| The Senior Thesis
In order to graduate from New College of Florida, all students, regardless of Area of Concentration, undertake and complete a senior project or thesis. The completed project should demonstrate the ability to express ideas and information in writing. When the thesis is approved by the thesis sponsor, the original copy is archived in Jane Bancroft Cook Library. The student is responsible for delivering the final copy of the thesis to the Library the Monday of graduation week by 5:00 p.m. If the Library has not accepted the senior thesis, the student will not be able to participate in the College’s graduation ceremony, his or her diploma will be withheld and a hold will be placed on his or her transcript until the library copy has been accepted. The printed Library copy should be submitted unbound, preferably in an envelope. The student must also email the complete pdf of the thesis and a Word or rtf file of the abstract to thesis@ncf.edu. The Library pays for one bound copy of the thesis for the archive. A Divisional copy of the thesis may be made at the request of an appropriate faculty member and will be charged to that Division. All theses that have been completed at New College are available in Cook Library. Signature of the abstract by the faculty thesis sponsor or sponsors signifies approval of the thesis for deposit in the Library. If the thesis takes other than written form—for example, a work of art—the student must also submit a written description of the project to the Library, along with slides, a video, or a recording as the baccalaureate committee deems appropriate. Thesis Format The bound copy of the thesis available to library users should be professionally presented as the scholarly document it is. Hence the thesis must comply with certain regulations as to format. Each year the Dean of the library assigns a library thesis coordinator who checks the theses for form and who receives and signs off on the final document. The library copy of the thesis must conform to the following requirements: Paper The thesis must be printed on acid free, 20 pound weight, at least 25% rag cotton content, white archival bond paper. It is available for purchase in the campus bookstore. Margins The left margin must be 1.5 inches wide to allow space for binding. The top, left and bottom margins must be one inch wide. A standard unified type size and typeface is customary, with script, italicized or slanted typeface reserved for emphasis, technical or other special terms and foreign words. Any necessary variations should be discussed with the faculty thesis advisor. Any symbols to be inserted in the text, which are not on the standard qwerty keyboard, should be made in the same color ink (black is customary) as the printed text. Page numbers Pages of the thesis should be consecutively numbered. Roman lower-case numbers are used for the front matter. Arabic numerals are used for the body of the text. Spacing The abstract and the body of the text should be double spaced. For directions on how to space indented quotations, footnotes or endnotes, or bibliographies, please consult the style guide recommended by the faculty advisor. Illustrations Photographs, charts and other materials mounted on sheets for inclusion in the thesis must be securely fixed to pages, and should follow the guidelines for margins stated above. Graphs, charts and tables may be in color or black and white. Visual materials may be inserted at the appropriate point in the text, or at the end of the manuscript. Short tables may be placed on a page with some text, or centered on separate sheets. Abstract The library copy of the thesis will contain an abstract of approximately two hundred words that is signed by the thesis advisor(s). If the abstract lacks a signature, the library thesis coordinator will instruct the student to get the signature of the sponsor. A final copy of the abstract and complete pdf should be e-mailed to thesis@ncf.edu for inclusion in the Thesis Database. For senior theses, the abstract should summarize the problems addressed, the research, the methods, and the major findings. For senior projects, the abstract should describe the project, its medium and its shape, and the problems or issues that the project addressed. Oversize Materials Because of difficulties in binding, the library recommends avoiding the use of oversize materials. Charts and other illustrations to be included in the thesis should be reduced or redesigned to fit a standard page. If oversize material is used, it must be folded to fit in a pocket inserted into the thesis. Citations and Bibliography Style of citations and format of bibliography (footnotes or endnotes) must be approved by the faculty thesis advisor. Arrangement of the Thesis In general, the manuscript is arranged in three sections: 1) preliminaries or front matter, 2) text, and 3) back matter. Preliminaries or Front Matter This section contains the following components, some of which are optional. Pagination in this section is in lower-case Roman numerals. · Title Page (Count as “page i,” but do not number this page.) · Dedication (optional) if included, begins pagination here (ii) · Preface or Acknowledgments (optional) · Table of Contents (List all parts of thesis, except title page) · List of Illustrations and List of Tables (when relevant) · Abstract Text Pagination in this section is in Arabic numerals and begins on page 1 of the text. The text may be divided into chapters. Back Matter This section should be arranged in the following order: · Appendices (when relevant). If the thesis contains only one appendix, do not “letter” or number it. If, however, the thesis contains more than one appendix, provide a title, letter or number for each one. · Endnotes (when relevant) Bibliography · Variations on this model may be made by students in consultation with the faculty thesis advisor. Submission of the Library Copy A senior thesis is a scholarly document. All senior theses will be bound in the library at New College and made available upon request, to members of the public. Each thesis must be submitted to the Jane Bancroft Cook Library in a cardboard box or heavy envelope. Audiovisual materials that are part of the thesis project should be submitted with the thesis text. All non-paper materials, such as photographs, CDs and DVDs, must be labeled with the thesis student’s name and year of graduation. The final library copy should be as clean and correct as possible. The library advisor may reject manuscripts with light or unreadable print or that otherwise do not meet the specifications described here. If the library advisor finds the thesis does not meet these standards, the thesis student is responsible for making changes in time to meet graduation deadlines. The library thesis advisor is responsible for accomplishing review in a timely manner. Sample Abstract THE THEORY OF X Jane Smith New College of Florida, 2013 ABSTRACT Follow this form. The type of information given at the top of the page and at the end (title, author, school, year and “abstract” at the top, name of professor and academic division at the bottom) must be included in all abstracts. The abstract should approximate two hundred words, or a page and a half of text. It must be double -spaced. The customary arrangement calls for the information at the top to be centered in the manner indicated, and for the title to be capitalized. Variations on this should be discussed with the faculty thesis advisor. Triple -space (or otherwise mark a clear break) before and after the word “abstract”. The sponsor’s signature is required. Type Name of Thesis Adviser (2 " top margin) THE THEORY OF X (4 spaces) (6 spaces)
A Thesis (4 spaces) Submitted to the Division of Under the sponsorship of
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