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187:199 International Studies Senior Project

Download the complete IS Senior Project packet.

Table of Contents to Senior Project Guidelines

Planning Your Senior Project
Choosing a Topic and Finding a Mentor
Required Elements and Deadlines
Special Instructions for Honors Students

Quick Links to Forms

Registration Request
Progress Report
Cover Sheet
Information for Mentors
Checklist - Required Elements and Deadlines

Planning Your Senior Project

The International Studies Senior Project is a semester of independent work under the guidance of a faculty mentor, which culminates in the completion of a written or creative project. Students should register for 187:199 Senior Project when registering for the semester in which the Senior Project will be completed. Students earn 3 s.h. of graded credit for completing the Senior Project.

The Senior Project may either be a 15-20 page research paper or a creative project. Every Senior Project must be approved by a faculty mentor and the International Studies program office, and it must include research, discussion, and documentation of sources. The project allows students to return to a topic or project they pursued in an earlier class or to develop an entirely new project. In either case, the Senior Project provides students the opportunity to focus on a specific research question or artistic project in a rigorous, engaged fashion with the guidance of an expert faculty member. Ultimately, the Senior Project should demonstrate careful reading and research; it should identify an important research or aesthetic question involving an international issue, and it should offer a thoughtful, well-organized, and clearly written investigation of that research problem.

A few important notes:

  • The Senior Project must focus on an international topic and clearly relate to a student’s International Studies emphasis area.
  • If a student is building on a project completed for a previous course, it is important that the student not simply “quote themselves” for ten pages, but instead use that previous project as a starting point to explore a topic from another perspective, take the work in another direction with a new research question, or delve more deeply into the previous topic. Simply adding an additional 5 pages to a previous work and submitting it as your Senior Project is not acceptable, and constitutes plagiarism under the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences guidelines.
  • Students planning to complete a creative project are required to make an appointment with the International Studies program office to discuss their proposal before they are allowed to register for the Senior Project. Students should come prepared to this appointment with a project proposal (see Registration Preapproval).
  • Students who entered the University fall 2008 or after are required to take 187:095 Research and Final Project Preparation before enrolling in the Senior Project. Students who entered the University before fall 2008 are encouraged to take this prep course in the semester prior to enrollment in the Senior Project.
  • Students planning to graduate with honors in International Studies who:
    • entered the University prior to fall 2007 may choose to complete either 187:199 International Studies Senior Project OR 187:198 Honors Thesis in International Studies.
    • entered the University in fall 2007 or after must complete 187:198 Honors Thesis in International Studies in place of 187:199 International Studies Senior Project. Please consult the Honors Thesis packet for further details.
  • Students may combine their IS Senior Project with an honors thesis or senior project for a second major providing:
    • The student secures permission from each department first. (Failing to obtain permission constitutes plagiarism under The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences guidelines)
    • The Senior Project is significantly larger in both scope and length than either department requires individually.
    • Ideally, the student will have a faculty mentor for IS independent of the second department’s thesis advisor.
    • Students considering a combined project are encouraged to make an appointment with the International Studies program office by calling 335-0368 to discuss their plans well in advance of beginning the Senior Project.

Need help getting started with your research? Schedule a research consultation at the Main Library!

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Choosing a Topic and Finding a Mentor

Students should plan to find a topic and a faculty mentor in the semester prior to registration in 187:199 International Studies Senior Project. The International Studies Mentor Directory is a useful tool to help students find a mentor who works in their interest areas. Choosing a research topic for your Senior Project may seem a daunting process, but students are successful in finding a topic of interest and an appropriate faculty mentor by following the steps below.

  1. Read the Senior Project Packet thoroughly.
  2. Determine Your Research Topic
    • What interests you? How does it relate to your emphasis area and/or the courses you have taken during college?
    • Narrow your interests into a manageable research question. For example, say your topic is economic trends in Europe since the EU. Are you planning to compare particular countries? Will you look at countries that have fully joined the EU or possibly focus on how Norway is managing the economic impact of increased immigration on its social welfare systems? Remember, your research question can never be too specific; most students find their topic is too broad or vague in the beginning.
    • How do you narrow your research question into a manageable project? Spend some time in the library! Schedule a research consultation at the Main Library. Use the university’s online resources. Read as much as you can about your topic from a variety of resources.
    • Prepare a rough draft of your Preliminary Proposal.
  3. Find a Faculty Mentor
    • Consider talking with faculty with whom you’ve taken classes—they already know how great you are!
    • Search within the UI website on keywords related to your research question. Which faculty appear in relation to your searches?
    • Keyword searches on ISIS will search course title and subtitle. Search several semesters’ course listings. Which UI faculty are teaching courses which may relate to your research question?
    • Read faculty bios on their home department’s website. Learn more about their current research interests to see if they are an appropriate mentor for your topic.
    • Contact faculty members, describe your project’s research question and explain the requirements for the senior project. Try emailing first, explain what you need and let them know the exact time you plan to visit with them at their upcoming office hours. If you don’t know their office hours, go find out BEFORE writing the email.
    • Bring the Information for Mentors page from the Senior Project packet (read it first!) and a rough draft of your Preliminary Proposal. Be prepared to tell the faculty member how your topic relates to their work. Ask him or her to scan your list of references and give you suggestions on other resources to consult to further define your research question. Expect that your research question will continue to evolve as you delve deeper into your topic—that’s OK.
    • Is your topic “The soccer culture in France vs. US”? Can’t find a faculty member who specializes in soccer? Probably not. But what about a faculty member who has done some work on how cultural/social/political systems impact professional sports, large organizations, culturally determined use of leisure time and discretionary income… ? You are using soccer as the example, but what are you REALLY asking? Are you approaching the topic from a particular disciplinary perspective?
    • Are you still struggling to find a topic or mentor? Make an appointment with the International Studies program office by calling 335-0368.

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Required Elements and Deadlines

You may download a checklist of requirements here.

The following list outlines the minimum elements required to successfully complete the Senior Project. The dates provided are the final deadlines for each element. All materials required by the International Studies Program should be submitted to the office at 1111 University Capitol Centre (UCC). You are advised to keep a copy of all Senior Project materials for your records.

SEMESTER PRIOR TO REGISTRATION FOR THE SENIOR PROJECT

  • If you are planning to graduate with honors and were admitted to The University of Iowa prior to fall 2007, decide if you will complete either 187:199 International Studies Senior Project or 187:198 Honors Thesis in International Studies. See below for details on the difference. If you choose to complete an Honors Thesis, please do not use this packet and refer instead to the Honors Thesis packet.
  • If you are planning to graduate with honors and were admitted to The University of Iowa in fall 2007 or after, you must complete 187:198 Honors Thesis in International Studies in place of 187:199 International Studies Senior Project. Please do not use this packet and refer instead to the Honors Thesis packet.
  • Choose a topic and develop a draft Preliminary Proposal, as outlined on the Registration Preapproval Form .
  • Based on your topic and draft Preliminary Proposal, find a faculty mentor for your project. Prepare your Registration Preapproval Form. Get this form signed by your Faculty Mentor and submit to the International Studies program office along with your Preliminary Proposal. You must complete this step before you can register for your Senior Project. Students are encouraged to secure a Faculty Mentor in the semester before they plan to complete the Senior Project in order to complete their course registration during early registration.
  • If you are able, take 187:095 Research and Final Project Preparation.

FALL 2009 - OCTOBER 7, 2009
 SPRING 2010 - MARCH 3, 2010

FALL 2009 - OCTOBER 13, 2009
SPRING 2010 - MARCH 5, 2010

  • Deadline to apply for a degree (all undergraduates); see ISIS to apply to graduate. Students graduating with honors should keep in mind that they must file an additional application through the Honors Program to apply to graduate with honors; please see the Honors Program website for deadlines and forms (this will require your Faculty Mentor's signature).

FALL 2009 - DECEMBER 11, 2009
SPRING 2010 - MAY 7, 2010

  • Submit a copy of your project to your Faculty Mentor for grading. At that time, have him/her sign your Senior Project Cover Sheet.
  • Submit a copy of your project, your signed cover sheet, and the supplementary materials outlined on the cover sheet to the International Studies program office.

SPRING 2010 - MAY 14, 2010

  • Attend the International Studies graduation reception.

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Special Instructions for Honors Students

If you were admitted to The University of Iowa prior to fall 2007 and plan to graduate with honors in International Studies:

  • You may choose to complete either 187:199 International Studies Senior Project or 187:198 Honors Thesis in International Studies.
  • The primary differences are the minimum length requirement and the required poster session for the Honors Thesis.
  • Those choosing to complete 187:199 International Studies Senior Project will use their Senior Project as their honors thesis, will deposit their Senior Project with the Honors Program, and will be subject to any and all Honors Program deadlines.
  • Those choosing to complete 187:199 International Studies Senior Project may choose to participate in the International Studies Honors Poster Session.
  • Please note that faculty mentors MUST be informed prior to registration if a student is using 187:199 International Studies Senior Project as an honors thesis, and under those circumstances faculty mentors may impose more rigorous requirements than the minimum requirements noted in this packet.

If you were admitted to The University of Iowa fall 2007 or after and plan to graduate with honors in International Studies:

  • You must complete 187:198 Honors Thesis in International Studies.
  • For complete Honors Thesis guidelines, please consult the Honors Thesis packet.

For all students graduating with honors (including those who will use a Senior Project as their Honors Thesis):

  • Refer to the “Academics” portion of the Honors Program website for all Honors deadlines. The Honors Program deadlines take precedence over the International Studies Honors Thesis deadlines.
  • The Honors Program requires you to use a very specific format for the title page you turn into their office, which may be found on their website. On that title page “Department/College” is “International Studies Program” and “Honors Advisor” is the Associate Dean of International Programs, Kristine Fitch.
  • Make 3 copies of your finished thesis to turn in as follows:
    1. Faculty mentor: Turn in one copy of your thesis to your faculty mentor for grading. Be sure to communicate with your mentor about an appropriate deadline that will give him/her time to review your final project and sign off on the IS Cover Sheet and the Honors Program title page.
    2. International Studies program: Turn in one copy of your thesis and your signed IS Cover Sheet to International Programs, 1111 UCC. You will also need the Associate Dean’s signature on your Honors Program title page, which you should turn in with a copy of your thesis for signature no later than three days before the Honors Program deadline. We will place the copy of your Senior Project/Honors Thesis in your file in the International Studies program office.
    3. Honors Program: Once you’ve acquired the Associate Dean’s signature, take the signed Honors Program title page and the third copy of your Honors Thesis to the Honors Program by their deadline. Do not staple or place any binding in this copy. The Honors Program will bind all theses.

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