Theses are the blinding light at the end of the tunnel

There was a run on Diet Coke and Starbucks Double Shots in April as members of the Class of 2003 churned out pages and put the final touches on the pièce de résistance of their last year at the University. This does not happen on many other campuses — or at least not to such a degree.

One of the unique features of a Princeton education is the requirement that all A.B. students and some engineers complete a major independent project in their senior year.

These written reports — due in March, April or May, depending on the department — vary in length from 20 pages for a technical paper to 100 pages or more for social science topics. The thesis can make up as much as 40 percent of a senior's departmental grade point average. As a result, it becomes the primary focus of a senior's academic activity.

Some departments at other universities require students to write a thesis only if they wish to be considered for honors by the department.

Yale students majoring in economics, for instance, must write a senior essay to be considered for "Distinction in the Major."

Yale history of art and electrical engineering students, however, do not have an option. Art history students must write a senior essay and electrical engineers must submit a research or design project.

Laura Gaffney '03, a comparative literature major at Princeton, explained her experience.

"Well, basically as a comparative literature major you have your foreign languages, so you want to find something that will incorporate those languages and whatever interests you. It's mainly up to you and then you approach your adviser just to get advice, to make sure it's a feasible thesis topic," Gaffney said.

"Whatever interests you" is a key phrase in Gaffney's statement. Other students at Princeton feel it is important to pick a thesis topic that is appealing and exciting, considering the thesis demands a great deal of one's time senior year.

Jeremy Hersch '03, an economics major, chose to write about marijuana decriminalization. "I put as much into it as I wanted to. I don't really care about what grade I get so much as what I got out of writing it," Hersch said.

One thing is certain. Whether it becomes a milestone or simply remains a benchmark on the academic yardstick, all senior theses will take their places on the library shelves that already contain the theses of undergraduates who have long since passed through the gates that guard Nassau Hall.

Junior papers

In preparation for what seems an almost impossible task, A.B. students attend seminars and write 20- to 40-page papers — or JPs — in their junior year. Some students maintain the intellectual momentum gained from their JPs and base their theses on the same topic.