THE SENIOR THESIS

Good writing is one of the hallmark of a classical Montfort education. We believe that the ability to speak publicly (hence our extensive courses in Rhetoric and our focus on Socratic discussions) and the ability to write well are two keys to personal, academic, and professional success. From Day 1 at Montfort students learn to write in all genres of writing and in all classes. This is excellent preparation for college and professional life. The culmination of our four-year writing program is the Senior Thesis. Nearly all graduating students must write a 20-page or more research paper in either Honors Biology or Honors Astrophysics and Astronomy. Given that “all truth is God’s truth, inevitably, research papers in these two disciplines touch not only on science but also religion, philosophy, history, ethics, and more. Montfort uses the traditional University of Chicago style of footnote source referencing as outlined in A Manual for Writers, authored long ago by Kate Turabian and periodically updated to reflect internet research developments.

We are so proud of our students’ research and writing that we publish titles of their work in the Graduation Program. Please read these titles, as they are fascinating topics. Some students even write two theses.