- #1
mxbob468
- 49
- 0
I'm an undegrad. At my school one can choose to do either 2 semesters of an upper division physics lab class or 1 semester and a capstone thesis project. With intentions of being a theorist (and because the upper div lab was in total disrepair) I opted to do a capstone thesis.
I'll admit this was a decision I made fairly hastily, with only 2 semesters before graduation but the adviser was aware of this and told me he would structure the problem so that it could be completed in 2 semesters. Well it wasn't and now here I am 2 semesters overdue for graduation (I should have graduated last spring). I'm not in town anymore since I finished taking classes in spring and we've been corresponding through email about it. I've done a lot of work on it (at least from the perspective of an undergrad physics major [I'm sure to someone in the know I haven't done much]) but I only have a better than superficial understanding of what I've done.
The relevance is that I've been writing it up for the past 2 months and though I put in absolutely everything I did and in the way that I understood in his editing a mountain of errors and oversights have been revealed. 2 weeks ago I thought I had corrected them all and yesterday I got an email back essentially stating that I need to completely restructure it filling in even more things (most of which I don't know [such as relevance to the field, prior work, etc.]). I understand this is all expected of a real PhD. thesis and even maybe an undergrad thesis but at this point I feel I simply do not have time (before the end of this semester) nor the ability to do this (since I can't meet with him).
So I don't know what to do. If I don't finish the thesis I don't get a B.S. in physics (I have a B.S. in Math regardless) but I can't delay graduation for another semester because I'm going into the Peace Corps (in Uganda) in February.
The riling thing is that I know at my school this thesis is a formality. When I signed up for the project I was worried I wouldn't do something worthwhile and wouldn't pass the defense and his response was "don't worry no one fails."
I'll admit this was a decision I made fairly hastily, with only 2 semesters before graduation but the adviser was aware of this and told me he would structure the problem so that it could be completed in 2 semesters. Well it wasn't and now here I am 2 semesters overdue for graduation (I should have graduated last spring). I'm not in town anymore since I finished taking classes in spring and we've been corresponding through email about it. I've done a lot of work on it (at least from the perspective of an undergrad physics major [I'm sure to someone in the know I haven't done much]) but I only have a better than superficial understanding of what I've done.
The relevance is that I've been writing it up for the past 2 months and though I put in absolutely everything I did and in the way that I understood in his editing a mountain of errors and oversights have been revealed. 2 weeks ago I thought I had corrected them all and yesterday I got an email back essentially stating that I need to completely restructure it filling in even more things (most of which I don't know [such as relevance to the field, prior work, etc.]). I understand this is all expected of a real PhD. thesis and even maybe an undergrad thesis but at this point I feel I simply do not have time (before the end of this semester) nor the ability to do this (since I can't meet with him).
So I don't know what to do. If I don't finish the thesis I don't get a B.S. in physics (I have a B.S. in Math regardless) but I can't delay graduation for another semester because I'm going into the Peace Corps (in Uganda) in February.
The riling thing is that I know at my school this thesis is a formality. When I signed up for the project I was worried I wouldn't do something worthwhile and wouldn't pass the defense and his response was "don't worry no one fails."