Information for Undergraduate Thesis Advisers, University Honors

As the final part of their general education requirements in the honors college, students in the Program compose an undergraduate thesis, generally within the departmental major. This project includes two parts: first, the composition of a thesis prospectus, during the Honors Program Thesis Seminar (HON 407, offered Fall, Winter, Spring quarters), in which the student concisely outlines the topic and its significance to the field of study, showing how the anticipated project falls in relation to significant other work in the domain or field. To that prospectus should be appended a working bibliography of substantial merit and scope. (The student will give copies of this prospectus to you, to the department's designated adviser for honors college students, and to the Honors Program office; it is due to the Program office by the eighth week of the quarter.) The remainder of the project is carried out under the HON 403 (Thesis) heading; that component generally carries six hours' credit, so that the student receives eight hours' credit for the entirety of the thesis project.

We stress repeatedly with our students the need to complete this project in a timely manner; counting from the term in which the thesis seminar is taken (and the prospectus composed), the entire effort should be done within three terms-thus a student beginning with the Thesis Seminar in the Fall quarter would be expected to complete his or her work by Spring (at the latest.)

Goals of the Thesis Project. Clearly we cannot expect every student, at the undergraduate level, to carry out original work in his or her field of study. But we do expect the production of a rigorous and extensive project which reflects the best possible work on a serious topic. Ideally the thesis will integrate-or by reference suggest awareness of, and the possibility of integration of-many aspects of the major area of study, at the same time demonstrating close work on a narrowly defined (but representative) part of that major area. Surveys of criticism and scholarship on a given topic are appropriate and acceptable, as are portfolios of work in relevant areas (fine and graphic arts, architecture, engineering, music, dance, theatre), so long as they are accompanied by a careful formal essay in discussion of the critical principles leading to the composition and construction of the portfolio. Projects which should be carried out under the heading of a practicum are not appropriate, and will not be accepted for credit in the honors college. Since our stated purpose is to prepare our students for graduate and professional school, the ultimate purpose of the thesis is to allow the candidate opportunity to display the character, and quality of careful scholarly and critical work done in the major area of concentration.

Work Expected of the Student. For the Thesis Seminar, the composition of a prospectus which outlines approach, method, perspective, significance of the project, accompanied by a working bibliography. For the thesis proper, the specific length will of course vary, depending on the particular topic, and the expectations of the major department. However, a rough usual rule-of-thumb is that the thesis should be approximately twice a usual term paper or project's length; thus in the humanities and social sciences, a typical length has been forty to sixty pages, in the natural sciences correspondingly less. The thesis is graded "pass/no pass," but it is understood that the "pass" grade represents work of high (A) caliber, or the thesis should not be accepted. Please do not assign that "pass" mark until the final copy is ready to be conveyed to the honors college office by the student.

Preparation of the Candidate. We begin, in the first quarter's writing assignment of the core course-in the freshman year, in other words-preparing our students for this project (each of the writing assignments for that course examines one of the tools or components necessary in the writing of a thesis or dissertation.) In the second-year portion of that course, students in both tracks (see the Honors website) receive substantial preparation and practice in placing intellectual work within discourse communities-communities of carefully framed and situated theory and practice. In the upper-division coursework of the honors college, they return to work with these skills and tools at yet higher levels of sophistication. In other words, by the time the thesis candidate reaches you, he or she has had a minimum of twenty-seven hours' writing coursework devoted to the preparation for this project (and in some cases considerably more.) We hope that you will test their mettle and push them to produce the finest possible work; we have been extremely proud of the work done in the baccalaureate thesis, ever since the institution of this requirement as a regular part of the honors college curriculum, in 1985.

Style and Format of the Thesis. At the discretion of the departmental thesis adviser, and varies from department to department, so long as the terms, principles and conditions suggested above are observed.

All advisers will be asked to sign formally in acceptance of the completed permanent copy of the thesis, which the candidate is responsible for conveying to the Honors Program office. The acceptance form is available for the student to download from the honors college website, or the student may pick it up at the Program office.