I have to defend my undergraduate honors thesis in March (or April) but I have no idea what to expect. The honors office says it roughly resembles a graduate or dissertation defense but I don't know what those are like either. Any graduate students, professors, or other undergrads (who have done this) out there? What can I expect?
2007-01-23 13:10:48 · 3 answers · asked by tiger_lilly33186 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Higher Education (University +)
OK, I HAVE been through a thesis defense, and I'm preparing for another.
I presented my undergrad thesis in front of the other undergrads at my college (we didn't have grad students, or they would have been there) and professors. It consisted of a 45 min talk about my research, including background information for people not that familiar with the field (which was everyone), data, analysis, results, and conclusions/explanation.
It was followed by 30 min of questions, from professors and students. The ones from students were easy to answer, but the profs are there to grill you to make SURE you understood what you were doing. They can deny your thesis or fail you if you can't sufficiently answer the questions. They will ask you some specific stuff about your research (don't include any terms in your talk that you can't fully explain and define, and don't include any results or graphs you don't understand), and probably some general stuff about the field. If they don't really understand what you're doing, they may ask you about THEIR field - but probably less likely at an undergrad defense.
Good luck! Bring food - that always makes people happy. Coffee and cookies/donuts are always a good idea.
2007-01-23 13:20:25 · answer #1 · answered by eri 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
stress! Seriously just keep your cool and know your subject. You wrote it, so you will believe in it. It will be OK
2007-01-23 13:14:05 · answer #2 · answered by rose_merrick 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hey kid ima computaaa
2007-01-23 13:12:45 · answer #3 · answered by Frenchie 1 · 1⤊ 4⤋