All majors require students to complete a senior requirement.

The senior requirement measures whether the student can demonstrate some form of mastery or substantial competence in some significant aspect of the subject of the major. Most senior requirements take the form of a written or oral examination or a senior project or senior essay. Most senior projects or senior essays yield course credit, although some departments offer non-credit senior essays or projects. All seniors in the major must complete the senior requirement satisfactorily or they cannot be graduated; it may not be waived in any circumstance. A department may not change its senior requirement without approval from the Course of Study Committee or the Committee on Majors.

The grade for the senior requirement, whether or not it carries course credit, is important in determining a student’s eligibility for Distinction in the Major (see Honors and Distinction).