Bailey College of the Environment

284 High Street
Middletown, CT 06457
lkenney01@wesleyan.edu

Senior Capstone Project

The ENVS linked-major program provides a capstone experience that includes a senior project and a full year of senior colloquia. The purpose of the ENVS capstone experience is to challenge students to think creatively, deeply, and originally about an environmental issue and to produce a significant work that uses their expertise from their primary major. The students will then have the opportunity to present and discuss their research in the senior colloquium (ENVS391/ENVS392) with seniors and the faculty.

The creative exploration of a critical environmental issue through independent research is an essential part of ENVS. All ENVS majors must complete a senior capstone project in one of four categories discussed below, though students are encouraged strongly to pursue a project in one of the first two categories. The topic must concern an environmental issue and must be approved in advance by the ENVS advisor and Chair of ENVS. The student must be officially enrolled in one or more courses while they complete the research project. The students must submit to the director of ENVS no later than the last day of classes in the spring semester in their junior year a two-page research prospectus on their planned course of research. This plan must be signed by the potential mentor of the senior research. The mentor does not have to be a member of the ENVS faculty.

  • Category 1. The capstone project may take any of the forms accepted by the primary department as a senior project (e.g., senior thesis, senior essay, senior performance, senior exhibition, senior film thesis). The project must be approved by the ENVS advisor. The final senior project is submitted only to the primary department and is not evaluated by ENVS. Students may select an interdisciplinary thesis topic such that they solicit the help of more than one mentor if permitted by the primary department. You are strongly encouraged to pursue a capstone project, especially senior thesis, in your primary major. You should consult with faculty in your primary major about qualifications and procedures for undertaking a senior thesis in your primary major. 
  • Category 2. The capstone project may be a thesis submitted in general scholarship. The student must have a mentor for the thesis, and the topic must be approved by the ENVS advisor.
  • Category 3. In the event that the student cannot satisfy the conditions for the above categories, the student may register for and complete a Senior Essay in Environmental Studies (ENVS403/ENVS404). The mentor can be any Wesleyan faculty member and the topic must be approved by the ENVS advisor. If the student cannot find a mentor, then it will be the responsibility of the Chair of Environmental Studies to find a suitable reader or to evaluate the written work. The due date for the Senior Essay is set between the student and the mentor.
  • Category 4. In the event that the student cannot satisfy the conditions for the above categories, the student may register for and complete a Senior Thesis in Environmental Studies (ENVS409/ENVS410). The mentor can be any Wesleyan faculty member and the topic must be approved by the ENVS advisor. If the student cannot find a mentor, then it will be the responsibility of the Chair of Environmental Studies to find a suitable mentor or to serve as mentor. The due date for the Senior Thesis is set by the Office of the Registrar, usually in mid-April. See “Senior Thesis in Environmental Studies” (below) for details.

Class of 2023: Please send your senior project capstone proposal and ask your mentor to send an email of approval for your project proposal to Laurie Kenney, department assistant, at lkenney01@wesleyan.edu by Wednesday, May 4, 2022. The Chair of ENVS will consider your application for approval. You, your tutor, and your ENVS advisor will be informed of the Chair’s decision. For any case that is unclear (e.g., suitability of the topic for ENVS), the Chair may consult with the College of the Environment Governing Board.

SENIOR THESIS IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

As noted above, all Environmental Studies linked majors are required to complete a capstone project in their senior year. If circumstances arise that prevent you from pursuing a senior thesis in your primary major, it may be possible for you to undertake a Senior Thesis in Environmental Studies.  A Senior Thesis in Environmental Studies will be approved only if (1) the student's primary major department/program is unable to provide a suitable advisor, or (2) the subject is deemed to fall outside the strict purview of that department/program.

You must receive approval prior to registering a Senior Thesis in Environmental Studies in the fall of your senior year, during drop/add. Two signatures of approval will be required for you to proceed with a Senior Thesis in Environmental Studies: (i) your thesis tutor and (ii) the Chair of Environmental Studies. 

Your Senior Thesis in Environmental Studies thesis prospectus must contain the main questions or thesis of the project, a statement of importance of the project, and how you intend to carry out the project. Please also indicate who will serve as mentor for the project. That person must also send an email approving the basis for your project at this early date.