Senior Thesis 2024-25

Theses are due on Reading Day, May 8

This page details many different aspects and policies related to theses. Focus on the information in this box and continue down if you have further questions. Please follow these steps for submitting your thesis. Please don't hesitate to email or chat us.

1. Use our template to ensure proper formatting. See the thesis template box below for more guidance.

Major-Specific/Specialty templates

2. Come to the library for in-person approval (and formatting help) or submit a final Word draft to the library for approval/

3. Once you have received approval, you will get the link to submit a pdf/a version through the digital submission form. If you are writing in Overleaf, contact Amy Blau (blauar@whitman.edu) for information on saving it as a PDF/A

4. Once your final thesis has been approved and processed, you will receive an email to electronically sign the following:

a. A non-exclusive distribution license. Both you and your advisor must initial the license option AND embargo option you select and sign the form. See the distribution license box below for more information on your license options.

b. A certificate of approval form signed by your thesis advisor. This will be extracted from the PDF you submit. The signature line on your thesis submission copy should be blank.

Examples of both can be found in the Forms and Instructions box

5. If you are choosing open-access and would like a copy of your thesis bound and put in the Allen Reading Room, you will print a copy at the Thesis Printer on archival paper supplied by the library on the public access computers by the WCTS desk.

The Library acquires copies of honors theses and reports on honors research projects to serve the needs of students and faculty at Whitman College, to provide access to Whitman College student scholarship outside the Whitman community, and to ensure that these original works are available to researchers for consultation in the future. The guidelines are to be followed by the students in the preparation of their honors theses.

You are only required to submit a digital copy of the thesis and once that is accepted, you will be emailed a link to electronically sign the Non-Exclusive Distribution License and your advisor will receive an email to sign the certificate of approval page extracted from your submitted PDF/A.  Examples of both can be found in the Forms and Instructions box. The distribution license requires you to pick which level of access you are providing to your work:

1. Open: Worldwide distribution via the Internet, or
2. Limited: Local distribution only to authorized users of Whitman’s network (current faculty, staff, and students), or
3. Opt-out: Not available to anyone (but still deposited). This is intended for cases where the topic or the treatment of the topic are sensitive or should not be shared

If the thesis is co-authored, it is the responsibility of the primary author to notify all other authors, even those not earning honors designation. It is strongly encouraged that additional authors and/or thesis advisors sign the non-exclusive distribution license. If applicable, all thesis co-authors and thesis advisor(s) should sign the same license. The non-exclusive distribution license must be submitted with signatures to the Library by May 8th.

Printed Version

If you have chosen open access to your thesis, you are welcome to choose to have your thesis bound and shelved in the Allen Reading Room. This copy will be added to the Library’s circulating collection and be made available for circulation to other libraries through interlibrary loan. Be sure that your final printed thesis conforms to the formatting guidelines. Your printed copy is due to the library by May 8th. It must be printed on archival paper, supplied by the library. Printing happens at the thesis printer on the public access computer desks by the WCTS desk.

For honors theses, certain structural elements are required, such as the title page, certificate of approval, table of contents, etc. These requirements are laid out on the formatting page. We recommend you use the formatted thesis template which includes the required elements and is designed to facilitate proper formatting and pagination in Microsoft Word. Please consult with librarians if departmental guidelines differ from formatting requirement.

If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can download it from Office 365 website. As a Whitman student, you can log in with your Whitman email and password and download Microsoft Office on up to five computers and five mobile devices. If you do not want to download Office/Word, you can also use Word Online, log in with your Whitman Email address and password and upload the template there. In this version, you cannot delete blank pages. We can help you delete them at the public access computers. For more information, please contact WCTS.

No matter what distribution access you have chosen, students desiring to have personal copies of theses bound at their expense can order copies for $29 each, including tax and shipping. There is no limit to the number of personal copies you may order. Make sure that your left margins are set to 1 ½” for the printed copy, otherwise the binding might cover some of your thesis.

To order bound copies, please fill out the online order form by May 10, 2024 (form will open closer to Reading Day). Bring a printed copy (or however many you're ordering) of your thesis to Penrose 213. These are not on the special paper so you can just use Wepa to print them, but not double sided.

Payment can be made by charge to your student account or by check mailed in (made out to “Penrose Library, Whitman College”).

If you need more wepa money you should email whitmanfunds@wepanow.com to add more funds to your account.

If you are the author of all the text, image, audio, and/or video files contained in your honors thesis, you hold copyrights and can grant full permission to post a digital copy online. If portions of your materials have been produced by others, these portions must be in the public domain or fall within the parameters of fair use. If the material does not fall within either of those categories, authors must receive permission from the copyright owner to include that material in their digital thesis. If you are unable to get permissions, consider restricting access to Whitman-affiliates only. For more information, see the library’s tutorial on copyright at Whitman.