how to write senior project essay

How to Write a Senior Project Paper

How to Write an Essay Explaining a Concept

Many schools require their seniors to produce a senior project, complete with an essay. These projects typically involve in-depth research in which you must dive into a subject by reading books, visit appropriate locations and interview experts. A senior project prepares you for the academic and professional world by introducing you to long-term research projects. Many projects are extended essays, with a requirement of several thousand words.

Review the guidelines for your project. The average senior project focuses on a single thesis or argument. In most cases, this is an extended essay and may be 10 or more pages long.

Organize your research into an outline. Create two to four main subtopics for your research essay. Include facts that relate to each subtopic under a capital or bold heading. This will give you a loose frame for your essay. If you have been working on the project all year, creating an outline helps remind you of all the different facts you have found.

Create the thesis for your senior project essay. The thesis states the main point of the paper -- the point you spend the rest of the paper trying to prove. For example, a research project on photographers may include the thesis, "Photographers learn to see the world with a unique view that extends beyond their artistic work." A different thesis for the same topic might say, "Photographers often struggle to start a stable career, but those who are talented eventually succeed."

Write the introduction for your senior project. The first sentence of the introduction should frame the topic in an interesting manner, such as "Many believe that photographers are artists who are too lazy to pick up a paintbrush." The first sentence should intrigue the reader with an unexpected fact or joke. Write another few sentences of the introduction, providing some background information on the topic. End the introduction with your thesis.

Start your first body paragraph with a statement about the point you are trying to prove. Spend the next few sentences providing necessary background and backing up your point with facts or anecdotes. End the paragraph with a re-statement of your thesis using different wording. If possible, include a hint of what you will talk about in your next paragraph. You may write something like, "Many photographers struggle through school, unable to find rewarding work; but few get into photography for the financial rewards." This would sum up your paragraph about initial struggles and lead into a paragraph about why photographers devote their lives to their art.

Compose your next body paragraph, starting with a statement of the sub-point. Include necessary facts and anecdotes and end with a re-statement of the point. Move on to your next paragraph, working in this fashion until you have completed the body of the essay. Depending on the scope of your paper, you may spend several paragraphs on each aspect of your subpoints or contain each subpoint in its own paragraph.

End the essay with a conclusion. The conclusion should start with a few sentences that sum up your main points and end with a re-statement of your thesis. Close with an interesting anecdote or summation of your points to keep your essay interesting.

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Breann Kanobi has worked as freelance writer since 2010. Kanobi regularly submits content online to Gamer DNA. Kanobi received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film and television from New York University in 2010.

How to Write a Senior Project Research Paper

As the author, the student comes up with a concept or question, which he or she addresses throughout the project. They then proceed to collect relevant data and information, find out the right methodology that they will use for data analysis to conclude their project’s results. This kind of write-up is a basic requirement for most colleges to an undergraduate before graduating. If you need assistance with this process, you can seek services to help edit your research paper for clarity and accuracy.

The college does this purposefully to find out if the student is capable of conducting research using the knowledge they have learned throughout their college education experience across their field of study. If you consider an undergraduate in the field of business, for example, they will be dealing with a variety of subjects such as finance, business management, and accounting. Their SRP has to address or emphasize a specific concept in these elements.

Nowadays, it is very rare to find a college that will award undergraduate students with Bachelor’s degrees without completing senior research projects during their final academic year period. Before students can get clearance to graduate, they have to present the results of their research findings to the satisfaction of the committee of members from their faculty. The committee must consent formally that the presentation of the student meets the outline college standards of a senior project research paper.

The context must be set out clearly while writing the introduction part of the paper. The audience wants to know if the main idea that you are bringing forth and the arguments regarding the topic make sense, therefore, you need to explain the situation by introducing the general information regarding the concept. Your essay should be compelling, give the reader a reason why they should continue reading the paper.

What claim or position are you going to be supporting throughout the paper? You should state it using sound reasoning. Make the primary research question to be the paper’s thesis statement if you want the audience to understand why you came up with the inquiry in the first place. After stating the claim, give your readers an overview of the sources where you obtained all the relevant data and information. When dealing with a long paper, you can outline the structure and the various sources that you explored.

Do not forget to consult your instructor regarding the most appropriate tone that you should use when writing the forecast of the paper. Including a forecast in your paper helps your readers to easily follow your ideas as they can easily relate to the structure that you have outlined beforehand. And as for the thesis of the SRP, it is more than just a general statement; you must point out your position using supportive proofs.

You must understand that a title cannot do a thesis; there is more than what a title can say. Again, the thesis is not an announcement of some given subject; neither is it a statement of fact, you have to get deeper into the specific details of an issue you are dealing with. A thesis statement is what you use to formulate the topic as well as your point of view; it must be specific.

Your paper should be organized, move from general to the specific details of the problem. Every time you are introducing a new subject, you should have in your mind an inverted pyramid. As you begin the paragraphs, start by the general ideas, and then you narrow down to specific details and evidence that support the claim as you progress into the paragraphs that come below the narrow part of the pyramid. Each subject should end with the author explaining how or why the information supports his or her thesis.

In the r esearch paper conclusion , focus on general information that restates your points and arguments. It can also include a call for action or give an overview of possible future research. Our company is one of the best writing companies in the world; you can rely on us to write your projects.

Proposal Contents for the Best Senior Project Research Paper Examples

The student, first, obtains a supervisor from the faculty before attempting to do anything. The student then chooses a topic of interest, which must strictly come from his or her field of study. The student should obtain good senior research paper topics from their coursework; the best way to identify an issue or topic is to think of the concepts you have learned or ideas studied about that you feel you should continue to do an in-depth study about.

You can easily establish an appropriate topic for your paper once you look back into the issues that you discussed previously in the context of the courses that you have studied. Alternatively, you can also check for senior project research paper examples that previous graduates did and see the topics that they chose for their projects.

You can also look at recent articles published in journals addressing issues that are closely related to your coursework; these are great sources of senior research paper topic ideas. Take your time also to research the internet for magazines and professional work that are relevant to what you studied, reading this kind of work will shift your focus to the contemporary issues that need more attention in the form of research in your specialty.

Once you develop a senior research paper topics list, you can discuss these ideas with your supervisor with other class members to help you narrow down your options so you can settle down to that appropriate viable idea. You should know that you are the one choosing the topic because the research has a lot to do with you and not the supervisor who is only there to ensure you are doing the right thing.

You can then alter your idea into a research question; avoid research that does not address that specific question of interest. You can determine how valid your topic is by determining if you can formulate it into a research question or not. Ensure that you do not do your research on a very broad or too narrow topic because you can get confused or limited when working on it.

After choosing and coming to an agreement with your supervisor about the topic, you can then come up with a good proposal for your research. The proposal is a document that is not more than three pages where you focus on describing the project’s problem statement, objectives, the methodology and the kind of sources that you used to accomplish your research. In other words, your proposal should contain a brief introduction, problem statement, a literature review, and the research methodology.

The literature review should present other researchers’ opinions on the topic analytically. Therefore, writing an effective literature review means you have to demonstrate a great capacity to summarize and synthesize information. Do not forget to give credit to other researchers that you have referred to in your paper, and make sure you stay on course by focusing on key issues because you will cover a large amount of research when working on your paper.

Constantly seek advice from your lecture so you can get the right methodology that will enable you to get to the right conclusions for the project. To accomplish a great SRP effectively, the author must have a good methodology; so, this means you need to identify an appropriate methodology during the early stages of the project.

Senior Project Research Paper Outline for a Good Abstract

From the abstract, your readers need to get a brief overview of your project’s key elements. Your abstract’s senior project research paper outline has to be concise and straight to the point, write it using the present tense. As far as a senior project research paper format is concerned, your abstract should contain the following parts:

• Introduction: Write a short overview of the project’s background that explains why you chose to research the topic. State the problem you are trying to solve in a precise expression.
• The body: This section should address the solution that your readers are expecting from your senior seminar research paper. The first sentence should include a clear statement of what the research solves.
• Methodology: Here, you are supposed to use sufficient details in describing the process you went through to establish your final design solution. Include any assumptions and the rationale you used to get the decision.
• Expectations: You should end your abstract by explaining the results which you expect to attain after implementing the study.

For those who have been wondering what they are expected to do on how to write a senior research paper, this is a great article for you. Moreover, if you need an expert writer to help you to write your research paper, you can just call or send us an email, and we will assign the best writers who can help you to complete your research paper.

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Writing concentration senior project guideline.

Writing Concentration senior projects should be double-spaced and printed in a standard twelve-point font.  P oetry projects are expected to be between 30 and 40 pages in length. Fiction projects are expected to be between 50 and 60 pages (approximately 16,000-19,000 words) in length.   Nonfiction projects are expected to be between 30 and 40 pages (approximately 10,000-12,000 words), not including ancillary material (source notes, bibliographies, acknowledgments). Students concentrating in playwriting shall write a full-length play, in standard format, as agreed on by the student and the advisor. These are general guidelines; the scope and format of senior projects are to be determined in consultation between the student and the advisor.

Applications for the Writing Concentration, and the Writing Concentration Program Senior Project, with a list of deadlines, can be found at www.yale.edu/english/undergraduate-applications .

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Junior and senior essays.

The senior essay is often the longest and most complex paper a student will write during a Yale career. While the Writing Center supports all student writers, we’re especially eager to help as you plan, develop, and revise your senior essay.

The expectations for a good essay vary by department, because different fields have different standards for evidence, analysis, and argument. Below we offer some general good advice for developing a senior essay, followed by a list of some of the additional resources available to help you complete your essay.

Tip #1: Write about something you’re curious about or don’t quite understand. Although this advice applies to any writing project, it’s especially crucial for a long essay. If you don’t begin with something you’re curious about - something you really care about figuring out - you’ll have trouble sustaining interest in your essay, either for yourself or for your readers. Papers you’ve written for coursework can be a great source for topics, if there are issues that were just starting to excite you when it was time to turn in the initial paper. Think, too, about unanswered questions you’ve had from the courses in your major; your senior essay can be an opportunity to explore more deeply an issue that you feel has been neglected. Most advisors will want to begin discussions of your topic as far in advance as possible. If yours hasn’t initiated that conversation, take the first step and set up an appointment today.

Tip #2: Use writing to help shape your research - not just to record your results. The most productive change most students need to make in working on their essay is to begin writing sooner. We don’t mean by this just avoiding procrastination. Even if you begin researching and meeting with your advisor early in the year, you may still be tempted to delay writing until you have a strong sense of your direction, or even an outline. But research shows that taking time to write all throughout the process will help you develop a richer, more complex thesis. Here are some occasions to write that you may not have thought of on your own:

Write about your ideas as a way to find and explore your initial topic.

Don’t just underline and take notes on our early research; take ten minutes to write at the beginning and end of each research session about what you’ve learned and the new questions you’ve discovered.

Write before and after meeting with your advisor. Even if you have a draft or chapter to show, take an extra ten minutes to write about your sense of the project - where it’s going well and where you need help.

It’s possible that you won’t incorporate this writing directly into your final essay, but doing it will help you reflect more effectively on the progress of your research, which will lead to fuller and more satisfying results.

Tip #3: Develop a bigger network of readers. Ideally, you will have the opportunity to meet with your advisor several times in both terms while working on your essay. This is the person who can help you the most with questions of general direction, with focusing on the most productive parts of your topic, and with finding the most relevant research sources. But most professional writers get feedback from several readers before publication, and so should you. One obvious source for additional readers is the Writing Center, which offers several different kinds of tutoring. But showing your work to friends, roommates, and classmates can also be immensely helpful. If you haven’t shared your work with other writers before, let us give you some advice about how to make these opportunities productive: don’t expect student readers to offer solutions. Instead, get your readers to raise questions that you can talk and think through more deeply. Or ask them just to say what they understand and where they get stuck, then use your own judgment about whether your advisor will have the same kinds of questions. Until you’ve tried it, you have no idea how valuable it is just to show your work in progress to someone. Even before they say anything back, the meeting will allow you to think about your own writing differently. If they also give you helpful advice, well that’s just a bonus.

Departmental Guidelines Many departments publish guidelines for senior essay writers. We’ve compiled a few of these below. If your department is not listed, ask your DUS if any guidelines exist. The Writing Center Director, Alfred Guy, is available to help departments create and post advice for their senior essay writers.

History Senior Essay

Residential College Writing Tutors Every residential college has a dedicated writing tutor, and they have experience with senior essays from a wide range of departments. Students who work with a tutor write better essays, and the sooner you start, the better. Go to the tutoring section of this Web site and contact your tutor today.

Workshops for Senior Essay Writers Many departments offer a senior essay colloquium—the Writing Center directors are available to lead discussions about any topic related to developing your essay, including: setting a timetable, soliciting and using feedback, and structuring a long essay. In the past few years, we’ve worked with colloquia in American Studies, Sociology, and African Studies, and we’d love to meet with your group. Ask the coordinator of your colloquium to contact us to arrange a meeting.

Other Yale Resources

The Mellon Seminars

Each residential college organizes a Mellon seminar for senior essay writers. During these seminars, you’ll have the chance to talk about your work in progress with other seniors. Check with the Master’s office in your college for more details.

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Writing Partners are Yale College or graduate school students selected for both their writing skills and their ability to talk about writing. They have a student’s-eye view of the challenges you’ll face in writing papers.

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The Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning partners with departments and groups on-campus throughout the year to share its space. Please review the reservation form and submit a request.

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General Format Recommendations

Each academic department determines the standards for the successful completion of senior projects, including style guides. Please consult your advisor or department for specific department guidelines.

The Library has some general recommendations:

1. Title Page

Please include a title page. A sample title page and title page template can found at the bottom of this page. The title page is the first page of the senior project and should include:

• Capitalize the first letter of every word in the title except for coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet), prepositions, and articles.
• Name(s) of author(s)
• Full name of department
• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
• Typically reflects the date your final project was provided to your advisor
• The Copyright symbol ©
• The year of publication
• The name(s) of the author(s)
• Example: © 2019 Jane Doe
• If the work was created as a joint work by multiple authors, include all names in the notice.
• Example: © 2019 Jane Doe, Jóna Jónsdóttir, Jaime Ramírez, and Rajwinder Kaur

2. Approval Page

Kennedy Library does not require an approval page.

However, check with your department to see if an approval page is required. If an approval page is required by your department, the approval page should be a separate page that appears immediately after the title page. The approval page should include the typed name and title of the advisor. Check with your department for additional guidelines.

3. File Type

If your Senior Project is in the form of a research paper, upload all pages as ONE SINGLE FILE PDF .

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Search the site, search suggestions, 5 writing tips from a senior thesis writer.

Most people would not think that writing your college application essays and writing a senior thesis in college are very similar. However, as I have been writing on my thesis and reflecting over my time at college in general, I’ve realized in a lot of ways they are similar.

They both kind of mark an end of an era - your time at high school and your time at college. This can bring a lot of excitement and nostalgia. But it can also include a lot of pressure as I’ve also found myself condensing the stress of planning for the future into writing my application/thesis.

I’m still writing my thesis (deadline is March 8th ah!), but here are five tips that I think have been important for me to remember and can be helpful for writing college application essays as well!

1) Write about something that matters to you This is matters a lot! For one, if you have to spend a decent amount of time working on a paper, you need to enjoy talking about the topic. I know I would’ve been incredibly burned out researching, writing, and thinking about the same thing if I didn’t find it meaningful. It also relates to the purpose of the college application essay - for the admissions officers to get to know you who are! It's important to remember that colleges are not only adding a face to a classroom, they're adding a community member, a roommate, a friend.

I spent A LOT of days in the archives

2) Just start! This is easier said than done, but at a certain point, you just have to jump in. Waiting to get started doesn’t lessen the stress, and it certainly doesn’t get you closer to finishing. I found it easier to start when I realized I don’t have to have it all figured out to put the first words down. Start with something you know or just freeform ideas around the topic, they don’t have to be in your essay permanently. For my thesis, I know there was some tangentially related topics that I could carry over from my junior tutorial paper so I used them as a jumping off point, even I didn’t know if they would be in my final version.

3) Get on a schedule Again, this is HARD! It’s going to look different for everyone, but I think finding a routine for writing is vital. I really started cracking down on my thesis over winter break, and I set the goal of working on it everyday starting on December 26th. There were a lot of days where I did some minimal edits or thought planning/organizing, and there were a lot of other days where I completed helpful research or made a lot of progress in terms of word count. But because I made myself do something everyday, even if it wasn’t a lot, it really helped me stay motivated. On the days where you really don’t want to work on an essay, the desire to not break a streak of writing (“I’ve worked for 6 days in a row, wow that’s a lot. I feel proud! Do I want to stop that streak…?”), led me to stay dedicated and on track.

Having a schedule also meant I could reward myself with coffee breaks!

4) Realize it will never be “perfect”, and that’s okay! The thing about writing is that, to some degree, it’s always subjective. If you give a piece of writing to several people and ask for their feedback, they will all give you different comments. Of course, they all might be helpful, but sometimes they might conflict with each other. Or maybe they are about something you felt very certain was the way you wanted it to be. You have to trust yourself! There is no “perfect” because that’s going to mean something different for each person. Even if a person says you should change something, if you don’t agree with them, you shouldn’t change it! At the end of the day, it is YOUR writing, YOUR project, and in the case of college application essays, it’s often YOUR story.

5) Don’t be afraid of change Recently, after I had something resembling a first draft, I was rereading over my introduction which explained a lot of my framing/methodology. And I realized that my body chapters were actually relying on a different concept that I had originally set out to discuss. It wouldn’t take an outrageous amount of work to adjust this in my introduction, though I would need to do more research. But I was a little scared. I would have to backtrack! Remove things I had worked hard on! I’m supposed to have figured out everything by now, it’s too late for changes! Plot twist: Nope, it’s not too late, and it doesn’t indicate what you had done before was a waste of time. It’s something that happens a lot. Once you start writing and get into a flow, you often find your main point sometime after you’ve already begun. It’s a sign of being a good writer to recognize the shift and to be willing to adapt. The previous work wasn’t a waste, it was needed to get you to your final product (even if it’s not in the final product).

I found that taking walks were a great way to clear my head and organize my thoughts!

I hope some of these tips are helpful. Writing them out has been helpful to me as I head into the last month (gulp) of thesis writing. And let me leave you with two main points: trust yourself and don’t procrastinate! We’ve got this!

Alexis Class of '19 Alumni

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The Senior Essay or Senior Thesis

Every student who completes the major in Comparative Studies writes a senior essay or a thesis.  The essay or the thesis is completed in CS 4990, “Senior Seminar,” a writing workshop offered every Spring in which students share drafts, present their work orally, and receive detailed feedback from their peers. 

You may choose between two options:

• The Senior Essay , usually between 12 to 15 pages, written largely during the semester you take CS 4990, though often building on earlier class work.
• The Senior Thesis , which requires a semester of CS 4999 or 4999H (usually taken autumn of senior year; that is, ideally before the spring term you plan to graduate), “Undergraduate Thesis” or “Honors Thesis,” working closely with a professor who you select to serve as advisor to your thesis. This option is usually between 25 to 40 pages. Students who choose to write a Senior Thesis may plan to fulfill the requirements for either “Research Distinction” or “Honors Research Distinction" . Details on these options are offered below.

Whichever is chosen, the senior research project serves as a capstone experience for students in the major, and results in a piece of original work that can be shared with the Comparative Studies community.  The essay or thesis may also be valuable as a writing sample if students apply to graduate or professional schools, or pursue a wide range of careers that value individual initiative and effective communication.

The Process: What You Need to Know to Get Started

Both the senior essay and the thesis require some advance planning, though the timeline for the thesis is typically longer.  If you choose to write the senior essay, you should have selected a paper to revise and expand, or else identified a topic for a new research paper, no later than the semester  before  you enroll in COMPSTD 4990.  You will need to submit your draft or proposal for a first round of peer review early in Spring semester. 

If you choose to write the thesis, you should have identified a topic and an advisor by the start of Autumn term of your senior year (some students choose a topic in the Spring of junior year and begin work in the summer) so you can enroll in COMPSTD 4999/4999H and begin your research.

In either case, take note that prior to enrolling in COMPSTD 4990, you'll have already taken the required 4000-level course (all of which require the completion of a research paper). The research paper written for that course often provides / may provide the paper that you choose to use for the senior essay or the senior thesis option.

Whether you write the senior essay or the thesis, nothing is more important than the choice of a topic.  It should be something that engages you, that sparks your curiosity or imagination, and that has stakes that matter to you.   But it should also be a topic of manageable scale, one that can adequately be explored in the time available to you.  Your faculty advisor can help you to shape your project at the outset, and to make any necessary adjustments along the way.

No formal advisor is required for the senior essay.  If you choose to revise and expand an earlier paper (such as the one you would have written for your 4000-level research course), you may want to reconnect with the instructor for whom you wrote the original.  They may be willing to serve as an informal advisor as you undertake your revisions.  If choosing a new topic, you may wish to speak with a professor in the department or on our affiliated faculty with expertise in the subject matter.  Each of you also has your own faculty advisor with whom you can confer, as well as the professor who will be teaching COMPSTD 4990.

If you write a thesis you must have a formal thesis advisor; you may also elect to have a co-advisor. They will supervise any thesis research courses you take (COMPSTD 4999), the writing of the thesis itself, and the oral exam at the end of the process. This might be the same person as your faculty advisor but it need not be. You should choose someone with whom you are comfortable (usually because you have been in a class together before) and who has enough knowledge of the subject matter to guide your work. You may wish to speak informally with more than one professor before making a final decision.

Senior Essay or Thesis?

If you choose to write the senior essay you will complete most of the work of research and writing during the Spring semester of your senior year, while enrolled in CS 4990, “Senior Seminar.”  You may either revise and expand a paper you wrote for another course (usually, but not always, a course in Comparative Studies), or begin and complete a research paper on a new topic.  Senior essays vary in length, but are typically around 12–15 pages (and sometimes longer if they are expanded versions of earlier essays).

If you who choose to write a thesis you will typically begin working on it during the Autumn semester of senior year (and sometimes during the preceding summer) by enrolling in CS 4999 or 4999H (“Undergraduate Thesis” or “Honors Thesis”).  You will then complete the writing while enrolled in CS 4990, “Senior Seminar.”  Theses vary considerably in length, but are typically between 25 and 40 pages.  The thesis process also includes an oral "defense" (really more like a conversation about the completed work with your advisor and one or more other faculty members).  If you choose the thesis option you may be eligible to graduate with “Research Distinction” or “Honors Research Distinction.”

To graduate with Research Distinction in Comparative Studies or with Research Distinction (if the thesis is completed in another discipline), you must meet the following requirements:

• Complete a minimum of 60 graded credit hours at Ohio State
• Graduate with minimum GPA of 3.0
• Students intending to graduate at the end of Autumn term: Application due no later than the first Friday of the previous February
• Students intending to graduate at the end of the Spring term: Application due no later than the first Friday of the previous October
• Students intending to graduate at the end of the Summer term: Application due by the first Friday of December
• Complete at least 4 credit hours of COMPSTD 4999 (these may be spread over more than one term)
• Complete and successfully defend the thesis during an oral examination

For a more detailed list of instructions, see:  https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/academics/current-students/advising-academics/graduation

If you are in the Honors Program you may graduate with Honors Research Distinction in Comparative Studies or with Honors Research Distinction (if the thesis is completed in another discipline) by meeting the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in the ASC Honors Program and complete an approved Honors Contract
• Graduate with minimum GPA of 3.4
• Submit “Undergraduate Thesis Application” to the ASC Honors Office upon enrolling in COMPSTD 4999H, or no later than the 3rd Friday of the semester you intend to graduate
• Complete at least 4 credit hours of COMPSTD 4999H (may be spread over more than one term)

For a more detailed list of instructions, see:  https://aschonors.osu.edu/honors/research-thesis

Other Useful Information

There are several sources of funding for undergraduate research.  Arts and Sciences awards two kinds of scholarships on a competitive basis each academic year; each requires a letter of support from an academic advisor, and preference is given to students planning to write a thesis. Undergraduate Research Scholarships range from $500 to $12,000.  Applications for a given academic year are due in early February of the preceding year.  International Research Grants provide up to $4,000 for research-related travel abroad for students in Arts and Sciences.  There are two application cycles per academic year.  For more information, see:  http://aschonors.osu.edu/opportunities/scholarships/undergrad .

The Division of Arts and Humanities provides Undergraduate Research Small Grants (up to $500) to help fund travel to things like conferences, research collections, and exhibitions and to purchase materials for research or creative activity.  The Aida Cannarsa Endowment Fund offers grants of $500 to $3,000 to students in arts and humanities, with priority given to those with demonstrated financial need.  Applications for both are reviewed twice a year.

See:  https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/academics/current-students/scholarships-grants/research .

There may be additional sources of funding, on and off campus, for particular kinds of projects.  You should consult with your advisor and the Office of Undergraduate Research.

Please note that research funding involving human subjects may require prior IRB approval .

Every Spring, there are opportunities for Comparative Studies students to present the results of their research, whether they choose to write the senior essay or the thesis.  The Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum is a university-wide showcase of undergraduate work that awards prizes by areas of interest (for example, Humanities).  There is a competitive abstract submission process in January, and a day devoted to presentations in late March.  Though most of the forum involves poster presentations, Humanities majors give brief oral presentations (8-10 minutes) on their work to faculty judges.

In April, the Department of Comparative Studies hosts its own Undergraduate Research Colloquium.  Working closely with their advisor, students prepare and submit paper abstracts in February—300 words or fewer that describe the project’s central questions, methodologies, theoretical framework, and (tentative) conclusions.  Students may choose to give a 10-minute presentation on work in progress or a 20-minute presentation on completed work (by April everyone enrolled in 4990 should be ready to give a presentation).  This is a more relaxed atmosphere, with an audience of your peers and friends, as well as faculty and graduate students in the department.

Autumn of senior year

• Choose a topic

Spring of senior year

• Enroll in COMPSTD 4990, “Senior Seminar”

Spring of junior year

• Identify an advisor

Summer between junior and senior years (optional)

• Enroll in COMPSTD 4998 or 4998H, “Undergraduate Research in Comparative Studies” (2 credits)
• Submit “Application for Graduation with Research Distinction” or “Undergraduate Thesis Application”
• Enroll in COMPSTD 4999, “Undergraduate Thesis” or 4999H, “Honors Thesis” (2 credits)
• Enroll in Enroll in COMPSTD 4999, “Undergraduate Thesis” or 4999H, “Honors Thesis” (2 credits)

Additional Information

• You can find copies of undergraduate theses online at the OSU Knowledge Bank:  https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/handle/1811/134 .
• Further information on undergraduate research opportunities is available at:  http://www.undergraduateresearch.osu.edu/ .

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60 Senior Project Ideas for High School Students – 2024

May 13, 2024

Many high school students look forward to the exciting moment of choosing a senior project. This makes sense since senior projects provide opportunities for students to direct what they’ve learned into something they care about, and to take their academic interests beyond the classroom. At the same time, deciding what to pursue can be nerve-wracking. After all the anticipation, when it finally comes time to decide on a project, students might ask themselves, now what ? If you find yourself in this dilemma, or if you could just use some further inspiration, continue reading for a list of 60 senior project ideas for high school students. Once you find a senior project idea that catches your eye, you can always put your own spin on it, or use it to inspire projects on topics outside this list.

What is a senior project?

Put simply, a senior project is a semester-long project you take on in your final year of high school. So, what counts as a senior project? This can vary widely. While different schools have different requirements (for example, some high schools expect students to focus specifically on internship experiences), the assignments tend to be pretty flexible. In the senior project ideas listed below, you will find suggestions ranging from assisting a science researcher, to interning at a local museum, to organizing an academic tutoring program, to helping with community voter registration. The final outputs for senior projects may also vary in form, from guidebooks, to plays, to research papers, and apps.

Considerations when choosing a senior project

Because a senior project is often seen as the culmination of your high school experience, you should choose a topic that reflects your passions and interests. At the same time, it’s an opportunity to develop new skills and challenge yourself as you prepare for your next steps after graduation. Whether you have plans to begin a 4-year university program, enroll in a 2-year degree program , take a gap year , or start a new job, a senior project can prepare you with experience that you wouldn’t receive in your high school classes in an ordinary semester.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself when thinking of a senior project idea:

• What field or career do you wish to pursue? If you’re not sure, what are 2-3 fields that you could possibly see yourself pursuing at this point in your life?
• What world issues do you care most about? Climate change? LGBTQIA+ rights? Accessible healthcare? If thinking about a particular issue sparks a passion, this could be a great place to start.
• Based on your high school coursework experience, could you see yourself spending extra time on an artistic project? A science-based one? A research paper with a political theme?
• What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Volunteering with kids? Hiking and camping? Dancing? Cooking? Perhaps you can orient your senior project to something that you already know brings you joy.

60 senior project ideas

Below you can find 60 high school senior project ideas, divided into some general categories that might help you focus your search. As you read through, feel free to stick to these exact ideas or use them to inspire other ones.

Business – Senior Project Idea

• Write a printed or virtual guidebook to small local businesses in your area, including descriptions, photographs phone numbers and social media accounts.
• Help a local business with an advertising campaign, through local news outlets and social media.
• Develop a mentorship program to help those who are searching for jobs with resumes, interviews, and cover letters.
• Intern at a start-up based in your area.
• Write a research paper about models for sustainable businesses.
• Organize an after-school program that helps students learn financial literacy.

Community service

• Organize a ride service to bring elderly community members to and from doctor’s appointments, or to provide them with groceries and other needs.
• Volunteer at a local soup kitchen.
• Organize a food drive at your school.
• Create a social media campaign for a local animal shelter to raise awareness.
• Collaborate with a local charity or non-profit with a mission you believe in to organize a fundraiser.
• Collect school supplies and art supplies for families in need.

Creative writing – Senior Project Ideas

• Write and illustrate a children’s book.
• Create a handmade poetry book.
• Intern at a small local publisher or magazine.
• Work to translate a short story or poem to another language.
• Write a screenplay for a short film.
• Start a school literary magazine that accepts student submissions of poems, essays, and short stories. Organize a team so that the magazine can continue after you graduate.
• Organize a peer tutoring program at your school for students who need extra help with writing, languages, or math.
• Construct a free library box in your neighborhood so that more people have access to books.
• Volunteer at a local elementary school to help children with their homework after school.
• Work with a local senior center to teach a foreign language to residents.
• Develop a website or app for students to match with language partners for practicing conversation skills.
• Start a visual or performing arts class for children in your community.

Environmentalism- Senior Project Ideas

• Design and build a sustainable garden.
• Organize a community clean-up day, or a series of community clean-up days, at a local park or waterfront.
• Organize an Earth Day festival at your school. This could involve live music and performance, environmental art displays, local vegetarian food, and sustainable clothing swaps.
• Write a research paper on one thing that contributes to climate change, as well as potential solutions.
• Write a guidebook to local parks and hiking trails so that locals and visitors alike can appreciate these outdoor spots.
• Create a fashion line with all reused materials.
• Research historic sites in your neighborhood or town, and write a printed or online guidebook to these points of local history.
• Record a podcast on the history of one of your hobbies (fashion? sports?) Contact an expert on this history to ask if you can interview them on the podcast.
• Write a research paper on the history of a particular protest movement.
• Write and direct a short play with a contemporary take on a historical event that interests you.
• Create a documentary film on the history of your community (school, town, etc.), and organize a community screening.
• Intern at a local history museum.

Performing Arts – Senior Project Ideas

• Write and record an original song.
• Write, direct, and show a one-act play.
• Organize a community dance performance with student choreographers and performers, featuring a range of different styles.
• Volunteer to help with accessibility needs (theater access, live captioning, etc.) at a local theater.
• Organize a school comedy night or talent show that benefits a charity of your choice.
• Research the history of a film genre, and direct a short film that reflects this genre.
• Intern for a local political newspaper or magazine.
• Volunteer on the campaign of a local candidate.
• Create an online blog to write on a political issue you care about, or write a series of op-eds for a local newspaper.
• Write a research paper on a local problem (housing prices, green space, voting access) that discusses possible solutions to this problem.
• Create a Model UN or Mock Trial team at your school if one doesn’t already exist.
• Help teens and other community members register to vote.

Science and medicine – Senior Project Ideas

• Build a Rube Goldberg machine .
• Work in the lab of a STEM professor at a nearby university who works on a topic you’re interested in.
• Research a community health problem (drug safety, air/water quality, nutritional food access) and develop solutions with the help of local politicians and/or medical experts. Create a research paper, blog, or documentary film on your findings.
• Assist at a doctor’s office or hospital by helping to translate for patients who are non-native English speakers.
• Design an architectural structure (for example, a house or bridge) and build a 3D model.
• Organize a technology support group at your school to make technology more accessible and help with easy tech repairs.

Visual arts

• Design a mural for your school to highlight an aspect of the school culture or commemorate an important moment in its history.
• Intern at a local art museum and learn how to give a tour of its current exhibits.
• Organize the collaborative building of a sculpture at your school made of all reused or found objects.
• Offer to take wedding or senior photographs for those who might not be able to afford a professional photographer.
• Study a famous painter, and then create a series of paintings (or art of another medium) based on, or in response to, their works.
• Create a school-wide photography exhibition, with a theme of your choosing.

Senior Project Ideas – Final thoughts

We hope that this list has sparked inspiration for your high school senior project. Remember that while senior projects are important (and hopefully fun) opportunities to culminate your high school experience, you don’t need to do it all in one project! If you’re inspired by more than one of these project ideas, hold onto them for years to come or pursue them as summer internships .

If you’re interested in more project ideas for high school students, we recommend the following articles:

• 100 Examples of Community Service Projects
• 98 Passion Project Ideas
• 100 Best Clubs to Start in High School
• Persuasive Speech Topics
• High School Success

Sarah Mininsohn

With a BA from Wesleyan University and an MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sarah is a writer, educator, and artist. She served as a graduate instructor at the University of Illinois, a tutor at St Peter’s School in Philadelphia, and an academic writing tutor and thesis mentor at Wesleyan’s Writing Workshop.

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