DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

A senior thesis is an optional project for sociology majors.  Seniors take the Senior Thesis Seminar (398-1,2) in the Fall and Winter quarters of their senior year. The Senior Thesis Seminar is an opportunity to do your own independent research project!  

In addition to wanting to pursue Departmental Honors in Sociology, taking all of your sociological experience, coursework, and insights and doing independent research as a senior capstone project is an incredibly rewarding experience.   

In addition to intellectual reasons, there are practical ones as well! There is (for lack of a better phrase) a professional development value to writing a senior thesis. Students who complete a thesis will have worked closely with two faculty members for two quarters, and this experience will have given these faculty members the opportunity to watch their advisees develop and grow. If you plan to attend graduate school at some point after graduating from Northwestern, you will need letters of recommendation from faculty who know you well, and the faculty who helped you complete a senior thesis will be among the faculty who know you the best.  

Students wanting to pursue master’s or doctoral degrees (in sociology or related fields) will gain valuable experience for their graduate school applications (and amazing writing samples!). Other former thesis students have reported their senior thesis projects as valuable topics they discussed during job interviews across fields, including finance, consulting, and law.    

If you are considering pursuing a senior thesis project, it is never too early to talk with faculty in the Sociology Department to discuss not only your topic and methods interests but also how doing a senior thesis may fit into your future educational and career plans.

Good question! Writing a senior thesis is a significant time commitment (but also a rewarding one!). 398-1 and 398-2 are regular classes and can count as two of your six 300-level courses required for your sociology major. Students typically take regular course loads during the Fall and Winter of senior years, with 398-1 and 398-2 being part of their regular course loads.   

To qualify for Departmental Honors in Sociology, you must write a senior thesis with "distinction." The Sociology Department recognizes the work of its outstanding seniors with Departmental Honors, which are presented at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (WCAS) Convocation. Departmental Honors are given to those students who show outstanding scholarship in their major course of study.  

Nominations are submitted to the College Committee on Superior Students and Honors, which has final authority to grant the honors degree. The Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Committee on Superior Students and Honors reviews students’ grade point average, senior research theses, and faculty recommendations to determine which students receive Departmental Honors.  

More information here about Department Honors from WCAS!   

During Spring Quarter, after senior research thesis projects are complete, the Sociology Department’s Undergraduate Affairs Committee, composed of faculty (other than the professor of the seminar) and graduate students, evaluates the theses for “Distinction,” which means that a senior thesis is deemed to be exceptional. “Distinction” senior thesis awards are given to students at the Sociology Department’s Graduation Reception during Graduation Weekend. Senior theses awarded “distinction” (and students who meet other requirements as noted above) will then be nominated to the College Committee on Superior Students and Honors.

As part of the thesis/honors process, sociology majors must apply in the spring of their junior year. (For Fall 2026 registration for 398-1, the deadline is June 1, 2026).

Instructions on the application process. Click here.

Go here when you are ready to submit your application.

All sociology majors are eligible to do a senior thesis (unlike other departments that may have GPA or other requirements).  The application process is required however in order to register. The application includes a topic, a preliminary data plan, and a plan for IRB approvals (if applicable). You must also meet with a faculty member in the sociology department prior to submitting your proposal to discuss the motivation for and feasibility of your research question and data collection plan. The faculty member you meet with may end up being you Faculty Thesis Advisor (see advising discussion below).

As you go through the thesis-writing process, you will work closely with two faculty members: the Senior Thesis Instructor and your Faculty Thesis Advisor. 

There is a professor who serves as the Senior Thesis Instructor for 398-1,2. Their job is to advise, give feedback, and guide all the senior thesis students through the process.

Students will work with the Senior Thesis Instructor to find an additional faculty member in the Sociology Department who will serve as their Faculty Thesis Advisor with expertise in a student’s methodological or topical area.

Your interactions with faculty members regarding your thesis will be among the most intellectually rewarding in your time at Northwestern.  

The process for finding a Faculty Thesis Advisor differs by Senior Thesis Instructor.  That said, if there is a faculty member you want to work with, reaching out to the faculty member to discuss your ideas can be a great plan and a potential way to find a Faculty Thesis Advisor. The application process (outlined above) is one way to start making connections to facilitate finding your Faculty Thesis Advisor.

Helpful Tip: It is optimal if you identify someone who you have a relationship with (has taught you previously, mentored you in some capacity) who lines up with your research interests, and reach out to them as early as possible once you have determined you would like to pursue the thesis. If no one comes to mind, another place to start would be to review the department faculty and identify contenders. Then test the waters by meeting with them as part of the application process. If that person is not a perfect fit, the Senior Thesis Instructor will help you identify and approach an alternative mentor in the fall. 

Many different methods of data collection and analysis are possible, including archival research, analysis of documents (e.g., legal, media), survey analysis (e.g., GSS, Census data), qualitative interviews, participant observation, and so on. The only requirement is that the thesis be an original piece of empirical research using a method typically used by sociologists.  

Yes, you can do human subjects-based research. However, senior thesis projects involving human subjects (such as interviews or experiments) must have formal IRB approval prior to data collection. Your Faculty Thesis Advisor, Senior Thesis Instructor, and the IRB office are all valuable resources for navigating the IRB process. (Learn more about IRB!)

The Fall Quarter (398-1) is devoted to finalizing your research question, conducting a formal literature review, completing data collection, and obtaining funding for your research.

The Winter Quarter (398-2) is devoted to analyzing data and writing your thesis. Although the schedule varies depending on the Senior Thesis Instructor, students will typically meet as a class for the first several weeks of each quarter and then meet with the Senior Thesis Instructor individually thereafter.

No! There is no requirement to have research experience in sociology beyond standard coursework. It is helpful (but not required) to have taken the required methods (SOCIOL 226, SOCIOL 303, and SOCIOL 329) and theory (SOCIOL 306) courses for your sociology major before your senior year so you have experience with a wide range of theoretical and methodological tools to help as you formulate a research question and collect data.   

It is helpful to have started (if not completed) your data collection prior to Fall/398-1. Collecting data is time consuming (such as recruiting for interviews or setting up an online survey) and may require IRB approvals, which involves an application and possible revisions. Beginning to collect data prior to 398-1 is also helpful because data collection may not go to plan. For example, recruitment may take longer than anticipated. Or you may not get access that you had anticipated to a field site. So, having more time to make changes and adjustments will be helpful.   

Some students start their senior thesis projects as part of a Summer Undergraduate Research Grant (or similar experiences) to begin collecting data before their senior year. This can be a great way to help the senior research thesis experience.    

Taking both 398-1 and 398-2 is required. If you have any concerns, contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies during your junior year. 

There are definitely options if you have two majors where a senior thesis is required and/or optional. https://weinberg.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/enrichment-opportunities/honors-awards/honors-two-departments.html   

If you are considering pursuing one of the options linked above, some paperwork and approvals may be needed during your junior year.  

 Writing your thesis will be far from a solitary experience. Majors who decide to take on a thesis join a cohort of talented, motivated students who share many of their interests and are going through the same experience. If the opportunity to meet and bond with other sociology majors is somewhat limited in the first few years of taking courses, students who decide to write a senior thesis often find that they have the opportunity to forge strong connections with several of their fellow thesis-writers.  

There is no fee to do a senior thesis (it’s just a regular class!). However, research can indeed have associated costs, such as fees for transcriptions or honorariums for respondents.  Students have subsidized such costs through programs like Undergraduate Research Grants (both academic year and summer grants).  

The Sociology Department does not want cost to be a barrier for students wanting to pursue a senior thesis. So, please contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies if costs are a concern and to discuss possible funding sources!