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Undergratuate Senior Project Mentors

Information for Mentors

International Programs is grateful to the many faculty members across campus serving as faculty mentors to our International Studies undergraduate majors. The Senior Project is designed as a capstone experience for our majors, allowing them to approach a topic from the interdisciplinary perspective reflected in their major coursework. Our students would not have this opportunity if not for the efforts of the dedicated faculty at Iowa. Thank you!

The Senior Project is a semester-long graded independent research project that culminates in the completion of a 15-20 page research paper or a creative project.

The Basics:

  • The Senior Project is 3 s.h. of graded coursework.
  • Faculty are encouraged to evaluate students based on the entire semester's effort, not only by the final product.
  • Student must submit the Registration Preapproval form, which requires your signature, to the International Studies office in order to register. Because your home department number differs from your International Studies instructor number, the International Studies program will email the student the registration information needed.
  • At midterm, students are required to submit a self-evaluation form (Progress Report) to the International Studies office to report their progress on the thesis. We ask for faculty comments on the progress report as well.
  • The Senior Project packet is available online here.
  • Students graduating with honors who are submitting a Senior Project as their Honors Thesis are subject to additional Honors Program deadlines. Students completing an Honors Thesis must follow the requirements outlined in the Honors Thesis packet.
  • The completed project is due December 11th in the fall '09 semester and May 7th in the spring '10 semester . Students should submit one copy of the final project to the faculty mentor for grading, and an identical copy, with an IS Cover Sheet that includes your signature, signifying final acceptance of the Senior Project, to the International Studies office.
  • Faculty mentors evaluate and submit grades for each thesis through OSIRIS.

Please note that our guidelines and deadlines are designed to provide some structure to both faculty and students, but we expect and encourage faculty to amend these guidelines as needed to best fit the needs of the individual project and discipline.

During the semester, we hope that you will:

  • Help the student form a strong topic with a set of provocative research questions (i.e. share your own steps in generating an idea, conducting research, developing an argument, using and documenting sources, and revising your work).
  • Give insight into the process for conducting research in your field (i.e. standard reference works, bibliographies, major journals and web resources, key concepts and thinkers, methodologies).
  • Meet with the student several times (perhaps bi-weekly) during the semester.
  • Please let International Programs know how we can assist you in working with our students. Contact the International Studies program office at 319-335-0368 or ip-intlstudies@uiowa.edu for additional information.

Expectations of students:

  • Approach you with a preliminary research topic identified.
  • Present sound reasoning for requesting to work with you.
  • Have a clear understanding of the Senior Project requirements and deadlines.
  • Demonstrate an intellectual curiosity for their topic.
  • Take the initiative in scheduling regular meetings with you throughout the semester, for which goals for each meeting are identified.
  • Be prepared for each meeting with you.

About the International Studies Major

The International Studies major attracts bright and innovative students from many disciplines, and we appreciate the time you are devoting to help them achieve their academic goals. International Studies has grown quickly since its inception in Fall 2003, and we’re excited to share just a few of our highlights below:

  • Our B.A. degree is administered through International Programs
  • Our students focus their studies in one of 18 emphasis areas
  • International Studies averages over 450 undergraduate majors
  • 70% of our majors are pursuing a 2nd major or certificate program at the university
  • 44% of International Studies students are members of the UI Honors Program
  • Each International Studies student, after earning 12 s.h. toward the major, qualifies for a $1000 study abroad scholarship
  • A majority of International Studies students study abroad at least once during their undergraduate experience

A complete guide to the International Studies B.A. program can be found online.