursework. One member of the committee must be from a department or program in which the student is majoring. The topic must be approved by the CIS Board no later than the end of the first week of classes in the first semester of the student's senior year. Students who would like to be recommended for degrees with honors by departments that require a thesis should be aware that these departments require a thesis within their own department and a CIS thesis will not usually count as a substitute. However, students may apply for a CIS thesis to count as an honors thesis in the Thesis Honors Program like a thesis in any other discipline by assembling a thesis committee and filing the appropriate paperwork. If the CIS thesis is to qualify as an honors thesis, the chair of the thesis committee must be from a department or program in which the student is majoring.
Registration Procedures for a CIS Senior Thesis
Student interested in pursuing the CIS Senior Thesis can enroll for the must submit the following information to the CIS program director for consideration:
1. A one-page thesis prospectus, which briefly summarizes the thesis project design, including: the major research question or questions to be pursued in the thesis, including (if known) a brief summary of existing research; and an indication of the potential resources (library, bibliographic, data collection) that will be consulted for research;
2. A letter from the Faculty member stating an intent to serve as primary advisor for the thesis whom is designated as the chair of the committee;
3. A copy of the completed CIS Senior Thesis Candidate Application Form submitted to the Dean of the Colleges containing the signatures of the committee of three faculty readers with expertise in the disciplines involved, one of whom is designated as the chair of the committee and who is responsible for submitting a grade and designating the amount of credit for the thesis coursework. One member of the committee must be from a department or program in which the student is majoring.
Deadline for Application
Students spending their junior year abroad, are strongly encouraged to follow university guidelines, enrolling for thesis by the end of their junior year. The last permitted date for enrolling in the CIS Thesis will be the end of the second week of Fall semester of senior year (normally around September 15th. However, students who wait until September to register run the strong risk of not finding faculty members prepared to support their thesis! Thus, students - including those studying abroad - are strongly advised to at least formulate a research question and secure the support of their main thesis advisor in spring of their junior year, if not in person then through e-mail.
For students graduating in February and doing a CIS Thesis on a Spring/Fall schedule, the deadline would be the end of the second week of spring semester (normally around January 30th).
Once the CIS Thesis has been approved by the CIS Board, the student will enroll in either the CIS193 (spring) or CIS194 (fall) course. Upon completion of the Thesis, the student must complete and return the CIS Thesis Certification Form along with a copy of the CIS Thesis project. The primary faculty advisor will submit a grade for the thesis. The deadline for grading coincides with grading of other courses as stated in the Tufts University AS&E Bulletin .
Research Resources
Students thinking about conducting a research project, such as a senior thesis, should be aware of the numerous support programs and publication opportunities on Tufts campus. For details about this program visit the Academic Resource Center website.