Additional Advice for New Faculty Advisers

Honors College Workshop on Thesis Advising

Amy Chasteen Miller 2/28/08

Tips for working with students:

• Read through a few good theses in your field and share these with students
• Have some examples of a solid prospectus to share
• Familiarize yourself with Honors College due dates so that you can remind students as needed
• Expect students to be freaked out, self-doubting, and unaware of basic protocol and even professional etiquette (I mean that in the nicest way possible).
• If you have more than one student, group them together and work with them as a pair/team
• Break the process into small tasks for students and give them deadlines for each
• Comment on everything and keep copies for yourself
• If students ignore deadlines or fail to do their work, talk to them and if needed, Paula Mathis

Honors College Workshop on Thesis Advising

Amy Chasteen Miller 2/28/08

Example Timeline for Thesis Process

7/25/07: Meeting with advisees

8/2/07: Full draft of the prospectus due

8/9/07: Prospectus returned with comments

8/21/07: Prospectus submitted to the Honors College

September 07: Students apply for Institutional Review Board for approval for research with Human Subjects (draft application due to me 2/7/07, returned a week later, then submitted)

October 07: Work on revising and expanding literature review

November-December 07: Collect data and begin analysis

1/4/08: Submit revised literature review and research methods sections of thesis; returned mid-January with comments

January 2008: Work on data analysis

February 2008: Write up findings section and analysis

3/3/08: Submit draft of findings and analysis sections (and new lit review if needed); returned a week later

3/20/08: Complete draft of thesis due; returned 4/3 with comments for final revision

4/1/08: Comprehensive exam

4/11/08: "Final" thesis due to advisor

4/25/08: Thesis submitted to HC