Senior Projects and Master’s Theses
Thorndike Library
All senior projects must be submitted to the College Archives. The student is responsible for submitting their project in a format approved by the COA archivist, following the guidelines posted on this webpage. This includes a title page and brief abstract (75-250 words) describing the project. The project is cataloged by the COA Thorndike Library and added to its permanent collection of senior projects for reference by future students.
Deadline is Friday, May 29, 2026 at 4pm!
To submit your project in-person, contact Elliot Santavicca or click here to schedule an appointment.
Submission requirements
For the archives:
- Your project in PDF format, including
- Title page: include your project title, your full name, and your graduation year
- Abstract/project description: brief summary of your process and findings (75-250 words)
Click here to download a template for your title and abstract pages - Your senior project contents (see formatting guidelines below)
- Senior project signature form
- Senior project release form
*Optional form: Senior Project Delayed Release Form
Under guidance of your academic advisor, you may delay access to your project for reasons such as pending patents, pursuit of publication, or business development.
For the registrar:
Project description and self-evaluation
- If you use the digital submission form, you will be prompted to enter your project description and self-evaluation as a part of your submission, which will go directly to the registrar.
- If you submit your project in-person, you will need to send your project description and self-evaluation to the registrar separately. Include both in the body of an email to [email protected].
Formatting guidelines:
Pages should be standard US letter size (8.5 x 11 inches).
Inner margins (left edge) must be at LEAST .5 inches. When the project is bound, the left edge of the pages are glued together and content can be lost in that margin.
Page numbers should be included on all pages, except the title page and forms. Page numbers should be placed on the right side of the page, preferably at the bottom. The number should appear by itself with no punctuation.
Beyond written content, you may also include:
- Digital files, which can be accessed on a disk included with your bound project
- Booklets/zines/chapbooks, which can be included with your bound project in a pocket
Formatting suggestions for common project types:
Audio/Visual components: include audio files in .WAV format, include video files in .MP4 format (podcast, music recording, interview, oral history, documentary, animation, movie/video/film, YouTube channel, vlog, etc)
Web-based components: include screenshots of the website (in case the link doesn’t work in the future) in the body of your project with detailed captions, and include a direct link to the website (ArcGIS StoryMaps, blog, website, app)
Visual arts: include photographs of your artwork or exhibit in the body of your project with detailed captions (painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, fiber arts, exhibitions)
Zines, chapbooks, booklets: bring a physical copy of the booklet to the archivist in person (bring two copies if you would like your booklet added to the library’s zine collection)
Self-published books: bring a physical copy of the book to the archivist in person (bring two copies if you would like your book added to the library’s main collection)
All master’s theses must be submitted to the College Archives. The student is responsible for submitting their thesis in a format approved by the COA archivist, following the guidelines posted on this webpage. This includes a title page and brief abstract (75-250 words) describing the thesis. The thesis is cataloged by the COA Thorndike Library and added to its permanent collection of master’s theses for reference by future students.
Deadline is Friday, May 29, 2026 at 4pm!
Master’s theses can be submitted to the archives using the senior project digital submission form (linked above).
To submit your project in-person, contact Elliot Santavicca or click here to schedule an appointment.
Submission requirements
For the archives:
- Your project in PDF format, including
- Title page: include your project title, your full name, and your graduation year
- Abstract/project description: brief summary of your process and findings (75-250 words)
Click here to download a template for your title and abstract pages - Your thesis contents (see formatting guidelines below)
- Master’s Thesis Signature Form
- Master’s Thesis Release Form
*Optional Form: Master’s Thesis Delayed Release Form
Under guidance of your academic advisor, you may delay access to your project for reasons such as pending patents, pursuit of publication, or business development.
For the registrar:
Project description and self-evaluation
- If you use the digital submission form, you will be prompted to enter your project description and self-evaluation as a part of your submission, which will go directly to the registrar.
- If you submit your project in-person, you will need to send your project description and self-evaluation to the registrar separately. Include both in the body of an email to [email protected].
Formatting guidelines:
Pages should be standard US letter size (8.5 x 11 inches).
Inner margins (left edge) must be at LEAST .5 inches. When the project is bound, the left edge of the pages are glued together and content can be lost in that margin.
Page numbers should be included on all pages, except the title page and forms. Page numbers should be placed on the right side of the page, preferably at the bottom. The number should appear by itself with no punctuation.
Beyond written content, you may also include:
- Digital files, which can be accessed on a disk included with your bound project
- Booklets/zines/chapbooks, which can be included with your bound project in a pocket
Formatting suggestions for common project types:
Audio/Visual components: include audio files in .WAV format, include video files in .MP4 format (podcast, music recording, interview, oral history, documentary, animation, movie/video/film, YouTube channel, vlog, etc)
Web-based components: include screenshots of the website (in case the link doesn’t work in the future) in the body of your project with detailed captions, and include a direct link to the website (ArcGIS StoryMaps, blog, website, app)
Visual arts: include photographs of your artwork or exhibit in the body of your project with detailed captions (painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, fiber arts, exhibitions)
Zines, chapbooks, booklets: bring a physical copy of the booklet to the archivist in person (bring two copies if you would like your booklet added to the library’s zine collection)
Self-published books: bring a physical copy of the book to the archivist in person (bring two copies if you would like your book added to the library’s main collection)
Thorncat
Senior Projects and Master’s Theses are cataloged in the library’s catalog, Thorncat. Some projects are temporarily held from public view, which is reflected in their call number.
Some projects are temporarily held from public view, which is reflected in their call number. All other available Senior Projects will have SENIOR PROJECT as their call number and are available for in-library viewing. Master’s Thesis call numbers have the prefix THESIS and are located in the COA Collection area at the back of the library (they are bound in blue with title and author imprinted on spine).
Some projects can be accessed digitally, contact the archivist to request digital access to a senior project or master’s thesis.
List of projects & theses
Click HERE to view the Senior Projects & Master’s Theses in Archives & Thorncat Google Sheet, which is a list of all the projects and theses held in the archives.