Honors

Honors Guidelines

Students will be expected to do preparatory work on the project over the summer before the start of the senior year. Each student will work with his or her faculty advisor during the fall semester with the expectation that the project will continue as an honors project unless the faculty member, in conversation with the student, decides that it is not feasible to do so. No project will officially be deemed an “honors project” until the beginning of the second semester of the senior year. It is possible for a student to continue to work on the project as an advanced independent study.

Departmental and college deadlines:

Prospectus and Bibliography (second week, first semester)

By the end of the second week of the first semester, students should submit a two-page prospectus and a bibliography to the entire department.

Oral Presentation (reading period, first semester)

During reading period at the end of the first semester, students will do a brief oral presentation of their work to the department (faculty and interested students). Other requirements for first-semester work are to be determined by the student’s honors project advisor.

Submit Names to Registrar and Determine Second Reader (mid-February)

In mid-February, names of students planning to complete honors projects must be submitted to the Registrar’s office; this does not mean that the student is now obligated to complete a project, but sets up the necessary administrative protocols should the student proceed to do so. At this time, faculty members also meet to determine who will be the second reader for each project.

First Draft (first week after spring break)

By the end of the first week following spring break, students should submit a completed draft of the project to their advisor and to their second reader. Within the two weeks thereafter, students will meet with the second reader to discuss the draft. During this period, departments must also submit the titles of honors projects to the registrar.

Final Draft (Monday, fourth week of April)

By Monday of the fourth week of April, students should submit a final draft of the project to all members of the department.

Final Presentation and Review (early May)

The final stage of the project will take place in early May and must be completed by the second day of reading period (it is important to complete this stage in early May in order to comply with the formal deadlines set by the registrar and the library). 

First, students will give an oral presentation of their project that is open to the campus community. 

Thereafter, students will meet with department faculty for a discussion of their project. After the presentation and meeting, faculty will determine whether the student has earned honors for the project and, if so, what level of honors should be awarded. At the meeting, faculty may suggest some alterations or improvements that should be made before the project is submitted; however, the student does not need to resubmit the project to the whole faculty—only the student’s advisor needs to approve the very final draft.

Specific dates for the spring semester deadlines will be provided at the start of the spring semester.