We are writing in response to yesterday’s column by Jon Vandermause, “Revamping Research,” which calls for all students to write an undergraduate thesis. We are delighted to see such a keen interest in research, and agree that original student research can be a key component of a Dartmouth education. The piece, however, may understate the amount of original research currently undertaken by undergraduates.
Take the case of our department, economics, which graduates nearly 200 students per year. All economics majors and minors must complete a culminating experience where students develop an original research question, collect and analyze data relevant to the question and write a substantial paper reporting their results. Exceptional papers result in a student being nominated for honors. Some of these papers are extended into traditional honors theses, allowing students to graduate with honors and high honors. In essence, all economics majors are required to write a thesis to graduate, but not all theses earn academic honors.
We are actively working on making it easier for students to go beyond our required culminating experience. We recently established the position of director of undergraduate research, a faculty member who will supervise honors theses and help pair students with faculty. We are working to make sure that students that are successful as presidential scholars have opportunities to continue this work until graduation. We would like to encourage more students to turn their culminating experience research into formal honors theses. We feel that expanding the research opportunities for Dartmouth undergraduates is a worthy goal.
