Bates is one of a small number of colleges and universities requiring a senior thesis to complete most majors. The senior thesis is an unusual opportunity for extended, closely guided research and writing, performance, or studio work. The senior thesis allows students to synthesize and integrate the best of what they have learned in their major fields, and is one of the most important means by which students provide evidence they have indeed mastered their subject area. Many students consider the thesis project their most important educational experience.

Each summer more than 60 students receive support to pursue faculty-directed research full time. A Bates education offers excellent preparation for further study and careers: More than two-thirds of recent alumni have earned graduate or professional degrees within 10 years of graduation.

The percentage of students engaged in study abroad is among the highest in the nation: 70 percent of members of the Class of 2003 earned credit for study abroad at some point in their college experience. Bates has long recognized the special role it plays in providing students with the perspective and opportunities that lead to international service and a vision of world citizenship.

The Bates Center for Service-Learning involves more than half the students in projects that integrate the intellectual life of the College and service projects. Service-Learning exposes students to the world and its problems and its solutions. In Lewiston-Auburn, because of size and temperament, people are accessible. The people making important decisions are the ones students work with. Students can transform lives, either through mentoring or engaging in policy decisions, and they get a chance to meet some great people. In a recent year, students provided 59,381 hours of service to 139 nonprofit groups and government agencies. About one-half of all students participate in service-learning, and about a third of the faculty include a service component in their courses.