Undergraduate Program
Senior Matters
Junior Matters
Important Dates - Jr & Sr
|
|
Thesis Information for Physics Seniors:
Turning in the thesis
Theses are due by 4PM on the
due date in the Department office.
Recall our general warning: ONLY THE SENIOR COMMITTEE CAN GRANT
EXTENSIONS, AND THEN ONLY IF THIS IS REQUESTED WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE DUE
DATE. Theses that simply don't appear on the due date will be treated
with a brutality shocking from people as kind and decent as those on the
Senior Committee. Extensions will be considered only for circumstances
beyond your control. Examples include illness, or unexpected unavailability
of your adviser in the closing days. Just not being finished will NOT
result in an extension, and your final weeks of work should be planned
accordingly.
You are required to turn in TWO copies of your thesis by the due date. See your adviser or Karen Kelly in the Department office about making copies. It is advisable to keep an additional copy for yourself. The first copy must be bound
and will be deposited in Fine Library.
(The library reports: "permanently bound, no glue, stiched is best, it doesn't matter if it is leather or not.")
The second copy must be UNbound (no
staples, brads, clips, rubber bands or binders -- the Department will
supply a manila envelope) and will be deposited in Mudd Library.
"Gold stamping" on the bound copy is optional. (Most students
have it done.)
The Department will make three copies of your thesis from the
Mudd Library copy, one for each of the members of your oral committee. The
copies given to your adviser and to your second reader will be returned to you
with their comments. The copy given to the Senior Committee member on your
oral will ultimately be given to your adviser.
Thesis formatting rules
- The thesis should be printed on one side of standard-size
paper (8 1/2 x 11 inches). Special thesis paper is not required.
- It should be "double-spaced." However, in practice, 1.5
spacing looks much better and is recommended. It should have an
approximately-2-inch margin on the left to facilitate binding.
- Pages must be numbered.
- Indicate in a statement on the thesis:
"This paper represents my own work in accordance with
University regulations." and add your signature. This pledge can go anywhere. On the
title page or on a separate page are both OK.
- There must be an abstract, less than one page in length, on
a separate page. This page must include the thesis title and your name.
- There are basically no formatting rules other than these,
rumor to the contrary notwithstanding. For example, no statement of "right to
copy" is required.
Schedule for oral
The thesis oral committee will consist of THREE faculty members:
your adviser, your second reader, and a member of the Undergraduate
Committee. (The Undergraduate Committee is a broader group that includes the
Senior Committee.) The schedule of available oral exam dates and times
are available in the Department office.
Please coordinate with your adviser and your
second reader and reserve a time slot with Ms. Kelly in the Department
office. The Undergraduate Committee member will be assigned
automatically.
Since some faculty members can be difficult to get hold of after
classes end, PLEASE BEGIN THE PROCESS OF CHOOSING A SECOND READER AND
RESERVING A TIME SLOT FOR YOUR ORAL WELL BEFORE THE END OF THE SEMESTER.
Your choice of second reader may be affected by travel plans. Please let the
Senior Committee know if you are having any trouble scheduling your
oral.
Format of oral
The thesis oral serves as the Departmental Examination (required by
the University of all seniors), replacing the written "comps."
It will last one hour. You should prepare a talk on your thesis work,
about 30 minutes in length. It is anticipated that interruptions for
questions will expand this to about 45 minutes, with about 15 minutes at
the end for further questions. The oral committee will want to reserve
time for questioning, so don't plan too long a talk, lest you get cut off.
Your adviser and second reader will of course be very familiar with
your work, the third member less so. Your talk should thus include introductory material for a non-specialist. The talk should be
prepared using standard visual aids -- do not expect people to flip
through your thesis to look at figures.
Most such talks are done with slides: transparencies or
computer-projected. Hand-drawn transparencies are fine; there are also ways to
transfer plots, etc. directly to the film.
If you want to use a laptop, beware: YOU are responsible for
making sure things work, and a hard-copy backup is a good idea.
In either case, preparing such a talk takes time -- take the time to do a good job. A rehersal (in front of
friends or an empty room) would be wise.
Some advice on the content of slides: these should be
basically for graphical material -- figures, plots, equations. Some
speakers use their slides for this exclusively; some like to include some text as well. If you include text, restrict yourself to terse
summaries of major points. Never fill a slide with dense text. Your adviser can advise you on such technique.
Your committee will ask several kinds of questions. Some will
simply be clarification for the benefit of the questioner, others will be
to check on your understanding of the details of the topic. The third
Committee member will have a special charge. As the non-specialist, he or she
will focus on questions probing your understanding of the more basic physics
underlying your thesis topic. It is essential that you be able to connect
your work, however esoteric, to the physics we expect you to have mastered
as a physics major. Do you understand the quantum mechanics, stat mech, or
E&M behind your project? Do you understand the goal of the experimental or
theoretical effort of which your thesis is a part? Advice: this is an
area that you should brush up on between the thesis deadline and your oral!
Grading and honors
You will receive two grades related to your thesis and your oral:
Thesis grade:
- based on your research and written thesis determined by adviser and second reader
Departmental exam grade:
- based on your oral: quality and clarity of your presentation, facility in answering
technical questions, facility in answering
"underlying physics" questions
determined by your oral committee
In both cases final grades will be set only after the grading
meeting of advisers and the Senior Committee. The Senior Committee will
record the grades after this meeting and report them to you. Both grades
are reported to the Registrar and appear on your transcript. (The weight of
the departmental exam in "credit hours" is zero, and it thus does not
contribute to grade averages calculated from the transcript.)
Honors and class rank are determined using an average calculated in the
Department. We include these factors with the weight indicated:
Courses - 50%
Sr. Thesis - 25%
Thesis oral - 5%
JP's - 20%
"Courses" is all the courses that we have declared as your
Departmentals. Some
Department-granted prizes are based on this average. Others have special purposes, such as acknowledgement of
excellence in independent work.
Back to Departmentals
If you have any questions on this information, please ask a
member of the Senior
Committee
|
|
