Junior Year Timeline and Statement of Intent

2025-2026 Thesis Writers’ Schedule for Junior Year

Fall Term

1. Attend the Thesis Writer Information Session on Friday, November 14th, 2025 from 11:30am-12:30pm (William James Hall 450)
2. Develop and refine your thesis idea
   • Start thinking of a topic and how to refine it into a research question. Consider what additional courses you can take (methods or topical electives) that will help prepare you for research.  
3. Start considering faculty and potential advisors to supervise your thesis
   • Speak to potential advisors about your topic. Potential advisors could be instructors or TFs from past Sociology courses, or Sociology faculty or graduate students with research interests that align with your thesis topic.

Spring Term

1. Secure your thesis advisor. You should confirm your thesis advisor by the end of February. Having a confirmed thesis advisor early is crucial to writing a strong Statement of Intent and funding proposal.
   • Sociology Faculty are able to advise theses; faculty are listed here and here.
   • Graduate Students are also able to advise theses. A list of graduate students who have expressed interest in being a senior thesis advisor is available here.
2. Complete the IRB process
   • If your research involves human subjects (interviews, surveys, etc.), you will need to complete the Committee on the Use of Human Subjects (CUHS, also known as the Institutional Review Board or IRB) ethics training and submit a Decision Form via the Undergraduate Research Training Portal (URTP) to have IRB approve your project. Note that YOU CANNOT begin your research if you have not received approval from IRB.
3. Prepare and submit your Statement of Intent (deadline: Tuesday, March 31st, 2026 at 5pm)
   • See below for details.
4. Research and apply for summer funding opportunities
   • The most common source of funding for thesis research is through the Harvard College Research Program (HCRP). The deadline for summer funding is March 16, 2026.
5. Register for the SOCIOL 99A: Senior Thesis Tutorial for Fall 2026 and change your plan of study in my.Harvard to Sociology - Honors Track.

Summer between Junior and Senior Year

1. Meet with your advisor in the Spring to confirm your independent work schedule and tasks over the summer.
2. Collect data and continue reading literature, per the plan you devised with your thesis advisor and submitted with your Statement of Intent.

Submitting Your Statement of Intent:

Tuesday, March 31st, 2026 at 5pm – Deadline to Submit your Statement of Intent

Submit your Statement of Intent along with your signed Statement of Intent Form. 
You can view a past example of an excellent Statement of Intent here.

Your statement of intent should include:  (1) a description of the thesis topic and a specific statement of your research question, (2) a brief description of the research design (what kind of research will be necessary, how it will be carried out), (3) a projected work schedule through the fall term, including summer work if it is anticipated, (4) a detailed description of what use of AI, if any, is permitted by agreement with the thesis advisor, and (5) an acknowledgment of agreement to the process and deadlines detailed in A GUIDE TO WRITING A SENIOR THESIS IN SOCIOLOGY.

Once you’ve submitted your Statement of Intent and received approval, you will be given permission to enroll in SOCIOL 99A: Senior Thesis Tutorial in Fall 2026 and declare Sociology - Honors Track. You’re officially a “thesiser!”