Senior Honors Thesis
One option to fufil the senior project requirement is to write a
senior honors thesis. Admission to the honors program is intended for
those undergraduates who have done well in their undergraduate coursework
and have demonstrated strong potential for research. In order to apply
for the honors program, you must meet the following requirements:
- Your undergraduate major must be computer science.
- You must have a
GPA of at least 3.6 in courses that count toward the CS major.
- Assuming successful completion of your spring quarter courses, you
must achieve senior standing (135 or more units) by the end of the
academic year in which you apply. If you are a coterminal masters
student, you will be eligible as long as you have not already received
your undergraduate degree.
- You must find a faculty member in CS who
agrees to supervise your research and thesis work. According to
Stanford's guidelines, research supervisors for theses must be members of
the Academic Council. In general, this requirement means that your
research supervisor should be listed as some level of "Professor" in the
Stanford Bulletin. For guidance on how to find an appropriate
research project, see the Undergraduate
Research page.
Note that these are necessary qualifications and
do not guarantee admission to the honors program. Honors students will be
selected by a review committee from the qualified applicants.
Applications for the honors program are due in Claire Stager's office by May 1 of each
year. Successful applicants will be notified by May 15. The additional
end-of-summer application deadline for CURIS students is August 31. If
you are accepted into the honors program, you will then have to
complete the following additional requirements
- Complete at least 9 units of CS191 or CS191W in which you undertake a research project under the direction of a faculty member. Because this project must lead to a thesis, pure implementation projects-such as those typically approved for CS191-are not appropriate for honors work. Implementation will often represent a significant component of your work, but you must be prepared to analyze your results as well.
- Attend a weekly honors seminar during spring quarter.
- Complete an honors thesis deemed acceptable by a committee consisting of your thesis advisor and at least one additional faculty member.
- Present the thesis at a public colloquium sponsored by the department.
- Maintain the 3.6 GPA required for admission to the honors program.
Although such a project may sound like a great deal of work, we expect that the honors program will be the capstone experience for many students' undergraduate careers and provide excellent preparation for those interested in pursuing advanced research at the Ph.D. level.
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