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Senior Thesis

All theses written by Princeton seniors are archived in Mudd Manuscript Library. The library provides electronic access to a searchable database at http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd/databases/.

• A total of 51,655 theses are listed in the database, which covers from 1926 to 2002.
• The longest thesis listed runs 756 pages (Jeanne Faust '76, English, "Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald '17: A Collection of Short Stories").
• The shortest thesis listed runs three pages (Gianluca Tempesti '89, electrical engineering, "Overview Opto-Electronic Integrated Circuits").
• The five departments with the most theses archived are: history (7,091), English (6,047), politics (5,512), economics (5,480) and Woodrow Wilson School (3,084).

A look at some Princeton alumni and the titles of their theses can provide a preview of their future careers:

• Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker '52: "Two Sides of the Conflict: Bevin vs. Bevan."
• Former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley '65: "'On That Record I Stand' -- Harry S. Truman's Fight for the Senatorship in 1940."
• Actor Dean Cain '88: "The History and Development of the Functions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences."
• Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp '89: "An Argument and Plan for the Creation of the Teachers Corporation."
• U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld '54: "The Steel Seizure Case of 1952 and Its Effects on Presidential Powers."
• Actress Brooke Shields '87: "The Initiation: From Innocence to Experience: The Pre-Adolescent/Adolescent Journey in the Films of Louis Malle, 'Pretty Baby' and 'Lacombe Lucien.'"
• Vanguard Group founder John Bogle '51: "The Economic Role of the Investment Company."
• Guitarist Stanley Jordan '81: "Computer Music and Visual Concert."

 
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