By Sammi Mason

As the end of my senior year approached, I was facing some of the same decisions that many of you are facing today: I’d made the grades, I’d taken the honors hours, I’d started to submit applications for post-graduate scholarships and fellowships, and now I was approaching the last hurdle of my honors degree—the thesis defense.

When we advertise the thesis defense in Fulbright Honors, we always discuss how great it will look for graduate and professional schools, for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships, and in the job market. And all of this is true–the thesis is a great thing to have on your resume. The thing was, I wasn’t convinced I wanted to continue with school, I received rejections from both of the post-graduate fellowships I had applied for, and I wasn’t even sure where I would be living in July, let alone where I would be working. My main concern was purely about completing my thesis, graduating with honors, and taking a breath after college to figure out what I wanted to do with my degree.  Little did I know that the thesis itself would change my life. It would deepen my knowledge of my field, and leave me craving more knowledge still, leading me to pursue and receive my master’s degree in English Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Oklahoma, where I would successfully write and defend another thesis just this April.

The first reason the thesis changed my life is that I got to choose my own topic. I know this is a little different for students in the sciences who have to find a lab to work in, but for an English major, for the first time I got to venture beyond the syllabus in my research. It was daunting, but also exciting–I got to choose the literature I wanted to read, independently track down the research I needed to analyze these texts, and sharpen my focus on the literature of British colonialism and the depictions of race and gender therein, something I had discussed in class often, but never explored beyond the 7-10 page papers that were assigned during my English classes. My research in this thesis launched my graduate work a few years later, where I was able to focus my coursework almost exclusively on postcolonial and decolonial literature and theory, attend a national conference, and work on developing my master’s thesis for publication. (Fingers crossed).

The second reason the thesis changed my life is that I couldn’t hide behind smarts or writing skills–I had to put in the work. I worked with Dr. Marren in the English department for my thesis, and while we worked out our major goals and chapter deadlines together, the impetus was on me to meet those deadlines. The difference between taking a class on a subject and defining my own project during my thesis was as distinct as the difference between taking a class in high school and taking a class in college. It required more from me–more motivation, more time management, more writing than I had ever completed for any one class (my thesis came out to 88 pages, all told, but again, I’m an English major). The project required long hours of reading, literal binders of research, and many nights of closing down Club Mullins (do you still call the library that?). This instilled the work ethic I needed during graduate school. By setting attainable research and writing goals, balancing research with my ongoing coursework, and prioritizing my thesis when it came down to the wire during my undergraduate career, it allowed me to juggle the myriad tasks of teaching, lesson planning, grading, reading, and completing my coursework throughout graduate school. 

The third reason the thesis changed my life is that it was the first time I felt like I could speak to my professors not as student to teacher, but as intellectual peers. Because I knew I had put in some of my best effort during the thesis, and because I had prepared and practiced my thesis defense, I was able to go into my defense with confidence. Part of this was choosing the right committee–faculty who I knew well, had a rapport with, and who were interested in my subject area. One of those faculty members was actually Dr. Erickson, who I had met during the fourth semester of H2P. In my experience, my committee was asking questions not like a teacher questioning a student or poking holes in my writing, but instead questions that could guide and deepen my future research. Although there were certainly some holes to be poked (hint: don’t bring up Rudyard Kipling in your thesis defense if you can’t remember that Kim is the name of the novel) it was less of a test and more of a celebration of all of the work I had done during my undergraduate degree.

To me, the best part about the thesis was the defense. It was the real moment where I felt like my undergraduate degree had built to something special. I will say, I think that my thesis defense was a best-case scenario. I was lucky. But what is luck if not intersection of preparation and opportunity? So make sure you are prepared. If I can give any advice to you it would be this: 

  • Take some time to develop a topic that you are passionate about, that will sustain your interest throughout the thesis process.
  • Find a thesis director who, in addition to having some expertise in the field you are hoping to study, also works well with you. Listen to them when they tell you what to expect from them during the thesis process.
  • Choose committee members you know well and who have an interest in your subject.
  • Don’t procrastinate. Set reasonable deadlines and meet them as best you can. Leave time for editing and revision and then do it. Put in the work. 
  • Practice your thesis defense at least once before you walk into the room. Get there early to set up.
  • Celebrate when they let you back in and shake your hand! You did it! And know that it was more than a thesis defense.