Important Information for Junior and Senior English Majors
Senior Seminar & Thesis
The English major has a capstone requirement which may be fulfilled either by taking a senior seminar or writing a senior thesis.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
In a senior seminar, literature and creative writing concentrators come together to culminate their work as English majors in an intimate setting, guided by a professor who will, in various ways, afford students a chance to pursue their own interests.
In a senior thesis, students undertake an original independent project. The process of embarking on a thesis begins in the spring of Junior Year.
Additional Forms for Thesis Proposal and Thesis:
Literary Thesis: Frequently Asked Questions
The Senior Thesis is a highly fulfilling experience, a chance to write on your own ideas at length, and an important indication of your ability to do graduate work. If you plan on going to graduate school, you should certainly do a thesis. But even if you don’t know what you want after college, a Senior Thesis can be the most significant experience of your college education, one you will always remember.
No. Anyone who wants to write a senior thesis in literary studies may do so.
A thesis fulfills the Senior Capstone requirement (#12 on the advising worksheet). You can also fulfill that requirement by taking a Senior Seminar. Only the thesis qualifies a student to earn departmental honors. Because a thesis is two credits, and only one of those credits is needed to fulfill the Senior Capstone requirement, the second credit can count toward a different requirement of the major (typically an elective, although if your thesis research is squarely within a particular curricular area—e.g., literature written before 1800—the second thesis credit could fulfill such a requirement.)
Yes. If you wish to be eligible for Honors in the English major, you must complete a senior thesis and graduate with a major GPA of at least A-. The grade you receive on your thesis will be counted (twice, because it is two credits) toward that final major GPA.
A thesis will be a minimum of sixty (60) pages. There are variations in the length, form and content of senior theses, but they usually consist of:
- an introduction, stating your questions, ideas, and methods
- multiple chapters (usually 2 to 4, each roughly the length of a long essay) analyzing literary works
- a conclusion suggesting further thoughts, areas for study, or questions
- a bibliography of the primary and secondary sources that you used.
You can browse copies of past senior theses in the cabinet in the English Department reading room (ask at the office for the key) or in the Trinity College Digital Repository.
Creative Writing Thesis: Frequently Asked Questions
English majors with a concentration in creative writing who wish to write a creative thesis must petition the Creative Writing Committee with a thesis proposal during the spring semester of their junior year. A thesis proposal will include:
- A sample of outstanding work consisting of 2 short stories or non-fiction pieces, or a 15-page excerpt from a larger work of prose fiction, non-fiction, play, or screenplay, or 5-10 poems.
- A letter providing (a) evidence of exemplary work within the concentration and consistent progress within the major, (b) a description of your proposed project(including genre), and (c) an account of how this two-semester thesis experience might benefit you and your plans for after graduation.
All materials must be submitted to the Director of Creative Writing by the semester’s major declaration date as marked in the college’s academic calendar. The Creative Writing Committee will respond to your proposal by the beginning of advising week. This is a competitive process and, once received, submissions will be read blind (that is, without your name attached to the work). Submitting a proposal does not guarantee that you’ll be able to undertake a creative thesis project, and all decisions by the Creative Writing Committee are final.
The creative writing faculty has determined the following page minimums for CW theses; note that these page minimums vary depending on the genre in which the student is writing.
- Fiction, novella or portion of a novel: 60 page minimum
- Fiction, short stories: must have at least 4 stories, 40 page minimum
- Memoir: 60 page minimum
- Creative Nonfiction: must have at least 4 essays, 40 page minimum
- Poetry: 35 page minimum
- Screenplays: 2 acts of a full-length screenplay (60-70 pages) OR 2 short screenplays (40 pages minimum)
- Plays: 2 one-act plays (20 pages per play minimum) OR one multi-act play (40 pages minimum)
A creative writing thesis may, based on consultation with your advisor, also include an introduction or afterword (1,500 words minimum) in which you consider your work in the context of the wider literary world and account for the aesthetic choices you’ve made as a writer.
This essay should include consideration of the work of established writers who’ve influenced your style and the manner in which the work you’ve undertaken in workshops at Trinity has led you to the shape and scope of your thesis project.
The Director of Creative Writing will, after consulting with potential advisors, assign an advisor to each student who plans to write a creative thesis. Please do not approach faculty about serving as your advisor. Only the Creative Writing Committee can approve your petition to write a thesis, and only the Director of Creative Writing can assign an advisor. The director will also appoint a first and second reader/grader for each student, neither of whom will be the advisor. Together these readers will determine a final evaluation for the thesis.
Students not eligible or interested in writing a creative thesis may take a senior seminar (ENGL 496) in fall or spring of their senior year. This, along with the completion of the other major requirements, will complete the major.
To be eligible for honors in the major, creative writing students must complete a creative thesis and attain an A- (or higher) average in the major including the thesis grade.
