The Honors Thesis

The last part of a student's work in the honors college is the baccalaureate thesis; it bears emphasizing that this is a serious project, representing a valuable opportunity for the student to work closely with senior faculty, and it should not be undertaken frivolously. It should also be emphasized that the project is one for which you will have received substantial preparation, in both the general education curriculum of the honors college and in work done in the departmental major. Consequently, your final thesis will be expected to represent your best effort at demonstrating skilled application of the writing and research skills in which you have been trained.

The process has two parts: a thesis seminar (HON 407, offered each quarter except summer), during which you will compose a prospectus, and the credit for the thesis proper, taken as HON 403 (THESIS).

The prospectus should be an indication that you are already aware of the main contours of your thesis project, and it is not to be written as pure speculation. Instead, it should reflect substantial consideration and reflection already undertaken. In addition to the cogent statement of plan presented in the essay portion of the prospectus, you will also provide a bibliography indicating your awareness of other resources appropriate to your project. This bibliography should represent an informed awareness of materials pertinent to each of the main terms and to the refinements of your argument—keeping always in mind, of course, that a thesis has an argument and is never simply a report. This prospectus will be due in the eighth week of the quarter during which you are registered for the thesis seminar (HON 407). Separate copies must be submitted to the following parties:

• the thesis adviser
• the department adviser responsible for honors college students
• the office of the Director of the honors college

The project overall earns you eight credits: two for HON 407 (Thesis Seminar) and six for HON 403 (THESIS). The credits for HON403—which are registered for using a "by-arrangement" form (available in the honors college office)—may be distributed as you wish (that is, three credit hours over two quarters or six credit hours in one quarter.) However, in your planning keep also always in mind that the thesis is due in final draft to the honors college office in the eighth week of the final quarter of work on the project. It must be accompanied by the completed acceptance form—which can be downloaded here in .pdf format and which is also available in the honors college office—appropriately signed by the thesis adviser and the honors college departmental adviser.

It is expected that the thesis project, once initiated, will be completed in a timely manner. Keep in mind that this project represents the investment of time and energy not just by you but also by your departmental faculty adviser or mentor, as well as by the faculty of the honors college (who will read and accept the thesis for the University). If the thesis project is not completed in a timely fashion, action will be taken by the honors college. This may range from being placed on leave (until the completion and acceptance of the thesis) to a transfer out of the honors college and a return to the graduation requirements of the general University. Consequently, we urge you to keep the requirements of the thesis project in mind as you plan your senior year (recognizing that the project may well occupy you throughout the entirety of that year).

Perhaps it goes without saying (but it should, nonetheless, be mentioned) that the large majority of students not only complete the thesis project with excellence but also find it a powerfully useful tool for integrating the work done in their departmental major with the preparatory work done throughout the honors curriculum. They also find it a valuable component of the application portfolio to graduate or professional school as well as a signal opportunity to stabilize and to communicate a serious and thoughtful intellectual vision.

For more information about the baccalaureate thesis, in the context of the overall requirements of the Program, consult the curriculum rationale and coursework.