The culmination of your Honors experience is the Honors senior project. To give students maximum flexibility and opportunity, the senior project can be completed in multiple formats, namely a research thesis, creative thesis, or portfolio. Honors students choose a format in consultation with their Honors faculty mentor and in accordance with the requirements and best practices of their major department.
Students attend a Bridge Session or advising appointment with the Director in the second semester of their sophomore year to learn more about the senior project.
Writing Your Proposal
Before beginning the project, all Honors students write a senior project proposal. The proposal is approved by your faculty mentor and the Honors director. It is a 10-12 page paper that clearly explains what your project is, its format, its contributions, and your methods and timeline in completing it. Honors offers two courses to help you write the proposal, HON 495 and HON 499. You may also take a proposal-writing class in your major, for example HIST 396 or ECE 396. Please go here for more information on writing your proposal.
Thesis
The Honors Thesis represents original, independent, mentored inquiry or creative work that reflects sustained effort, thoughtfulness of design and excellence in execution, and which enhances the student’s area of study. It is the culmination of our Honors students’ hard work, persistence, and dedication and is the capstone to their Honors education.
Students work closely with a Faculty Mentor and an additional committee member over the course of their senior year to conduct research or carry out creative work as appropriate to their major, and produce a written record of their work.
Portfolio
The portfolio format allows students to compile several items of different formats, lengths, and styles into a single senior project. For example, portfolios could include items like design projects, study abroad reports, community-based research, etc. The portfolio is best for work that is not of sustained length, but has distinct but related components making a quality whole. Through a written reflective essay, and the Portfolio as a whole, you will complete a project that it is of equal quality and rigor to the Honors Thesis option. The component or artifacts included in your portfolio will vary widely according to your project and major field of study, however some possible inclusions may be:
- Websites designed
- Performance pieces
- Service-Learning, community-based research, or practicum-based projects
- Entrepreneurial activities
- Computer programs/apps
- Artwork
While compiling your Portfolio pieces be sure there is a cohesive theme, related to the relevant literature, that binds the whole.
Resources:
Honors Proposal Handbook
Honors Senior Project Handbook