What Happens at the Thesis Defense?
Once you and your advisor have notified the Honors Program that your thesis is ready to defend, you will help coordinate a time when you can meet with your advisor, your referee, and a representative of the Honors Program. The Department Honors coordinator is often invited as well, but it is not necessary that he or she attend the defense. If you have worked with your advisor to write and revise your thesis in a timely fashion, your thesis defense will be straightforward. The form of the defense varies somewhat but you will probably be asked to provide an oral synopsis of your project and then be prepared to answer a wide range of questions about your research, your findings, and their relevance to the historiography. Feel free to ask your advisor beforehand what kind of questions he or she sees as most likely in your case. Finally, you will also be asked about your broader Honors experience at the university–course work, portfolio, etc. Once questioning is completed you will be asked
