UA graduate, honors students defend theses
Students work diligently to complete graduate and honors requirements
Kathleen Hunt
Issue date: 4/15/09 Section: News
To write and defend a thesis requires in-depth subject knowledge, a hefty time commitment and, above all, perseverance, but the professional advantages outweigh the effort, UA honors and graduate students said.
Now, as those students finally finish the research process, satisfaction and relief weigh in on the plus side of the equation, as well.
By the time graduate student Joe Hunt defended his thesis, for example, he wasn't even nervous.
"I was confident in my subject, and because I had worked hard developing my paper with research and multiple interviews, I felt I had no reason to worry," Hunt said. "As long as the student does the appropriate work and research, there is nothing to worry about."
University administrators do what they can to ensure students do just what Hunt suggested - keep up with the amount of research a thesis demands.
Students work closely with a thesis adviser to develop their initial research proposal, and then assemble a thesis committee - the team of faculty members who will guide them through the oral defense process. That same committee will ultimately grade their thesis.
While thesis committee members strive to be available for students - and students are encouraged to keep in touch with their committee - students sometimes have to go it alone.
Angelica Kraushaar, a PhD student in environmental dynamics, didn't see any of her committee face-to-face for almost two years, she said - which only increased her nervousness about her defense.
But six months and two drafts after she started her thesis, Kraushaar successfully submitted it to her committee.
Ample time and multiple drafts are the rule for students who hope to score well on their thesis, which will ultimately be graded on its purpose, implementation, use of data, effectiveness and instrument.
Even students who have yet to begin their thesis recognize the amount of work that will be involved.
"It's intimidating," said Derek Jaster, an honors accounting major. "I think the hardest part will be just getting started, but the most worrisome part is what the thesis committee will say about my defense. There is always a seed of doubt no matter how well you may know your thesis."
But that doubt is erased when their thesis helps students to earn a spot in graduate school or to graduate with honors.
In the UA honors program, for example, students' thesis defense score, in combination with their GPA and number of honors hours, can catapult them to the top of their class to graduate Cum, Magna or Summa. Summa Cum Laude is reserved for students in the top 1 percent of the honors program.
To graduate with honors, students must maintain a 3.25 GPA, take a minimum of 12 honors hours and, of course, complete the infamous thesis paper and presentation.
Now, as those students finally finish the research process, satisfaction and relief weigh in on the plus side of the equation, as well.
By the time graduate student Joe Hunt defended his thesis, for example, he wasn't even nervous.
"I was confident in my subject, and because I had worked hard developing my paper with research and multiple interviews, I felt I had no reason to worry," Hunt said. "As long as the student does the appropriate work and research, there is nothing to worry about."
University administrators do what they can to ensure students do just what Hunt suggested - keep up with the amount of research a thesis demands.
Students work closely with a thesis adviser to develop their initial research proposal, and then assemble a thesis committee - the team of faculty members who will guide them through the oral defense process. That same committee will ultimately grade their thesis.
While thesis committee members strive to be available for students - and students are encouraged to keep in touch with their committee - students sometimes have to go it alone.
Angelica Kraushaar, a PhD student in environmental dynamics, didn't see any of her committee face-to-face for almost two years, she said - which only increased her nervousness about her defense.
But six months and two drafts after she started her thesis, Kraushaar successfully submitted it to her committee.
Ample time and multiple drafts are the rule for students who hope to score well on their thesis, which will ultimately be graded on its purpose, implementation, use of data, effectiveness and instrument.
Even students who have yet to begin their thesis recognize the amount of work that will be involved.
"It's intimidating," said Derek Jaster, an honors accounting major. "I think the hardest part will be just getting started, but the most worrisome part is what the thesis committee will say about my defense. There is always a seed of doubt no matter how well you may know your thesis."
But that doubt is erased when their thesis helps students to earn a spot in graduate school or to graduate with honors.
In the UA honors program, for example, students' thesis defense score, in combination with their GPA and number of honors hours, can catapult them to the top of their class to graduate Cum, Magna or Summa. Summa Cum Laude is reserved for students in the top 1 percent of the honors program.
To graduate with honors, students must maintain a 3.25 GPA, take a minimum of 12 honors hours and, of course, complete the infamous thesis paper and presentation.
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