Completing the Honors Program

1. Contact the Honors Program Director (Fall, junior year)

Students interested in pursuing the Honors Program should contact the Honors Program Director, Dr. Eric Griffin, as early in the fall semester of their junior year as possible. Dr. Griffin will provide students with additional information about the Honors Program, serve as a resource person for contacting potential advisors, and provide the student with necessary administrative forms.

2. Select an Advisor and a Thesis Topic (Fall, junior year)

Perhaps the most important step in the thesis project is selecting an advisor and defining the thesis topic. Because mentorship is a crucial part of the Honors experience, students should choose their advisor carefully, considering both the faculty member’s area of expertise and the potential for a close working relationship. Although it is not typical, a student may choose to have two thesis advisors when the project is clearly interdisciplinary and the expertise of two disciplines is vital to the project’s completion. Students should not be hesitant to approach a Millsaps faculty member about thesis project mentorship.

The thesis topic is usually in the student’s major area but may be in another area if the student has sufficient background prior to the thesis work. The topic should be broad enough to require a spring semester of research during the junior year, a summer of writing, and several weeks of revision in the fall of the senior year. It should not be so broad as to merit the time required of a Ph.D. dissertation. Students may find it helpful to look through previous theses which are available in the archives room of the Wilson Library. The student and the thesis advisor work together to narrow the thesis topic to a manageable set of issues.

3. The Honors Thesis Proposal (Fall, junior year)

The Honors Thesis Proposal provides the broad framework for the thesis project. It is completed by the student and the advisor and is due to the Honors Program Director by two weeks prior to pre-registration for spring courses. While some portions of the proposal are completed by the student and some by the advisor, it is imperative that the two meet to discuss all areas of the proposal before the student prepares it. The proposal MUST be typed and MUST include the following:

To Be Completed by the Student:

1. General information:
Student’s name
Student’s campus e-mail address
Student’s campus box number
Student’s telephone number
Title of the project
Advisor’s name

2. Brief project description:
This should be as detailed as possible but at the minimum should include the question being addressed by thesis and an outline of the research methods to be used in addressing the issue.

3. Specific timetable for completing project:
This should include a list of tasks to be completed and deadlines for completion, meeting dates with the advisor for the spring term and where possible, the summer. The timetable should indicate what work will be completed during the summer and how contact between student and advisor will be made over the summer. This section should also include a statement indicating when the advisor will return work to the student and the consequences of missed deadlines.

4. The name of the second reader:
It is understood that the second reader will be asked in advance and that the he/she has agreed to serve in this capacity. See p. 6 for more information on the role of the second reader.

To Be Completed by the Advisor:

5. Basis of evaluation

6. Description of the advisor’s role:
The advisor describes how she/he sees her/his role in guiding and evaluating the student’s work.

Both the student and the advisor must sign and date the proposal document.

At this point, it is the responsibility of the Honors advisor to notify his/her department chair that Honors I should be added to the department’s course offerings for the spring semester.

4. Thesis Research and Progress Report (Spring, junior year)

During the spring of the junior year, students research their thesis projects under the direction of the thesis advisor while enrolled in Honors I.

By the Monday following spring break, student provide a written progress report to all members of their thesis committees. Failure to complete the progress report on time could result in expulsion from the Honors Program. The progress report must contain the following information:

• Description of the honors project. What questions do you want to answer and what strategies will you use to find answers?
• Discussion of what work has been completed
• Discussion of the work yet to be completed and a time frame for completion
• Bibliography

The thesis committee then meets with the student to discuss any issues which must be considered before the student begins to write the thesis. The advisor is encouraged to participate fully and actively in the discussion.

5. Writing the Thesis (Summer)

It is strongly recommended that the student use the summer to write the thesis.

The thesis should be written in the style appropriate to the discipline with professionals in the discipline as the primary audience. Many students find it helpful to model the paper on a particular journal format. The two most common writing formats are the Modern Language Association (MLA), which is most often used in the liberal arts and humanities, and the American Psychological (APA), more commonly used in the social and natural sciences. The student and advisor should discuss writing style before significant writing has begun.

Generally speaking, the thesis should include a table of contents, a thesis body, accompanying material (graphs, tables, etc.), and a bibliography. While the primary audience is professionals in the discipline, keep in mind that others not as familiar with the area will be readers as well (for example, Honors Committee reader, other students, etc.) As a result, even though it is not standard in academic journals, the paper should include a glossary to explain any terms or procedures not easily understood by the lay reader.

6. Thesis Completion and Defense (Fall, senior year)

Ideally, a substantial draft of the thesis should be completed by the beginning of the fall of the student’s senior year and given to the advisor and second reader for comments. A “defense version” of the thesis, signed by the advisor, must be given to all thesis committee members by the Friday prior to fall break in October. The members of the thesis committee inform the Honors Committee member if there are serious problems. If the thesis is fatally flawed, then the student will not be allowed to proceed with the defense.

The thesis defense is a 45-minute conversation between the student and the thesis committee about the thesis topic. Held in the weeks between fall break and Thanksgiving break of the senior year, the thesis defense provides an opportunity for students to present their work to a group of knowledgeable and interested researchers in the field. Typically students give a short (roughly 15 minute) presentation of the thesis followed by questions from the thesis committee.

Students are expected to incorporate any necessary changes into the final version of the thesis which is due in February of the senior year.

7. Honors Colloquium (Spring, senior year)

The Honors Colloquium, held in the spring semester of the senior year, is an exciting opportunity for all honors students to share their completed projects with each other and with the Millsaps community. Students have the opportunity to reflect on their growth as scholars with other Honors students.