Honors Thesis Policy & Procedures
Policies and Procedures
The thesis topic will be in your major. If you have a double major or are doing an interdisciplinary major, the topic can be in any one of your major fields or be a combination.
The Honors Thesis is an opportunity for significant research or creative writing on a topic of individual interest. Different disciplines have different standards and expectations for length in the Honors Thesis project. Your thesis director will be able to tell you what is considered adequate in your discipline.
Examples of honors theses are available in the archives room of the library. You will find theses written in the last few years. Look for one in your discipline to give you an idea of what is expected from you.
There are standard first page and second page formats for the thesis (available online—see “Forms” link on Honors web page). Make sure you follow this format. Get the required signatures for the second page.
Honors Thesis—General Procedures:
The honors thesis is a two term project undertaken as a two course sequence, Honors 450 and Honors 451.
Honors 450
The purpose and required work in Honors 450 is as follows: 1) To discover and define a focus, subject, topic, or creative project for the Honors Thesis 2) to do required preliminary work as defined by the Honors Thesis director (e.g. annotated bibliography, field or lab research, general research to narrow topic’s focus, creative work and so on) 3) to complete a progress report as defined by the Honors Thesis director and to present that report to the Honors Thesis director and committee by the 13 th week of classes in which a student is enrolled in HON 450.
Honors 450 is graded with an H (Honors), S (Satisfactory), or U (Unsatisfactory). Three hours credit is awarded for either an “H” or “S.” No credit is awarded for a “U.” The course must be repeated. None of these grades affects a student’s grade point average. The Honors Thesis director, in consultation with the other committee members, will determine the grade to be awarded. All three members must agree on the grade to be awarded.
Unless a student is on a study-abroad program, he/she should enroll in Honors 450 the second term of the junior year. If a student is studying abroad in the second term of the junior year, enroll in Honors 450 in the first term of the junior year (if possible) or in the first term of the senior year.
The first step, then, is to choose a member of the faculty to direct your thesis. He or she is ordinarily in your major discipline. After a faculty member agrees to direct your thesis, work together with that faculty member to: a) define the topic and b) to create your Honors Thesis Committee.
The Honors Thesis Committee should have three members: a director, who is in your discipline/department; a second member from the same discipline/department; and a third member from any discipline/major within the college. Consult with your thesis director as to who would be appropriate second and third members for your committee. It is then your responsibility to ask these faculty to serve on your committee.
REQUIRED. Once an Honors Thesis Committee is formed, immediately inform the Director of the Honors Program, Dr. M. E. Cooley. Provide the name of the director, his/her department, and the names, departments of the other committee members.
Honors 451
Having successfully passed Honors 450, a student should enroll in Honors 451. A student will work on creating the final draft of the thesis in Honors 451. By the eleventh week, a reasonably polished final draft of the thesis should be submitted to the faculty member who is directing the thesis and to the other committee members. The committee has one week to review, provide criticisms, and make suggestions for revisions. Once the student receives the committee’s response, he/she revises and then submits a final draft to all committee members.
Guidelines/Timeline:
- Students should begin the first thesis course, HON 450, the second semester of their junior year. This semester will focus on research/drafting efforts. A brief progress report, as defined by the Honors Thesis director in writing, is required. Submit this report to your thesis director and committee members by the 13 th week of classes.
- For Honors 451, if a student began work during the spring term in Honors 450, he/she should meet with his/her director and committee by the second week of the fall term to discuss work done over the summer and to agree to the kind of work to be completed for the remainder of the Honors 451 semester.
- Students enrolled in Honors 451 are required to submit a reasonably complete rough draft to their honors defense committee by the eleventh week of the semester in which he/she enrolled in 451. The purpose of this requirement is to provide committee members adequate time to make recommendations before the defense and/or give the student time to make large scale changes if the work presented does not meet committee standards. A defense should be scheduled as early as possible but no later than the last week of class.
- If a student does not pass the thesis defense, he or she will have a semester to rectify the weaknesses of his/her thesis as defined by the committee. (This presumes that a student began work on the Honors Thesis during his/her junior year and completed HON 451 during the first term of his/her senior year.) Upon fulfillment of the requirements and a satisfactory second defense, the student’s incomplete will be changed to the appropriate letter grade, and the student will be allowed to graduate with honors as long as all other requirements for the program have been fulfilled.
Grading:
Two types of grading will be used for the honors thesis courses. HON 450 or the thesis research course will receive a grade of Unsatisfactory, Satisfactory, or Honors (for exemplary work). These grades do not affect the student’s GPA but do affect the credit students receive toward completion of their degree requirements. If a grade of “U” is given for Honors 450, the course must be repeated and passed successfully in order to receive an Honors degree.
HON 451 will receive a letter grade determined by the student’s thesis director in collaboration with his/her defense committee members. All three committee members must agree on the grade awarded.
Register
To register for HON 450, you will need the signatures of your thesis director (a professor in your major department) and the director of the Honors Program. The form to register for HON 450/451 is available here.
To register for HON 451, you will need the signatures of the Honors Director and the school dean (if you want to double count HON 451 in honors and your major). The form to register for either of these courses is available here.
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