4900 Thesis and 4901 Thesis (Science)
Many former students say that designing your own research project and producing a report to publication standards is a valuable exercise. You may expect to learn much more about the subject of your research than you would in class work. You will also gain experience in the use of time and resources, and in the completion of a report on time and within specifications. This experience will help in future careers, either in graduate school or in jobs with government agencies, consulting companies or businesses.
The decision to register for 4900/01E is yours, as long as you are in the fourth year of an Honors program in Geography and Environment. You are strongly urged to discuss your options with one or more faculty members before the end of the Winter Term in your third year, but the final decision is yours.
The Geography 4900/01 Course Coordinator (Dr. Katrina Moser) will hold an advisory meeting towards the end of the Winter Term for any student contemplating doing a 4900/01E thesis.
Credit and Requirements
The course credit weight of Geography 4900/01E is one and a half course credits. If you choose not to take 4900/01E, you must register for an alternative one and a half credits in Geography courses at the 3000 or 4000 level.
Registration for 4900/01E must be completed online during your designated registration period in the summer. Students will not normally be allowed to register for 4900/01E in September due to supervisor finding and planning.
Supervisor and Planning
Successful completion of Geography 4900/01E is not easy and requires more planning and preparation than is usual for normal course completion. One is the selection of a specific topic (not just a broad area such as urban geography or tourism),and the second is securing a faculty advisor. Both of these tasks must be done before you leave campus in April if you hope to make relatively smooth progress. In some cases it may be essential that you complete your field research/data collection during the summer, and this can rarely be accomplished successfully without an advisor.
Thesis Preparation and Submission
A guide for thesis preparation and formatting can be downloaded here. A single copy of the thesis is handed in by the due date, 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 28, 2025. It must be complete, proofread and ready to be marked, because your mark depends on this version, not the version you revise later. Set a personal deadline two weeks before this to allow for last minute problems or unanticipated delays.
Marking Procedures
Your supervisor will mark the report. Another faculty member will also mark it, in a 'double blind' situation (you don't know who marked it, the faculty member doesn't know who wrote it). The coordinator compares the marks. If they are close the final mark is the average of the two. If they are more than 10 marks apart a third faculty reader will mark it. The new mark will be the average of the three marks in that case.
Final Submission
You will be asked to make corrections as indicated by the markers and to submit an electronic copy of your thesis as a single PDF file by email to alucaci@uwo.ca before 4.00 p.m. on Friday, April 18, 2025. If for any reasons you cannot email it then bring a copy on a USB key or a CD-ROM to the Undergaduate Assistant in the Geography and Environment Main Office. At the same time, an electronic copy must be emailed to the Coordinator. Before this corrected copy goes to the office it should have been submitted to your advisor, who will confirm that corrections have been made and will sign the Certificate of Examination to indicate approval. The report will not be accepted at the office without the advisor's signature. The grade for 4900/01E is not official until the corrected and approved electronic copy has been accepted by the Department.
NOTE: When you hand in the official copy for printing, you may submit hard copies for yourself, to be bound at your expense. Check in the office for the current binding cost.
