honors thesis deutch

Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures

Honors thesis guidelines, guidelines for the department of germanic and slavic languages and literatures honors thesis.

The Schreyer Honors College has a description of the honors thesis and offers advice about how to choose a topic, find an adviser, and budget one’s time located at https://www.shc.psu.edu/academic/thesis/ .

The Honors College describes the thesis as “a scholarly piece of writing in which the writer is expected to show a command of the relevant scholarship in his (or her) field and contribute to the scholarship. It should confront a question that is unresolved and push towards a resolution.”

The thesis is likely to be one of the most challenging and rewarding assignments of a student’s undergraduate career. In the process of pursuing a topic, conducting independent research, formulating, articulating and crafting a sustained argument, students will build on what they have learned in coursework, gain insights into literary, cultural, and/or linguistic scholarship and methodology, and develop their talents as writers and thinkers. Once the thesis is completed students will have the satisfaction of knowing they have produced a work of scholarship that will be permanently archived in the Schreyer’s (electronic) thesis archive and the Penn State Library system.

The Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures expects honors theses to be based on thorough research and to offer an original interpretation. Students are required to undertake a meaningful degree of primary source research in crafting the thesis. The nature and extent of the primary research may vary according to the question pursued and the field of study. Students may, for instance, explore topics in German or Russian literature, film, culture and civilization, history, second language acquisition, or linguistics.

Students are also expected to situate their research and analysis within the scholarship of the field and to clearly articulate and support the significance of their project and its contribution. Students whose work involves extensive primary research should be careful not simply to present a narrative or an inventory of their sources, but to center the thesis on the analysis and interpretation of their research in such a way that their thesis makes an argument. Advisers should help determine the appropriate balance between primary research and scholarly contextualization, between presentation of the evidence and interpretation.

Finding a Thesis Adviser

Your thesis will be supervised by a thesis adviser, and the final thesis will need to be approved by both the thesis adviser and your honors adviser. In the case that these are the same person, a second reader will need to be selected. It is your responsibility to secure a thesis adviser by the end of your junior year. You should consult with the honors adviser for your major in deciding whom you might ask to be your thesis supervisor/adviser.

Length, Format, and Structure of the Thesis

The honors thesis is expected to be approximately the length of a standard scholarly journal article in the field. The text must be double-spaced with one-inch margins.

Think of your thesis in terms of chapters. Each chapter is a subtopic related to the whole. A chapter should present an argument supported by evidence; it could almost stand alone as a research paper, but as a chapter, it should establish its connection to the larger argument and/or preceding and succeeding chapters at least at the beginning and the end.

As a ballpark figure: you should envision the thesis as being comprised of three, or maybe four, substantive chapters—with, in addition, a shorter introduction and a conclusion.

Bibliography and References

The thesis must include a complete bibliography citing all the materials used for the thesis. The bibliography and in-text reference must be formatted according to the standards accepted in the field.

Style and Usage

The thesis is a formal piece of scholarly writing. Do not use colloquial expressions or contractions. Remember that the thesis is important—it is a source of pride and will be archived electronically (for all to read!). Go over the final draft and correct awkward phrasing; be sure to eliminate all errors in typing, spelling, and grammar.

German students are strongly encouraged to write their thesis in German, though the decision ultimately comes down to the topic, and will be made in consultation with the honors adviser. If the thesis is written in English, a 600-word abstract must be composed in German to accompany the English text. Russian students will write their theses in English.

Important Dates

The deadlines and other key dates can be found at the SHC website: https://www.shc.psu.edu/academic/resources/dates.cfm

A SHC Thesis Proposal is due to the Schreyers Honors College in the spring term of the Junior year—usually mid April. The SHC Thesis Proposal outlines the scope of the proposed research and any special needs the student might have to pursue this topic, such as the need to travel to archival collections, order microfilm, and so on.

• It is a department requirement that your SHC April Thesis Proposal include a preliminary bibliography.

This proposal will be approved by the honors adviser; the thesis supervisor (if that person is not the honors adviser); and by the Schreyer’s Honors College. This means the student must have a fairly well defined topic and a committed thesis supervisor one full year before the thesis is due.

• It is a department requirement that you have a detailed outline of the entire thesis, along with a draft of at least one of the chapters by the end of the first semester of the year of thesis writing.
• Additionally, the department requires that a complete draft of the thesis be submitted to the thesis supervisor one week prior to the SHC “Mandatory Thesis Format Review Deadline” (which is usually early March for the Spring semester and early November for the Fall semester).

Students may sign up for up to six credits of coursework to be taken during the year of thesis research and writing, three credits of which may be counted toward the major. The appropriate course number is GER494H or RUS494H.

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How do I say ‘honours degree’ / ‘honours thesis’ in German?

I completed my honours degree last year at university. To my knowledge, the German education system does not have a comparable degree (an additional year of research culminating in a thesis which may be undertaken after completion of the Bachelor degree given if your marks were good enough).

What would I call this in German? Ehren ? Would someone know what I meant if I said Honours ?

Also what is the correct term for the thesis? Dissertation is for PhDs and Aufsatz is way to general I think. I know the term Bachelor-Arbeit , could I say Honours-Arbeit ?

I am writing to a publishing company in Germany and I want to make sure I use the right terms.

• technical-terminology

• 2 I don't know of a proper German equivalent. I commonly see people advertising their degree around me as BSc (Hons), so would expect any German company with a bit of international standing should have an idea about the English original. –  tofro Commented Mar 28, 2016 at 9:33
• What you write in your first paragraph is not what "honours degree" means in the UK. Which country are you talking about? –  fdb Commented Mar 28, 2016 at 11:37
• If a normal Bachelor’s degree doesn’t include a thesis in your country, your Honors degree may compare well to a German/European Bachelor degree which is awarded after a three to four-year programme with a median workload of 4500–7200 hours depending on country and college/university. –  Crissov Commented Mar 28, 2016 at 13:22
• 13 Don't try to use a German word for something that doesn't exist in this way in Germany. Use the English word and explain, just like you did above. There's "Diplomarbeit" and "Doktorarbeit", so I'd use some generic compound with "-arbeit", e.g. "Abschlussarbeit". Again, explain what it is for. –  dirkt Commented Mar 28, 2016 at 16:09
• de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor I am not sure about which "Honour" is meant in this question, but here are some explained in German. –  Iris Commented Apr 4, 2016 at 12:38

Regarding academic degrees from different, non-aligned education systems, an explanation or description is usually better than a translation. Honours (or honors ) in particular should never be translated as Ehren- or even ehrenhalber (e.h., eh.), because that’s an honor ary degree (Latin: honoris causa, h.c., hc. ) which is always awarded without a thesis, sometimes even without requiring formal studies.

The spelling with ou and the Wikpedia article suggest that the OP acquired his degree in the UK or a Commonwealth country, but not the US. Inside the EU (so including England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Malta), the Bologna Process should require the issuing university to supply the diploma with an explanation and the degree should be comparable by workload, acquired skills and difficulty to other European degrees.

Bachelor programmes at a German Universität (or Fachhochschule ) usually include a mandatory thesis concluding a three-year study programme (6 semesters, 180 ECTS credit points of median 30 hours workload each), rarely longer (at most 8 semesters, 210 or 240 CPs). A British Honours degree after a Bachelor programme seems therefore comparable.

If it’s unusual – an actual honour – to write a thesis at a certain university, and this may be well known to the prospective employer, an applicant should stress that their qualification is at least comparable to that of a German student. Anyone working in human resources who knows about such differences between academic systems should be familiar with the English term, so a translation isn’t needed – after all, we’re using anglicisms Bachelor and Master now (instead of direct Romanisms like Magister, Diplom, Ingenieur ). Some may even be rejecting applicants with just an Ordinary / Pass / General degree, because they’re considered too inferior. German HR departments are often quite keen on titles, diplomas and certificates; Austrian ones even more so – at least so I’ve heard.

An Australian Honours degree as part of a four-year programme may be harder (And necessary) to explain in Europe. I remember briefly meeting an Aussie complaining about this. One should stress the selective, competitive and research aspects of the degree. If one still wanted a translation, I’ll offer these:

• Bachelorabschluss mit Auszeichnung – stresses the grades (possibly A and B class )
• Abschluss mit Forschungssemester – stresses the increased length and research aspect
• Bachelor mit Forschungsschwerpunkt – emphasises the research aspect

The title of the thesis ( Abschlussarbeit or Bachelorarbeit ) can – often should – be part of a job application and by its mere existence indicates that one was successfully written.

• Crissov, did you just answer this with your opinion and not really knowing any answer at all? You also gave a lot of comparisons which was not asked for at all. For information, UK Honours degrees are usually 4 years, not three. A basic batchelors degree is three years without honours. so please get your facts straight. –  iain9876 Commented Dec 16, 2020 at 14:56
• 1 @iain9876 Sorry to reply to an old comment, but that's not true. A typical first degree in the UK is three or four years, usually leading to a bachelor's degree with honours ('with honours' so universal that it is often not mentioned; not getting honours is essentially equivalent to failing in most places). Some first degrees have 'master' in the name, particularly Scottish first degrees (MA, equivalent to English BA) and integrated masters (MMath, MPhys etc., roughly equivalent to bachelors + one-year masters). –  dbmag9 Commented Jun 2, 2021 at 19:51
• See these pages, for instance, and click on a few courses to see their length: plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate liverpool.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses lboro.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/a-z – plenty of university websites don't mention 'Hons' because it's so universal in the UK as to be irrelevant. –  dbmag9 Commented Jun 2, 2021 at 19:54

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Qualified students are encouraged to participate in the Honors Program by writing a thesis (German 87). 

HONORS THESIS

Introduction

We encourage the students interested in in-depth independent research on a topic of their choice to pursue the honors program and write a thesis. The topic must be related to an aspect of Germanophone culture (broadly conceived), and must have viable support of a faculty advisor in the department. Most students who pursue honors get ideas from our classes, study abroad programs, or professional opportunities in Germany.

Why pursue honors?

Researching and writing an honors thesis is a formative experience and an ideal capstone to your studies. To employers, an honors thesis signals independence, creativity, analytical ability, and depth. To graduate school admissions committees, it signals seriousness, motivation, ability to carry out research and writing over an extended length of time, and receptivity to feedback.

The work on the thesis begins in late spring of the junior year and continues through the senior year as described below. Students writing a thesis should aim for a final draft that is 30-40 pages long.

Junior spring:

Contact the advisor with whom you would like to work (check the faculty page on the German Studies website to get a good sense of the different areas of expertise and faculty research profiles) and determine a possible topic by May 15. Usually, students need only one advisor, unless the thesis involves substantial interdisciplinary work or work in another field outside the department. In those cases, two advisors will be necessary.

Senior summer:

Independent reading and research. Aim to have a list of primary sources and a list of secondary sources by the start of the fall term. Start drafting your thesis proposal (example HERE ).

Senior fall:

Share your thesis proposal draft with your faculty advisor by the first week of class, get feedback, revise, and submit the final draft to Ann Fenton ([email protected]), Department Administrator, and your advisor by October 1. Meet with your advisor and set up a regular meeting schedule for the term. Together, set concrete (and achievable) research and/or writing milestones for each meeting. Develop an outline and start drafting one of the chapters/parts with the goal of having it ready by January 3.

Senior winter:

Enroll in GERM 65 (culminating experience). You will submit another chapter/part of your thesis in lieu of the final writing project in this class. Meet with the instructor of the course and your advisor in the first week of the winter term to discuss your thesis work in the context of the class.

Senior spring: Enroll in GERM 87 and meet with your advisor regularly to make sure that you complete the full first draft by May 1st. You will receive feedback and submit the final draft by May 25th. Your public presentation will be scheduled for the penultimate week of classes.

The department will vote on Honors or High Honors by the end of the term.

Honors Theses

What this handout is about.

Writing a senior honors thesis, or any major research essay, can seem daunting at first. A thesis requires a reflective, multi-stage writing process. This handout will walk you through those stages. It is targeted at students in the humanities and social sciences, since their theses tend to involve more writing than projects in the hard sciences. Yet all thesis writers may find the organizational strategies helpful.

Introduction

What is an honors thesis.

That depends quite a bit on your field of study. However, all honors theses have at least two things in common:

• They are based on students’ original research.
• They take the form of a written manuscript, which presents the findings of that research. In the humanities, theses average 50-75 pages in length and consist of two or more chapters. In the social sciences, the manuscript may be shorter, depending on whether the project involves more quantitative than qualitative research. In the hard sciences, the manuscript may be shorter still, often taking the form of a sophisticated laboratory report.

Who can write an honors thesis?

In general, students who are at the end of their junior year, have an overall 3.2 GPA, and meet their departmental requirements can write a senior thesis. For information about your eligibility, contact:

• UNC Honors Program
• Your departmental administrators of undergraduate studies/honors

Why write an honors thesis?

Satisfy your intellectual curiosity This is the most compelling reason to write a thesis. Whether it’s the short stories of Flannery O’Connor or the challenges of urban poverty, you’ve studied topics in college that really piqued your interest. Now’s your chance to follow your passions, explore further, and contribute some original ideas and research in your field.

Develop transferable skills Whether you choose to stay in your field of study or not, the process of developing and crafting a feasible research project will hone skills that will serve you well in almost any future job. After all, most jobs require some form of problem solving and oral and written communication. Writing an honors thesis requires that you:

• ask smart questions
• acquire the investigative instincts needed to find answers
• navigate libraries, laboratories, archives, databases, and other research venues
• develop the flexibility to redirect your research if your initial plan flops
• master the art of time management
• hone your argumentation skills
• organize a lengthy piece of writing
• polish your oral communication skills by presenting and defending your project to faculty and peers

Work closely with faculty mentors At large research universities like Carolina, you’ve likely taken classes where you barely got to know your instructor. Writing a thesis offers the opportunity to work one-on-one with a with faculty adviser. Such mentors can enrich your intellectual development and later serve as invaluable references for graduate school and employment.

Open windows into future professions An honors thesis will give you a taste of what it’s like to do research in your field. Even if you’re a sociology major, you may not really know what it’s like to be a sociologist. Writing a sociology thesis would open a window into that world. It also might help you decide whether to pursue that field in graduate school or in your future career.

How do you write an honors thesis?

Get an idea of what’s expected.

It’s a good idea to review some of the honors theses other students have submitted to get a sense of what an honors thesis might look like and what kinds of things might be appropriate topics. Look for examples from the previous year in the Carolina Digital Repository. You may also be able to find past theses collected in your major department or at the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library. Pay special attention to theses written by students who share your major.

Choose a topic

Ideally, you should start thinking about topics early in your junior year, so you can begin your research and writing quickly during your senior year. (Many departments require that you submit a proposal for an honors thesis project during the spring of your junior year.)

How should you choose a topic?

• Read widely in the fields that interest you. Make a habit of browsing professional journals to survey the “hot” areas of research and to familiarize yourself with your field’s stylistic conventions. (You’ll find the most recent issues of the major professional journals in the periodicals reading room on the first floor of Davis Library).
• Set up appointments to talk with faculty in your field. This is a good idea, since you’ll eventually need to select an advisor and a second reader. Faculty also can help you start narrowing down potential topics.
• Look at honors theses from the past. The North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library holds UNC honors theses. To get a sense of the typical scope of a thesis, take a look at a sampling from your field.

What makes a good topic?

• It’s fascinating. Above all, choose something that grips your imagination. If you don’t, the chances are good that you’ll struggle to finish.
• It’s doable. Even if a topic interests you, it won’t work out unless you have access to the materials you need to research it. Also be sure that your topic is narrow enough. Let’s take an example: Say you’re interested in the efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and early 1980s. That’s a big topic that probably can’t be adequately covered in a single thesis. You need to find a case study within that larger topic. For example, maybe you’re particularly interested in the states that did not ratify the ERA. Of those states, perhaps you’ll select North Carolina, since you’ll have ready access to local research materials. And maybe you want to focus primarily on the ERA’s opponents. Beyond that, maybe you’re particularly interested in female opponents of the ERA. Now you’ve got a much more manageable topic: Women in North Carolina Who Opposed the ERA in the 1970s and 1980s.
• It contains a question. There’s a big difference between having a topic and having a guiding research question. Taking the above topic, perhaps your main question is: Why did some women in North Carolina oppose the ERA? You will, of course, generate other questions: Who were the most outspoken opponents? White women? Middle-class women? How did they oppose the ERA? Public protests? Legislative petitions? etc. etc. Yet it’s good to start with a guiding question that will focus your research.

Goal-setting and time management

The senior year is an exceptionally busy time for college students. In addition to the usual load of courses and jobs, seniors have the daunting task of applying for jobs and/or graduate school. These demands are angst producing and time consuming If that scenario sounds familiar, don’t panic! Do start strategizing about how to make a time for your thesis. You may need to take a lighter course load or eliminate extracurricular activities. Even if the thesis is the only thing on your plate, you still need to make a systematic schedule for yourself. Most departments require that you take a class that guides you through the honors project, so deadlines likely will be set for you. Still, you should set your own goals for meeting those deadlines. Here are a few suggestions for goal setting and time management:

Start early. Keep in mind that many departments will require that you turn in your thesis sometime in early April, so don’t count on having the entire spring semester to finish your work. Ideally, you’ll start the research process the semester or summer before your senior year so that the writing process can begin early in the fall. Some goal-setting will be done for you if you are taking a required class that guides you through the honors project. But any substantive research project requires a clear timetable.

Set clear goals in making a timetable. Find out the final deadline for turning in your project to your department. Working backwards from that deadline, figure out how much time you can allow for the various stages of production.

Here is a sample timetable. Use it, however, with two caveats in mind:

• The timetable for your thesis might look very different depending on your departmental requirements.
• You may not wish to proceed through these stages in a linear fashion. You may want to revise chapter one before you write chapter two. Or you might want to write your introduction last, not first. This sample is designed simply to help you start thinking about how to customize your own schedule.

Sample timetable

Avoid falling into the trap of procrastination. Once you’ve set goals for yourself, stick to them! For some tips on how to do this, see our handout on procrastination .

Consistent production

It’s a good idea to try to squeeze in a bit of thesis work every day—even if it’s just fifteen minutes of journaling or brainstorming about your topic. Or maybe you’ll spend that fifteen minutes taking notes on a book. The important thing is to accomplish a bit of active production (i.e., putting words on paper) for your thesis every day. That way, you develop good writing habits that will help you keep your project moving forward.

Make yourself accountable to someone other than yourself

Since most of you will be taking a required thesis seminar, you will have deadlines. Yet you might want to form a writing group or enlist a peer reader, some person or people who can help you stick to your goals. Moreover, if your advisor encourages you to work mostly independently, don’t be afraid to ask them to set up periodic meetings at which you’ll turn in installments of your project.

Brainstorming and freewriting

One of the biggest challenges of a lengthy writing project is keeping the creative juices flowing. Here’s where freewriting can help. Try keeping a small notebook handy where you jot down stray ideas that pop into your head. Or schedule time to freewrite. You may find that such exercises “free” you up to articulate your argument and generate new ideas. Here are some questions to stimulate freewriting.

Questions for basic brainstorming at the beginning of your project:

• What do I already know about this topic?
• Why do I care about this topic?
• Why is this topic important to people other than myself
• What more do I want to learn about this topic?
• What is the main question that I am trying to answer?
• Where can I look for additional information?
• Who is my audience and how can I reach them?
• How will my work inform my larger field of study?
• What’s the main goal of my research project?

Questions for reflection throughout your project:

• What’s my main argument? How has it changed since I began the project?
• What’s the most important evidence that I have in support of my “big point”?
• What questions do my sources not answer?
• How does my case study inform or challenge my field writ large?
• Does my project reinforce or contradict noted scholars in my field? How?
• What is the most surprising finding of my research?
• What is the most frustrating part of this project?
• What is the most rewarding part of this project?
• What will be my work’s most important contribution?

Research and note-taking

In conducting research, you will need to find both primary sources (“firsthand” sources that come directly from the period/events/people you are studying) and secondary sources (“secondhand” sources that are filtered through the interpretations of experts in your field.) The nature of your research will vary tremendously, depending on what field you’re in. For some general suggestions on finding sources, consult the UNC Libraries tutorials . Whatever the exact nature of the research you’re conducting, you’ll be taking lots of notes and should reflect critically on how you do that. Too often it’s assumed that the research phase of a project involves very little substantive writing (i.e., writing that involves thinking). We sit down with our research materials and plunder them for basic facts and useful quotations. That mechanical type of information-recording is important. But a more thoughtful type of writing and analytical thinking is also essential at this stage. Some general guidelines for note-taking:

First of all, develop a research system. There are lots of ways to take and organize your notes. Whether you choose to use note cards, computer databases, or notebooks, follow two cardinal rules:

• Make careful distinctions between direct quotations and your paraphrasing! This is critical if you want to be sure to avoid accidentally plagiarizing someone else’s work. For more on this, see our handout on plagiarism .
• Record full citations for each source. Don’t get lazy here! It will be far more difficult to find the proper citation later than to write it down now.

Keeping those rules in mind, here’s a template for the types of information that your note cards/legal pad sheets/computer files should include for each of your sources:

Abbreviated subject heading: Include two or three words to remind you of what this sources is about (this shorthand categorization is essential for the later sorting of your sources).

Complete bibliographic citation:

• author, title, publisher, copyright date, and page numbers for published works
• box and folder numbers and document descriptions for archival sources
• complete web page title, author, address, and date accessed for online sources

Notes on facts, quotations, and arguments: Depending on the type of source you’re using, the content of your notes will vary. If, for example, you’re using US Census data, then you’ll mainly be writing down statistics and numbers. If you’re looking at someone else’s diary, you might jot down a number of quotations that illustrate the subject’s feelings and perspectives. If you’re looking at a secondary source, you’ll want to make note not just of factual information provided by the author but also of their key arguments.

Your interpretation of the source: This is the most important part of note-taking. Don’t just record facts. Go ahead and take a stab at interpreting them. As historians Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff insist, “A note is a thought.” So what do these thoughts entail? Ask yourself questions about the context and significance of each source.

Interpreting the context of a source:

• Who wrote/created the source?
• When, and under what circumstances, was it written/created?
• Why was it written/created? What was the agenda behind the source?
• How was it written/created?
• If using a secondary source: How does it speak to other scholarship in the field?

Interpreting the significance of a source:

• How does this source answer (or complicate) my guiding research questions?
• Does it pose new questions for my project? What are they?
• Does it challenge my fundamental argument? If so, how?
• Given the source’s context, how reliable is it?

You don’t need to answer all of these questions for each source, but you should set a goal of engaging in at least one or two sentences of thoughtful, interpretative writing for each source. If you do so, you’ll make much easier the next task that awaits you: drafting.

The dread of drafting

Why do we often dread drafting? We dread drafting because it requires synthesis, one of the more difficult forms of thinking and interpretation. If you’ve been free-writing and taking thoughtful notes during the research phase of your project, then the drafting should be far less painful. Here are some tips on how to get started:

Sort your “evidence” or research into analytical categories:

• Some people file note cards into categories.
• The technologically-oriented among us take notes using computer database programs that have built-in sorting mechanisms.
• Others cut and paste evidence into detailed outlines on their computer.
• Still others stack books, notes, and photocopies into topically-arranged piles.There is not a single right way, but this step—in some form or fashion—is essential!

If you’ve been forcing yourself to put subject headings on your notes as you go along, you’ll have generated a number of important analytical categories. Now, you need to refine those categories and sort your evidence. Everyone has a different “sorting style.”

Formulate working arguments for your entire thesis and individual chapters. Once you’ve sorted your evidence, you need to spend some time thinking about your project’s “big picture.” You need to be able to answer two questions in specific terms:

• What is the overall argument of my thesis?
• What are the sub-arguments of each chapter and how do they relate to my main argument?

Keep in mind that “working arguments” may change after you start writing. But a senior thesis is big and potentially unwieldy. If you leave this business of argument to chance, you may end up with a tangle of ideas. See our handout on arguments and handout on thesis statements for some general advice on formulating arguments.

Divide your thesis into manageable chunks. The surest road to frustration at this stage is getting obsessed with the big picture. What? Didn’t we just say that you needed to focus on the big picture? Yes, by all means, yes. You do need to focus on the big picture in order to get a conceptual handle on your project, but you also need to break your thesis down into manageable chunks of writing. For example, take a small stack of note cards and flesh them out on paper. Or write through one point on a chapter outline. Those small bits of prose will add up quickly.

Just start! Even if it’s not at the beginning. Are you having trouble writing those first few pages of your chapter? Sometimes the introduction is the toughest place to start. You should have a rough idea of your overall argument before you begin writing one of the main chapters, but you might find it easier to start writing in the middle of a chapter of somewhere other than word one. Grab hold where you evidence is strongest and your ideas are clearest.

Keep up the momentum! Assuming the first draft won’t be your last draft, try to get your thoughts on paper without spending too much time fussing over minor stylistic concerns. At the drafting stage, it’s all about getting those ideas on paper. Once that task is done, you can turn your attention to revising.

Peter Elbow, in Writing With Power, suggests that writing is difficult because it requires two conflicting tasks: creating and criticizing. While these two tasks are intimately intertwined, the drafting stage focuses on creating, while revising requires criticizing. If you leave your revising to the last minute, then you’ve left out a crucial stage of the writing process. See our handout for some general tips on revising . The challenges of revising an honors thesis may include:

Juggling feedback from multiple readers

A senior thesis may mark the first time that you have had to juggle feedback from a wide range of readers:

• your adviser
• a second (and sometimes third) faculty reader
• the professor and students in your honors thesis seminar

You may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of incorporating all this advice. Keep in mind that some advice is better than others. You will probably want to take most seriously the advice of your adviser since they carry the most weight in giving your project a stamp of approval. But sometimes your adviser may give you more advice than you can digest. If so, don’t be afraid to approach them—in a polite and cooperative spirit, of course—and ask for some help in prioritizing that advice. See our handout for some tips on getting and receiving feedback .

Refining your argument

It’s especially easy in writing a lengthy work to lose sight of your main ideas. So spend some time after you’ve drafted to go back and clarify your overall argument and the individual chapter arguments and make sure they match the evidence you present.

Organizing and reorganizing

Again, in writing a 50-75 page thesis, things can get jumbled. You may find it particularly helpful to make a “reverse outline” of each of your chapters. That will help you to see the big sections in your work and move things around so there’s a logical flow of ideas. See our handout on  organization  for more organizational suggestions and tips on making a reverse outline

Plugging in holes in your evidence

It’s unlikely that you anticipated everything you needed to look up before you drafted your thesis. Save some time at the revising stage to plug in the holes in your research. Make sure that you have both primary and secondary evidence to support and contextualize your main ideas.

Saving time for the small stuff

Even though your argument, evidence, and organization are most important, leave plenty of time to polish your prose. At this point, you’ve spent a very long time on your thesis. Don’t let minor blemishes (misspellings and incorrect grammar) distract your readers!

Formatting and final touches

You’re almost done! You’ve researched, drafted, and revised your thesis; now you need to take care of those pesky little formatting matters. An honors thesis should replicate—on a smaller scale—the appearance of a dissertation or master’s thesis. So, you need to include the “trappings” of a formal piece of academic work. For specific questions on formatting matters, check with your department to see if it has a style guide that you should use. For general formatting guidelines, consult the Graduate School’s Guide to Dissertations and Theses . Keeping in mind the caveat that you should always check with your department first about its stylistic guidelines, here’s a brief overview of the final “finishing touches” that you’ll need to put on your honors thesis:

• Honors Thesis
• Name of Department
• University of North Carolina
• These parts of the thesis will vary in format depending on whether your discipline uses MLA, APA, CBE, or Chicago (also known in its shortened version as Turabian) style. Whichever style you’re using, stick to the rules and be consistent. It might be helpful to buy an appropriate style guide. Or consult the UNC LibrariesYear Citations/footnotes and works cited/reference pages  citation tutorial
• In addition, in the bottom left corner, you need to leave space for your adviser and faculty readers to sign their names. For example:

Approved by: _____________________

Adviser: Prof. Jane Doe

• This is not a required component of an honors thesis. However, if you want to thank particular librarians, archivists, interviewees, and advisers, here’s the place to do it. You should include an acknowledgments page if you received a grant from the university or an outside agency that supported your research. It’s a good idea to acknowledge folks who helped you with a major project, but do not feel the need to go overboard with copious and flowery expressions of gratitude. You can—and should—always write additional thank-you notes to people who gave you assistance.
• Formatted much like the table of contents.
• You’ll need to save this until the end, because it needs to reflect your final pagination. Once you’ve made all changes to the body of the thesis, then type up your table of contents with the titles of each section aligned on the left and the page numbers on which those sections begin flush right.
• Each page of your thesis needs a number, although not all page numbers are displayed. All pages that precede the first page of the main text (i.e., your introduction or chapter one) are numbered with small roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.). All pages thereafter use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.).
• Your text should be double spaced (except, in some cases, long excerpts of quoted material), in a 12 point font and a standard font style (e.g., Times New Roman). An honors thesis isn’t the place to experiment with funky fonts—they won’t enhance your work, they’ll only distract your readers.
• In general, leave a one-inch inch margin on all sides. However, for the copy of your thesis that will be bound by the library, you need to leave a 1.25-inch margin on the left.

How do I defend my honors thesis?

Graciously, enthusiastically, and confidently. The term defense is scary and misleading—it conjures up images of a military exercise or an athletic maneuver. An academic defense ideally shouldn’t be a combative scene but a congenial conversation about the work’s merits and weaknesses. That said, the defense probably won’t be like the average conversation that you have with your friends. You’ll be the center of attention. And you may get some challenging questions. Thus, it’s a good idea to spend some time preparing yourself. First of all, you’ll want to prepare 5-10 minutes of opening comments. Here’s a good time to preempt some criticisms by frankly acknowledging what you think your work’s greatest strengths and weaknesses are. Then you may be asked some typical questions:

• What is the main argument of your thesis?
• How does it fit in with the work of Ms. Famous Scholar?
• Have you read the work of Mr. Important Author?

NOTE: Don’t get too flustered if you haven’t! Most scholars have their favorite authors and books and may bring one or more of them up, even if the person or book is only tangentially related to the topic at hand. Should you get this question, answer honestly and simply jot down the title or the author’s name for future reference. No one expects you to have read everything that’s out there.

• Why did you choose this particular case study to explore your topic?
• If you were to expand this project in graduate school, how would you do so?

Should you get some biting criticism of your work, try not to get defensive. Yes, this is a defense, but you’ll probably only fan the flames if you lose your cool. Keep in mind that all academic work has flaws or weaknesses, and you can be sure that your professors have received criticisms of their own work. It’s part of the academic enterprise. Accept criticism graciously and learn from it. If you receive criticism that is unfair, stand up for yourself confidently, but in a good spirit. Above all, try to have fun! A defense is a rare opportunity to have eminent scholars in your field focus on YOU and your ideas and work. And the defense marks the end of a long and arduous journey. You have every right to be proud of your accomplishments!

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Atchity, Kenneth. 1986. A Writer’s Time: A Guide to the Creative Process from Vision Through Revision . New York: W.W. Norton.

Barzun, Jacques, and Henry F. Graff. 2012. The Modern Researcher , 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Elbow, Peter. 1998. Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process . New York: Oxford University Press.

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. 2014. “They Say/I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing , 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Lamott, Anne. 1994. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life . New York: Pantheon.

Lasch, Christopher. 2002. Plain Style: A Guide to Written English. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Turabian, Kate. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Office of Undergraduate Education

University Honors Program

• Honors Requirements
• Major and Thesis Requirements
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• Nova Series
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Honors Thesis Guide

• Sample Timeline
• Important Dates and Deadlines
• Requirements and Evaluation Criteria
• Supervision and Approval
• Credit and Honors Experiences
• Style and Formatting
• Submit Your Thesis
• Submit to the Digital Conservancy
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An honors thesis is required of all students graduating with any level of Latin honors. It is an excellent opportunity for undergraduates to define and investigate a topic in depth, and to complete an extended written reflection of their results & understanding. The work leading to the thesis is excellent preparation for graduate & professional school or the workplace.

• Sample timeline
• Requirements and evaluation criteria
• Supervision and approval
• Style and formatting
• Submitting your thesis
• Submitting to the Digital Conservancy

Thesis Database

The thesis database is a searchable collection of over 6,000 theses, with direct access to more than 4,000 full-text theses in PDF format. The database—fully searchable by discipline, keyword, level of Latin Honors, and more—is available for student use in the UHP Office, 8am–4:30pm, Monday–Friday.

Thesis Forms & Documents

• Thesis Title Page template
• Thesis work is reported using the "Thesis Proposal" and "Thesis Completion"  WorkflowGen processes found in the Honors Reporting Center.
• Summer Research Opportunities
• Global Seminars and LAC Seminars
• Honors Research in London - Summer 2024

Getting started

Preparing for the honors thesis

What is the honors thesis?

The honors thesis is the culmination of Barrett students’ honors experience and their entire undergraduate education.

The honors thesis is an original piece of work developed by a student under the guidance of a thesis committee. It is an opportunity for students to work closely with faculty on important research questions and creative ideas. The honors thesis can have either a research or creative focus, and enables students to design, execute and present an intellectually rigorous project in their chosen field of study.

The first step in the honors thesis process is the completion of a thesis preparation workshop.

These workshops are places for you to brainstorm topics, learn about the honors thesis process, gain feedback on your ideas, ask questions, and create a to-do list for your honors thesis. Completion of a thesis preparation workshop is required before enrolling in thesis credits, and we encourage you to participate in a workshop by the first semester of your junior year.

There are two options for completing a thesis preparation workshop.

Enroll in the online self-paced workshop

Or, sign up to attend a live workshop offered in the fall or spring semester:

Mon, Feb 5th 10:30 - 11:30am  Athena Conference Room UCB 201 (West Valley campus)  RSVP

Wed, Feb 7th 10:00am - 11:00am  Athena Conference Room UCB 201 (West Valley campus)  RSVP 

Thu, Feb 8th 2:30pm - 3:30pm  Athena Conference Room UCB 201 (West Valley campus)  RSVP

Fri, Feb 9th 4pm - 5pm  Hayden Library Room 236 (Tempe campus)  RSVP

Thu, Feb 15th 4:30pm - 6pm  Hayden Library Room 236 (Tempe campus)  RSVP

Thu, Feb 29th 5pm - 6:30pm  Virtual (Zoom)  RSVP

Fri, Mar 15th 4pm - 5:30pm  Hayden Library Room 236 (Tempe campus)  RSVP

Fri, Apr 5th 4pm - 5:30pm  Virtual (Zoom)  RSVP

Thu, Apr 11th 5pm - 6:30pm  Virtual (Zoom)  RSVP

Ready to take the next step?

Following the completion of a thesis preparation workshop, Barrett students should schedule a thesis advising appointment with their Barrett Honors Advisor to discuss and review the guidebook, checklist and the due dates that correspond with the semester they intend to complete their undergraduate degree.

Honors Thesis Student Guidebook

Please explore the resources available to you within this guidebook to ensure your success. Refer to the checklist on page 13 to continue moving forward in the process.

View the Student Guidebook

Student Guidebook sections

What is the honors thesis.

The honors thesis project is an original piece of work by a student, in collaboration with their thesis director and committee. Most students complete an honors thesis within their major department but may choose a topic outside of the major. Each department may set its own standards for methodology (i.e., empirical, comparative, or descriptive), project length, and so on. Review the relevant Opportunities in the Major documents created by the Faculty Honors Advisors (FHAs)  here , and contact the FHAs in your area(s) of interest for additional information.

A thesis can be:

• A scholarly research project involving analysis that is presented in written form. Represents a commitment to research, critical thinking, and an informed viewpoint of the student.
• A creative project that combines scholarship and creative work in which the primary outcome consists of something other than a written document but includes a written document that supports the creative endeavor and involves scholarly research.
• A group project that brings together more than one Barrett student to work on a thesis collaboratively. Working in a group gives students valuable experience and enables them to take on larger, more complicated topics. Students may begin a group project with approval of a Thesis Director.

Selecting a Topic

Because the honors thesis is the culmination of undergraduate studies, begin thinking about a topic early. Many students base the honors thesis on an aspect of coursework, internship, or research. Once an area of interest is identified, take two or three courses that concentrate in that specific area.  Selecting a topic should ultimately be done under the guidance of faculty. The honors thesis is a joint effort between students and faculty.

Consider these tips and resources as you begin the process of selecting a topic: 

• Reflect on past experience to determine interests.
• Talk to faculty including Faculty Honors Advisors about topics that are interesting and relevant to coursework, major, career interests, or from ongoing faculty research.
• View past honors theses through the ASU Library Digital Repository .

Thesis Pathways

Honors Thesis Pathways are unique thesis opportunities, where students can be paired with faculty on interesting and engaging topics. The pathway options provide students a structured experience in completing their thesis, while researching a topic that interests them.

The committee consists of a Director, a Second Committee Member, and may include a Third Committee Member. Ultimately, your committee must approve your thesis/creative project, so work closely with them throughout the process.  Specific academic unit committee requirements can be found here .

• Any member of ASU faculty with professional expertise in the project area. (This excludes graduate students.)
• Includes lecturer and tenure-line faculty.
• Primary supervisor of the project.
• Conducts regular meetings, provides feedback, sets expectations, and presides over the defense.

*Emeritus faculty may serve as thesis directors as approved by the FHA from the department which the thesis is to be completed. Directors are expected to be physically present at the honors thesis defense. They may not be reimbursed for travel related to attending the defense.

Second Committee Member

• Individual whom you and your Director decide is appropriate to serve based on knowledge and experience with the thesis topic.
• Credentials will be determined by the Director and the criteria of that academic unit.
• Conducts regular meetings, provides feedback, and offers additional evaluation at the defense.

Third Committee Member (optional-varies by academic unit)

• Faculty member or qualified professional.
• If required, credentials will be determined by the Director and the criteria of that academic unit.
• External Examiners are Third Committee Members.
• Offer insight and expertise on the topic and provides additional evaluation at the defense.

The prospectus serves as an action plan for the honors thesis and provides a definitive list of goals, procedures, expectations, and an overall timeline including internal deadlines for your work. This will lay the groundwork for your project and serve as a reference point for you and your committee. You and your committee should work together to solidify a topic and create project goals. 

Submit your prospectus online

Registration and Grading

To register:

• Be enrolled in Barrett, The Honors College and in academic good standing. 
• Have the approval of the faculty member who serves as the Director. 
• In-person Barrett thesis workshop
• Online (via Blackboard) Barrett thesis workshop. Self-enroll- search words “Barrett Honors Thesis Online Workshop”
• Major specific thesis preparatory workshop or course may be available in limited academic units.

Register for the honors thesis through the department of the Director .   First, obtain override permission from the department of the Director during normal enrollment periods. 

Thesis Credits (up to 6 hours)

• 492 Honors Directed Study: taken in the first semester during research and creation of the project (not offered by all departments).
• 493 Honors Thesis: taken in the second semester for defense and completion of the project.  
• 492 and 493 are sequential and may not be taken in the same semester.  
• You must register for and successfully complete at least 493 (or its equivalent) to graduate from Barrett, The Honors College.

Grading the Honors Thesis

When the honors thesis is completed and approved by the committee, the Director assigns a course grade. Criteria and evaluation for grading are determined by the Director and the standards of that academic discipline.   

If you enroll in 492, the Director has the option of assigning a Z grade until the project is completed.

The assignment of a Z grade indicates that a project is in progress and delays placement of a final grade until completion. 

Defense and Final Steps

• Presentation and summary of the honors thesis. Format, content, and length are determined by the Director and standards of the content area. Plan to review the origins of the project, its scope, the methodology used, significant findings, and conclusions. 
• Submit final draft to the committee at least two weeks before the defense. Allow time for revisions leading up to the defense.
• Work with your committee to set a defense and report to Barrett using the Honors Defense and Thesis Approval form. Once submitted, your Director will automatically be emailed an approval link on the date of your defense.
• All committee members must participate in the defense.
• Group projects: Each student is required to submit an individual Honors Defense and Thesis Approval form. All group members must participate in the defense. 
• Defenses are open to the ASU community and published to the Defense Calendar.
• Following the presentation, committee members will ask questions about issues raised in the work, choices made in the research, and any further outcomes.
• At the conclusion of the discussion, the committee will convene to provide an outcome that will determine next steps.

Thesis Outcomes

• Minor format/editorial corrections may be suggested.
• Director will report approval using the Final Thesis Approval link emailed to them on the defense date.
• Your next step is to upload your approved final project to the Barrett Digital Repository.

Provisional Approval (Common outcome)

• More significant revisions required.
• Once revisions are complete, Director will report approval using the Final Thesis Approval link emailed to them on the defense date.
• Your next step is to upload your approved final project to the Barrett Digital Repository after revisions are approved.

Not approved (Least common outcome)

• Basic design and/or overall execution of the honors thesis is significantly flawed.
• The Director and committee may continue working with the student to make major revisions. You should discuss this with committee and Honors Advisor about implications on Barrett graduation.

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Honors College

The what and why.

The culmination of the Honors Bachelors degree, the Honors Thesis is a significant undergraduate research project completed under the supervision of a faculty member approved by the Departmental Honors Liaison in the student’s major.

The culmination of the Honors Bachelors degree, the Honors Thesis is a significant undergraduate research project completed under the supervision of a faculty member approved by the Departmental Honors Liaison in the student’s major. Its purpose is to advance knowledge and understanding within the context of a research university and to further develop the student’s intellectual, professional and personal growth as a member of the Honors College. Thesis projects may take different forms in different majors – e.g. laboratory experiments, historical research or artistic creations, to name a few – but always demonstrate research expertise in the major field, a command of relevant scholarship and an effort to contribute to that scholarship.

Whether you’re committed to working in your major field, or keeping your options open, completing an Honors Thesis gives you the experience to help you get where you want to go.

Gain real research experience in your field and learn how to communicate it. Tackle and own a project that you’re passionate about. Stretch yourself intellectually through close work with a faculty expert. And the practical value of an Honors Thesis? Unlimited. An Honors Thesis helps you to:

Get accepted to grad school, medical school, law school Competitive programs greatly value research experience and the motivation, maturity, and depth of study required to complete a thesis. Find a job. Employers, in your field or outside it, seek candidates with the commitment and practical skills required to complete an independent project. Figure out your path. Do you even like research in your major? Or are you ready to try something else?

Each department defines the appropriate topics, parameters and standards of Honors thesis research. Faculty outside of the major may supervise thesis projects with the approval of the Departmental Honors Liaison in the student’s major. Topics might be developed out of faculty research, coursework, class projects, UROP projects, community engaged research or even internships. The required Thesis Proposal Form must be signed by both the Thesis Faculty Mentor and the Departmental Honors Liaison within the student’s major. Take a look at our general Thesis Guidelines.

There is no uniform required length for Honors theses, which vary widely across different fields and topics. However, a range of 30-40 pages is common. Departmental Honors Liaison in each major and the Faculty Supervisor will set specific expectations. See examples of theses from your major here.

DEVELOPING A THESIS

Think About Potential Thesis Topics While taking upper-level classes in your major, start thinking about what topics you like that are being discussed.  What interests you?  What sounds like a good project? Is there a paper, group project, or internship  you have completed and would like to continue or develop further? If you are in the sciences and are working in a research lab, is there a project you could start working on that might culminate in your thesis? Talk to your professors!  Based on your classes and other academic or research experiences, think about narrowing down to a more specific topic. See examples of theses in your major.

Second and third years typically see students refining their interests in their major, and starting to hone in on a research topic. Continue taking classes in your major, and paying attention to things like: topics that interest you; faculty whose research is interesting, and with whom you connect; questions you have that don't seem like they have good answers. These are all important data in developing your project! Make sure that you are a part of the Thesis Mentoring Community, and that you are consulting those modules and attending events that are of interest to you. And connect with other students in your major - though everyone types their own thesis, we never think in a vacuum and having a community of peers makes the process so much more fun. Also, be in touch with your Departmental Honors Liaison. You can determine who that is from the link below.

For many of you, this could be your first time working on a big research project. You might be excited, but you also might be nervous and feel unprepared. All of those things are normal! The Thesis Mentorship Community (TMC) is here to help with that. This community has a living-learning community (LLC) component but also is open to all students in the Honors College via the Canvas Course for the community. The TMC is open to students in their second year and beyond, and will help guide (mentor) you through the thesis process from preliminary planning, to research, and on to the writing of the thesis. Information on the Canvas course as well as programming organized through the Canvas course connects students to other honors students in their field of study as well as faculty in their home department and resources throughout the larger university that will assist in the thesis research and writing process.

Meet with your Departmental Honors Liaison to discuss potential topics and faculty members to serve as your Thesis Faculty Mentor. (If you are working in a research lab, usually the professor over the lab can be your thesis mentor.)

Meet with Thesis Faculty Mentor and Solidify Topic: Meet with your Faculty Mentor and confirm the topic and scope of your thesis.  Work together on creating a timeline for your thesis work, and establish how you will go through the revision and completion process. After you have finalized your thesis topic, submit a signed Honors Thesis Proposal form to the Honors College.

Meet with Your Departmental Honors Liaison

THESIS COMPLETION TIMELINE

You have your thesis topic and mentor, now the real work begins. Here are the steps you need to take to complete your Honors thesis.

*Note: Dates are for a Spring graduate, modify accordingly if you are graduating in a different semester

WRITE YOUR THESIS

Typically during your Third and/or Fourth Year

Turn in the Completed Thesis Proposal Form via the link in the pertinent announcement for your semester and year of graduation in the TMC. The soft turn-in date for this form is the third week of your semester before graduation (so fall for spring graduation, etc) to ensure you are on track.

If you are not yet a member of the TMC, you can join the Honors  Thesis Mentorship Community Canvas page  (where you will need to log in using your CIS credentials). At that point, please click 'Enroll in Course'"

Be sure to meet with your Faculty Mentor to agree on a schedule for reviewing your progress, submitting drafts, making final revisions, etc. Theses with approval signatures are due to the Honors College one week before grades are due to the Registrar's Office , the semester you plan to graduate.

Please use the Thesis Formatting Template for your final thesis.

Sign up for **** 4999 (Honors Thesis Course in your major)

4999 is a 3 credit hour class in your major, which indicates you are working independently with your supervisor on your thesis. Talk to your Departmental Honors Liaison or major academic advisor to receive a permission code.

Also make sure your major advisor has declared you for an Honors Bachelors Degree in your major (HBA, HBS, HBFA etc.)

PRESENT YOUR WORK

Honors students must present their thesis work at the annual  Undergraduate Research Symposium  at the U, at NCUR, or at discipline related research conferences

PUBLISH YOUR WORK

You can also publish in the U’s Undergraduate Research Journal. Submissions are accepted year-round for online publication each summer

Click here to submit – students must submit on their own behalf

FINAL SUBMISSION OF YOUR THESIS

Your final Honors Thesis will require electronic signatures from your Thesis Faculty Mentor, Departmental Honors Liaison, and Department Chair before you submit it to the Honors College. Approval signatures are due to the Honors College one week before grades are due to the Registrar's Office , the semester you plan to graduate. Please give yourself and Faculty Mentor at least three weeks to make final revisions and collect your three signatures.

Submit an electronic copy of your final Honors thesis with e-signature approvals from your Thesis Faculty Mentor, Departmental Honors Liaison, and the Department Chair. The Honors College will provide you with the upload link during your final semester.

Turn in a signed USpace Permission Form when you submit your thesis. USpace is the J. Willard Marriot Library’s institutional repository and provides permanent electronic storage for your work to be publicly available. If you have questions or concerns about making your thesis available through USpace, please contact the main Honors Office.

APPLY FOR GRADUATION

Spring Graduates (January 17th), Fall Graduates (September 4 th ), Summer Graduates (May 20 th )

Information on this process can be found through the Office of the Registrar

APPLY FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SCHOLARS DESIGNATION (URSD)

Students who complete two semesters of research with a faculty mentor and present and publish their work (for example in the Undergraduate Research Symposium & Abstracts Journal) are eligible for this special transcript designation. Deadlines found here .

Final Reflections: Sunny Hwang on the Honors Thesis Journey

By mahidhar sai lakkavaram; photos by kimberly manyanga.

Part 3: The final product

From the planning process to the changes she’s made in between, we’ve tracked and recorded Sunny Hwang’s journey as she navigated through her Honors Thesis. Sunny, who did a creative portfolio on the ‘sense of belonging’, shares her final thoughts and reflections on the overall Honors Thesis journey and what she would do differently if given the opportunity. 

What did the final product look like? How was that process?

The final product wasn't what I was expecting. I thought I'd be a lot longer, a lot more professional than I wanted. But it came out okay, it’s still presentable and still complete. It also still portrayed what I wanted to portray and my Honors committee was happy with it as well. 

Overall, my final product was good. The process was rough, especially with all the technical difficulties using a new app and editing tool, but either way, I completed it, so I think it's a win!

How did you feel about your creative portfolio overall? 

At the end, I did feel a little rushed. Again, I did my two semester portfolio in one, so I felt like most of my time was spent writing narratives and committing to class assignments. I didn't get to the preface or final product until right before Thanksgiving break, so I only had two to three weeks to work on the whole preface. And then  there's a lot of other school stuff going on, so I couldn’t work on it until the last minute— it felt rough. I did, however, have a very supportive environment with my Honors committee and my classmates, so overall, the process was fine. 

Looking back now, is there anything you would have done differently or changed?

I think I would have looked at the archives a lot earlier. There are other students who did this before, so I feel like I should have looked at what they had to give myself a rough idea of how it's supposed to look because all of them look so different and there is a structure that I can follow. I also probably should’ve started my creative film project a lot sooner as well. 

And would you still stick to your decision of doing a creative portfolio with this topic?

I kind of wanted to do something more engaging with other people, so whether that was a film documentary or art piece, I wanted other people's work in my work. Something like a collaborative piece, maybe even a dance duet type of thing, but I don't know how that would have played out with the narratives that I had. Based on that, I think I would have still stuck with the film project, but it would have just been a lot better quality and longer.

Do you see your thesis helping you in the future

I think so, for sure. This is a nonfiction narrative about myself and I feel like no matter what, especially if I'm trying to pursue further education, I will have to write a personal essay. And so I could definitely take a lot of stories and pieces from my short narratives, or nonfiction narratives, and incorporate them into my personal essays. 

The professor I worked with also works really closely with nonfiction narratives, but also personal essays. So I can always reach out to her again and be like, Hey, can you help me with my essay? So yeah, I think it will help me further down the road. 

And what’s next for you?

I've been traveling for a little bit to Korea. I'm looking for clinical research positions around Boston and I'll also be studying for my MCAT for the meantime. So for the next year and a half, that’s just what I'm doing. And then I will hopefully be applying to medical school.

Any advice for Honors students starting their theses soon? 

Stay persistent. As long as you don't give up, there is an end. 

Be comfortable with your Honors committee members or your professor if you're taking a seminar. Just work closely with them and speak up about your projects because at the end, that is your portfolio and is your project. So if there's something you really want to incorporate, incorporate it, if there's something that you don't want to put in at all, don’t, you just do what you gotta do. 

Mahidhar Sai Lakkavaram

Mahidhar Lakkavaram is a communications assistant in Commonwealth Honors College. 

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Undergraduate Honors Papers

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A Coming of Age 

Artificial Intelligence: The Final Mechanism Towards Marxism? 

Homodimer and Heterodimer Synthesis of Macrocycles Containing 2-Aminooctanoic Acid, Lysine and Serine 

Supporting Adolescent Cancer Survivors' Transition and Reintegration into the Education System 

The Colonial Culprit: An Argument Concerning Historical Injustices in Global Justice Philosophy 

REPUBLICAN WOMEN AND THE IMPACT OF THE POST-DOBBS ELECTORAL ENVIRONMENT ON CANDIDATE SUCCESS 

From Gothic Facet to Science Fiction Fixture, the Sublime 

DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING IN PERU AND VENEZUELA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE FREE PRESS 

SHOT DOWN AT WAR: LIFE AS AN AMERICAN AIRMAN PRISONER OF WAR ON THE EASTERN FRONT DURING WORLD WAR II 

Small Molecule, Big Role: Trimethylamine-N-Oxide And Alzheimer’s Disease 

Closeted Narrative: Rhetorical Influences in Coming Out Stories 

OUR GREATEST HORROR: HOW CONVENTIONS OF THE GOTHIC OFFER AN INSIGHTFUL CRITIQUE ON THE HORRORS OF GOTHIC 

THE JOURNEY OF HEALING ADOPTED CHILDREN’S TRAUMA SYMPTOMS AND SELF-EFFICACY THROUGH HOPE CONNECTION CAMP 2.0 

Understanding the Developing Female Voice: A Literary Review 

Incorporating Narrative Medicine Into Undergraduate Pre-Health Education 

The Influence of Hungarian Folk Music in Hungarian Popular Music 

HEALTH INSURANCE LITERACY IN TCU: EXAMINING THE DIFFERENCE IN HEALTH INSURANCE KNOWLEDGE BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC COLLEGE STUDENTS AND ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF HEALTH INSURANCE EDUCATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS 

The Differential Exposure to ACEs and Associated Outcomes Respective of Gender in the Juvenile Justice System 

Status, Success, and Surgery: Stress Behind Risky Cosmetic Procedures 

A Reflection on Family 

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Graduating Seniors Awarded For Their Honors Thesis Work

Shaunak Bhandarkar, Owen Brass, and Benjamin Pryzybocki

Math majors Shaunak Bhandarkar, Owen Brass and Benjamin Pryzybocki were awarded for their honors thesis work this year. 

Shaunak Bhandarkar was awarded the George Pólya Prize for his thesis, titled “Neuromodulated Low-Rank Recurrent Neural Networks: A Mechanistic Account of Neuromodulation in Shaping Flexible Neural Dynamics”, advised by Professor Scott Lindermann (Statistics). This award recognizes outstanding honors theses from graduating seniors in our department. 

Owen Brass and Benjamin Pryzybocki have both been awarded the Firestone Medal. The Firestone Medal Award recognizes the top ten percent of all honors theses in the social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering and applied sciences. 

Owen Brass’s thesis, titled “Involutive Floer Homology and Surfaces in Smooth Four-Manifolds”, was advised by Professor Ciprian Manolescu.

Benjamin Pryzybocki’s thesis, titled “Theoretical aspects of satisfiability modulo theories”, was advised by Professor Clark Barrett (Computer Science). 

We offer our hearty congratulations!

CHID Honors Thesis Turned Novel

June 13, 2024

Tisbe Rinehart, a graduating senior who will receive her BA with Departmental Honors in CHID (comparative history of ideas), combined her love of the outdoors and experiences with wilderness therapy to self-publish a novel. This novel is told through fictional journal entries of a teen engaged in wilderness therapy, including a bibliographic essay that covers information about the “troubled teen” industry and its connections to settler colonial violence.

Rinehart says: “the UW doesn’t hold your hand, but if you seek opportunities, people will bend over backward to help you.”

Rinehart used her Mary Gates Research Scholarship to print copies of her book and is both a UWild guide and a UW tour guide. She is now starting a UW chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Read more about Tisbe Rinehart’s creative process in this article.

Connect with UW Honors:

Mary Gates Hall 211, Box 352800 Seattle, WA 98195-2800 Contact Us Office Hours: Open by appointment only during Summer 2024, as the Honors staff is available online.

© 2024 University of Washington | Seattle, WA

Trinity College Names Recipients of Faculty Honors for Spring 2024

Trinity College has named the students who have earned Faculty Honors for the spring 2024 semester.

To be eligible for the Faculty Honors list in any semester, a student must: a) achieve a semester grade point average of at least 3.667 with no individual letter grade below B-; b) complete a minimum of 4 course credits and receive letter grades for at least 4 course credits in courses taught or supervised by Trinity College faculty (or 3 graded course credits concurrent with pursuing the first semester of a 2-credit senior thesis); c) have no courses for the semester under consideration in which the final grade is pending; and d) have no disciplinary notation for academic dishonesty on the transcript. The Faculty Honors list will be determined at the end of every semester, and a notation will be entered by the Registrar on the transcript of each recognized student.

An Individualized Degree Program (IDP) student who is enrolled part time for both semesters of an academic year shall be eligible for the Faculty Honors list if, at the end of the academic year, the student has satisfied the above requirements by a combination of the two semesters. No course that has been counted toward a previous honors list may be counted a second time.

The recipients of Faculty Honors for the spring 2024 semester are:

The International Space Station is getting the scrap, and Elon Musk's SpaceX is being paid close to $1 billion to do the honors

• SpaceX has been chosen to drag the International Space Station out of orbit.
• NASA will give Musk's space exploration company $843 million for the mission. 
• The project will take place after the ISS is retired in 2030. 

NASA has tasked Elon Musk's SpaceX with building a vehicle powerful enough to pull the International Space Station (ISS) out of orbit.

SpaceX will be given $843 million to build the structure before the ISS reaches the end of its operational life in 2030, NASA said in a statement on Wednesday.

"NASA announced SpaceX has been selected to develop and deliver the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle that will provide the capability to deorbit the space station and ensure avoidance of risk to populated areas," per the statement.

The vehicle will attach itself to the ISS and pull it out of its path, which is about 250 miles above Earth's surface .

NASA started asking for proposals from aerospace companies for the US Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) in September, asking for price quotes.

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Upon securing the contract, SpaceX responded to the news on X , saying: "SpaceX is honored to be entrusted by @NASA to support this critical mission."

SpaceX is honored to be entrusted by @NASA to support this critical mission https://t.co/63zFgM5oFn — SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 26, 2024

As the ISS is decommissioned, NASA intends to transition into smaller, privately owned space stations closer to the Earth's surface, or in Low Earth Orbit.

"U.S. industry is developing these commercial destinations to begin operations in the late 2020s for both government and private-sector customers," NASA's website states .

The ISS, launched in 1998, is a 925,000-pound structure that measures 357 feet end-to-end , almost the length of a football field.

It has been managed by five space agencies since its launch: NASA, CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Russia's State Space Corporation Roscosmos.

The statement said that the US, Canada, Japan, and participating countries of the ESA have remained committed to operating the ISS until it retires in 2030. Russia has committed to maintaining operations until at least 2028.

The structure has much to show for its years in operation, having supported 3,300 experiments that could not have been possible on Earth, per NASA's statement on Wednesday.

SpaceX has been NASA's commercial partners for years. It was one of the two American companies NASA tapped in 2014 to explore commercial space transport.

SpaceX and NASA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Watch: How Elon Musk makes and spends his billions

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