So, you have chosen your honors thesis advisor. Congratulations! But, will you fully utilize all of the resources that an O’Neill faculty member has to offer in the timespan of a year? These were exactly my thoughts when deciding to ask Dr. Susan Siena to advise my honors thesis for senior year. By asking questions (and lots of them!), meeting regularly, and expressing gratitude, you will be on the right track to fully utilizing all of the resources your honors advisor has to offer!
Ask Questions
Your advisor is there to grade your thesis, yes, but they are also a great resource for asking questions about how to conduct your research. When choosing your advisor, I would highly recommend asking a professor that is very familiar with either the topic you are going to be researching, or the research methods you will be utilizing for your thesis.
Also – don’t be afraid to ask questions often! When beginning my research, I had no knowledge on how to format a thesis or how to conduct a comparative case study. I asked my advisor questions often, including getting honest advice as to how much research a student could do within the timeframe of a year. At the end of the program, getting these questions answered by my advisor led to me being able to produce a cohesive thesis with actual results.
Meet Regularly
Whatever regularly means to you and your advisor, make a plan to meet with them on some sort of regular basis. Whether it be monthly, bi-weeky, or weekly, having a schedule of when you meet with your advisor allows you to set deadlines for your meetings and in the end, get more work done.
In an honors program with one large hard deadline, working with your advisor to set soft deadlines for sections of your thesis and ensuring you have that prepared prior to your meetings is a great way to hold yourself accountable and make sure that you are able to finish your thesis by the end of the semester.
Give your Thanks
Professors who advise students through the O’Neill Honors Program don’t get any benefits besides getting to work with you! As you begin to think about graduation and your post-grad plans, your advisor may be one of the only professors who has gotten to see just how you work, and the quality of your work. Be sure to thank your advisor for the constant feedback and encouragement that they have provided to you throughout the course of this program, thank them often (not just at the end of the semester), and be sure to check back in with them in the future.
Ariel Oeffinger is graduating in May of 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs in Law & Public Policy and Nonprofit Management & Leadership with a minor in Homeland Security Studies. Ariel will enter law school at New York Law School in Tribeca, New York City in August 2023.
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