ME Honors Thesis Writing Preparation

Catalog description

The goal of this course is to prepare mechanical engineering Schreyer honors scholars for their final honors thesis. The course helps students identify a thesis supervisor if the student has not already found a thesis supervisor and project. The main body of the course focuses on writing the literature review. Identifying different types of literature and their uses, finding appropriate literature online and on databases, and writing about the literature are all covered extensively. Students are given detailed feedback on outlines and drafts of their literature review throughout the semester, resulting in a final literature review for their honors thesis at the end. In addition to the literature review, two presentations - one elevator pitch and one final presentation - are required to practice oral communication of research topics. Finally, the topics of research ethics, research in teams, and career planning are discussed throughout the course to prepare students for future research and career opportunities. Class meets once per week and class times are highly interactive, with activities to practice the skills learned in the course with the help of peers and faculty. The grade is comprised of several assignments, including pre-class assignments, in-class assignments, and thesis-related assignments.