All Geneva students must also successfully complete their senior thesis in order to graduate. The school prioritizes the Senior Thesis program in order to move students toward the idealized individual reflected in the school’s Portrait of a Graduate. The project requires seniors to research and write an academic paper on a defensible thesis of the student’s choosing. Students are expected to develop a cogent argument that addresses a topic of public concern, interacts with scholarly sources, and urges a course of action; they are then required to present that argument from memory before an audience and a panel. Upon completion of the oral presentation, the invited panelists, alongside a faculty member, question the student on points that have been raised. This is an opportunity for the student to demonstrate their depth of knowledge while also fleshing out practical applications.
Given that Senior Thesis is a graduation requirement, failure to meet thesis deadlines will also result in the loss of off-campus privileges for the offending student until the work is completed and submitted.