The Honors Thesis Journey: Lucas Ruud

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Part 1: The Beginning 

The Honors Thesis is the culmination of your Honors classes and research work at UMass. Typically completed in your senior year, the thesis can be completed as an Individually Contracted Thesis (research manuscript or creative portfolio) or through a Thesis Seminar.

This series will track three senior Honors students as they go through their thesis journey. Lucas Ruud, a senior journalism and English double major, is completing a creative portfolio through Professor John Hennessy's Thesis Seminar titled Foundations and Departures in Creative Writing: Fiction, Poetry and Literary Nonfiction.

Read on to learn more about why Lucas chose a Thesis Seminar and how he's completing his creative portfolio!

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Why did you choose to do a Thesis Seminar instead of an Individually Contracted Thesis? 

I'm always more creative when I'm working with, collaborating, and being critiqued by other people. While an individual thesis could be fun with the right professor, there's a sense of comradery being in a Thesis Seminar. 

What is your thesis seminar about? 

My Thesis Seminar is John Hennessy's creative writing thesis seminar, which invites students to develop a portfolio of prose, poetry, and/or fiction. 

To me, the seminar is perfect, because it forces me to sit down, think, and write creatively. Most of the time, it doesn't even feel like I'm doing schoolwork when I'm writing, revising, or critiquing other classmates; it's just something I enjoy doing. 

What is your portfolio about?

My portfolio has two halves, both of which I'm still exploring. The first half is a realistic fiction novella about two characters discovering their sexuality at different ages: from 4 to 64. The second half is a Greek myth retelling of the stories of Caenis and Tiresias, who were some of the earliest transgender characters ever written. 

How does it feel to start your thesis?

It feels really inspiring to start my thesis. I'm lucky to have such a supporting class environment and a fantastic professor to help me develop the early stages of my thesis. 

How did you structure your work?

I structured my thesis by writing three 50 page stories, which was a bit ambitious. While the stories are different in genre, they all have themes of gender and sexuality. 

Would you recommend a Thesis Seminar to future Honors Thesis students?

I highly recommend that any writer interested in expanding their scope and developing a portfolio consider a creative writing seminar for their thesis. 

This is the first installment of a three-part series. Stay tuned to learn more about Lucas' thesis journey!