Read Spring 2026 AHA!
From thesis to courtroom | The Rebel Alliance and the American Revolution | The senior thesis guide: Catherine Keyser reflects on mentorship, value of the process | William A. Mould Award winners: The next chapter | Honors senior thesis, revisited
A beautiful wooden canoe, an anatomically correct human skeleton made of metal junk, a medieval science fiction novella, an analysis of microplastics in various brands of bottled water, an investigation into a metabolic marker distinguishing aging from Alzheimer’s — these are a few of my favorite senior theses. For the past five years, Tracy Skipper, Ph.D. has been directing our senior thesis program, superbly, helping students to find all sorts of topics, and to secure faculty directors and second readers who generously give their time and expertise. I think you’ll very much enjoy reading this issue of our Honors alumni magazine, AHA!, which is devoted to the senior thesis. It highlights an important part of the unparalleled undergraduate experience of the South Carolina Honors College.
Support for the senior thesis and for everything else we do — study away, internships, service learning, undergraduate research, course enrichment, community-building events and more — is substantially enhanced by the generosity of our donors. Competition for exceptional students is increasingly fierce, and scholarships and supplemental funding are, as you can imagine, crucial. In my fifteenth year as dean, I continue to marvel at the munificence of our friends and alumni. Thank for your interest and your support. We’re always eager to hear from you, and I hope to see you on campus soon.
Cordially,
Dean, South Carolina Honors College
Louise Fry Scudder Professor