Students may satisfy the Senior Experience requirement within the philosophy department or within some other department.  There are two ways to meet the Senior Experience requirement within the philosophy department:

 

1. During the Fall semester of your senior year,  you may take PHIL 4001 (Senior Experience) and PHIL 4395 (Senior Thesis) simultaneously. 

 

2. Alternatively, you may write an essay (at least 12 pages, double-spaced, one inch margins) that reflects an intensive study of the best scholarship on a philosophical topic, under the supervision (and with the permission) of a faculty advisor, during the Fall or Spring semesters of your senior year, while enrolled simultaneously in PHIL 4001 and any upper-division philosophy course.  You must complete the requirements of this upper-division course, but your essay will replace the final paper or exam.

 

(PHIL 4001 is a no credit, pass/fail course, used to keep track of who has completed the Senior Experience.)

 

By April 1 of your junior year, you must notify the department chair of how you intend to satisfy the Senior Experience requirement:  either outside the department, or by taking PHIL 4395 and PHIL 4001 concurrently, or by taking PHIL 4001 and an upper-division course concurrently.

 

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Rising seniors who plan to enroll in PHIL 4395 (Senior Thesis) should keep the following points in mind: 

 

You may enroll in PHIL 4395 only if you propose a thesis that is acceptable to the department. You will be assigned a thesis director, who will be your principal advisor and supervisor. The instructor of PHIL 4395 will monitor deadlines and provide feedback on drafts. You are also encouraged to discuss your thesis work with other faculty members, particularly those with expertise in the area in which you are working.

 

A thesis proposal should include the following:

 

• A previous essay:  a thesis will normally refine an essay previously submitted in a philosophy class, with the approval of the instructor to whom the work was submitted.  In exceptional cases students may submit an essay which they did not write for course credit.

 

• A thesis statement:  what position will you defend?  Will you defend your previous position, or modify it?

 

• An argumentative strategy:  how will you defend your thesis?  What new arguments will you construct, and which old arguments will you bolster?

 

• An annotated reading list:  what materials germane to your topic have you already read?  What else will you read?  You will be expected to master a range of cutting-edge scholarship on your topic.

 

The thesis course is offered only during the Fall semester.  Therefore, if you intend to write a thesis, you will need to sign up for it during spring registration in your junior year, after notifying the department chair.

 

You will be required to give an oral defense of your thesis before the faculty of the philosophy department during the final exam period. The faculty will determine the grade of your thesis based on the thesis itself and your defense of it.

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Students who take PHIL 4395 (Senior Thesis) or PHIL 4001 (Senior Experience) will be expected to meet the following deadlines (unless instructors make adjustments):

 

Week 1       Initial meeting:  discuss possible Essay or Thesis Proposals

Week 2       Complete draft of Essay or Thesis Proposal due

Week 3       Revision of Essay or Thesis Proposal due, considering instructor feedback

Week 4       First partial draft due (a partial draft is a section or substantial stretch of exegesis and argument, approximately 8 pages long).

Week 4       Discuss first partial draft

Week 7       Second partial draft due

Week 7       Discuss second partial draft

Week 11     Complete rough draft due

Week 11     Discuss rough draft

Week 13     Final version due

Week 13     Oral defense

 

Students who take PHIL 4395 (Senior Thesis) or PHIL 4001 (Senior Experience) will write an essay that follows the following outline (unless instructors allow exceptions):

 

I.                   Introduction.  State the thesis you will defend, and outline the argument you will give.

II.                Literature Review.  Survey the recent literature on your topic, explaining the main positions on the issue and situating your own position with respect to them.  Clarify key terminology.

III.             Argument.  Develop the argument for your thesis.

IV.            Objections and Responses.  State potential criticisms of your thesis, and show why these criticisms fail.

V.               Summary.  Review the argument you have given for your thesis.

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Rising seniors who plan to meet their Senior Experience requirement within the philosophy department while taking a class other than PHIL 4395 (Senior Thesis) should keep the following points in mind: 

 

You may meet your Senior Experience requirement while enrolled simultaneously in PHIL 4001 (Senior Experience) and an upper-level philosophy class only if you propose an essay topic that is acceptable to the instructor offering the class.  Your instructor will work with you early in the semester to help you shape your proposal.

 

An essay proposal should include the following:

 

• A position statement:  what position will you defend?

 

• An argumentative strategy:  how will you defend your position? 

 

• An annotated reading list:  what materials germane to your topic have you already read?  What else will you read?  You will be expected to master a range of cutting-edge scholarship on your topic.

 

You will be required to give an oral defense of your essay before the faculty of the philosophy department during the final exam period. The faculty will determine the grade of your essay based on the essay itself and your defense of it.

 

Your essay grade will count for half of your final grade in the upper-division course.  The grade you receive for the rest of the work in the course will count for the other half.

 

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