The URS Thesis Program spans the academic year, but faculty advisors do not need to manage every program deadline. Most administrative requirements are communicated directly to students by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
This timeline highlights the points in the year when faculty mentorship is especially important and provides context for what your student will be working toward.
Timeline by Month
August–September Application & Proposal Review
Key Dates
- August 12: Application deadline for priority review
- September 8: Final application deadline
Review your student's proposed project and approve the application when you are comfortable with its scope, feasibility, and description of the student's individual contribution. If substantive changes are needed, return the application to the student for revision before approving it.
Following faculty approval, the proposal moves to an additional round of review with trained proposal reviewers. If the reviewer requests revisions, the student will revise and resubmit the proposal. You will be notified of the revised submission but will not be asked to approve it again.
You may also speak with your student about what the year ahead will realistically require. If you already know about significant periods of travel, leave, fieldwork, or limited availability, now is the time to plan around them.
October Establish the Year
Key Dates
- October 1: Program officially begins
- October 12–16: Students attend one Group Check-in 1 Meeting
Establish a regular advising plan and make sure you and your student have a shared understanding of the project, responsibilities, communication practices, and expectations for progress.
This is also a good time to look beyond the research itself. Students often understand what they need to do next without yet understanding how today's work connects to a finished thesis several months later. Help your student begin thinking about the research and writing as parts of the same process.
November–December Monitor Progress
Key Dates
- November 1: Orientation Quiz deadline
- November 9–13: Required Group Check-in 2
- December 6: Progress Report 1 deadline
Help your student assess whether the project is progressing as expected. This is an appropriate point to identify delays, changes in scope, methodological challenges, or other issues that could become more difficult to address later.
Not every setback requires a new plan. Research changes. The important question is whether the student still has a realistic path from the work underway now to a thesis in the spring.
You may also ask your student to explain what they have accomplished, what remains uncertain, and what needs to happen before thesis writing becomes the primary focus.
January Plan for Writing
Key Dates
- January 25–29: Required Group Check-in 3
- January 31: URS Symposium Registration deadline
Revisit the project timeline with your student and establish a realistic writing and feedback plan for the semester.
By this point, the conversation should become increasingly concrete:
- What work remains?
- What can reasonably be completed?
- What material is ready to become part of the thesis?
- When will you receive drafts?
- How much time do you need to provide feedback?
This is also an important opportunity to adjust the scope if the original project has become too ambitious.
You may also put actual draft-review dates on both calendars. Work backward from the URS deadlines rather than treating the program deadline as the date the advisor should first see the student's work.
February First Draft of the Thesis
Key Dates
- February 7: Installment 1 deadline
- February 9: Progress Report 2 deadline
Provide substantive feedback on the developing thesis and help the student connect the written document to the research itself.
At this stage, feedback may focus on the strength of the scholarly argument, interpretation of evidence or findings, organization, disciplinary conventions, missing context, or areas where the student's reasoning needs further development.
The purpose of an installment is not simply to demonstrate that pages have been written. It creates an opportunity for the student to receive feedback while there is still enough time to use it.
March Progress Toward a Complete Thesis
Key Dates
- March 7: Installment 2 deadline
- March 9: Progress Report 3 deadline
- March 23–25: Required Group Check-in 4
Help the student move from a developing draft toward a complete scholarly work.
At this point, feedback should increasingly address the thesis as a whole: whether the parts work together, whether claims are supported, whether conclusions appropriately reflect the evidence, and whether the student has clearly communicated their individual contribution.
Agree on a firm internal deadline for the complete draft. The April 4 final thesis deadline should be the student's submission deadline to UGR—not the first time the faculty advisor receives the completed thesis.
April Complete and Submit the Thesis
Key Dates
- April 4: Final Thesis deadline
- April 15: Presentation Report deadline
Help the student bring the scholarly work to completion while keeping responsibility for the final product with the student.
By this stage, major questions about the project's purpose and direction should generally be resolved. Faculty feedback may focus on substantive accuracy, interpretation, disciplinary expectations, and remaining issues that need attention before submission.