What inspired your choice of thesis topic in civil engineering?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the experiences and inspirations behind choosing thesis topics in civil engineering, with a focus on the varying requirements and practices across different educational institutions. Participants share their personal journeys, challenges, and the influence of faculty on their topic selection.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses uncertainty about their thesis topic, mentioning interests in Reinforced Concrete and Pavement Design, and considering a less common structural material based on a teacher's suggestion.
  • Another participant shares that they chose their thesis topic by selecting a faculty advisor involved in research, indicating a common practice in their institution.
  • A participant mentions a shift in their thesis focus from wood to Hot Mix Asphalt, highlighting the evolving nature of topic selection during the research process.
  • Some participants clarify that a thesis is not required for their undergraduate program, contrasting it with the practices for master's and PhD degrees.
  • One participant reflects on their optional thesis experience, describing how they engaged with professors to find a research opportunity, which led to work on mathematical modeling of electromagnetic waves.
  • Another participant questions the necessity of a thesis, seeking clarification on the educational background of a contributor.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express differing views on the necessity and structure of thesis requirements in undergraduate programs, with some institutions mandating it and others making it optional. There is no consensus on the best approach to selecting a thesis topic.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include varying definitions of thesis requirements across institutions, differing levels of faculty involvement in research, and the subjective nature of topic selection experiences.

Pyrrhus
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Greetings PF!, As some of you may or may not know i am in the process of starting my thesis.

Here's some background about me:

I am a senior civil engineering major studying in the Dominican Republic. I'll have about a year or less to write the thesis, it could be longer, it depends on the depth of the project. Although the average of time seems to be about 8 months (simple topics, i guess).

I've little idea about what i want to research and work on. Currently, my main interests seems to be Reinforced Concrete (Mechanics and Design), and Pavement Design. Broad topics indeed, and i must choose something... Hehe hopefully inside them.

At the moment, I'm leaning for a "structural material" that is not as used as concrete or steel in my country. Mainly, it was the idea of one of my teachers. I'm still analyzing my approach for this. It might lead me on to something... :confused:

Discussion:

I am wondering, how was that you guys (People with Bacherlors, sorry for the rest :redface: ) came up with your thesis topic? did you guys know what you wanted to do? did a teacher come up with the idea?
 
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If you go to school at a place where the faculty are involved in research, you can typically choose a faculty advisor who will be glad to hand you work related to his/her current field of research. This was how it worked for me.
 
Gokul43201 said:
If you go to school at a place where the faculty are involved in research, you can typically choose a faculty advisor who will be glad to hand you work related to his/her current field of research. This was how it worked for me.

Hey Gokul, i followed your advice. I guess now i am not doing research on wood anymore, it's Hot Mix Asphalt. So far, it's working pretty good, I've just started the thesis, i believe in a couple of weeks, i will start doing the tests.
 
We don't do a thesis. Thats only for masters degree and Phd. Good luck!
 
cyrusabdollahi said:
We don't do a thesis. Thats only for masters degree and Phd. Good luck!
Hey cyrus!, i guess we are old school down here, but what do you guys do? an internship at the end or something?
 
Nope. You take your classes and they boot you out. That is the first time I've ever heard of an undergrad having to do a thesis that is year long.
 
When I was in college I did research on my undergrad thesis over about a year.
 
Cyclovenom said:
Discussion:

I am wondering, how was that you guys (People with Bacherlors, sorry for the rest :redface: ) came up with your thesis topic? did you guys know what you wanted to do? did a teacher come up with the idea?

Where I did my undergrad, the senior thesis is completely optional, so I had the benefit of not having to put quite as much effort into it as a masters or PhD student would (though it was good practice for grad school, I suppose). Basically I just emailed a bunch of professors a few months before my senior thesis, asking if they had any research I could get involved in. One of them responded, and I spent the year working on mathematical modeling of electromagnetic waves. I probably only spent two or three weeks writing the actual paper; it was the coding that took me the whole of two semesters.

I also learned that I utterly detest theoretical physics. When I go to grad school, I've sworn not to do research that doesn't involve some sort of data-taking.
 
Gokul43201 said:
When I was in college I did research on my undergrad thesis over about a year.

Was it manditory to do a thesis? Did you do undergrad here or in India? (for some reason I thought you came here for your Phd)
 

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