Completing your thesis is an exciting and enriching process. Make sure to take the time you need to plan, execute, discuss, and submit your thesis. Keep the procedures and deadlines below in mind as you take on your thesis journey. If you are planning to complete your thesis in the current semester, you may find the Honors College thesis and graduation calendar helpful in organizing your path.
- Develop a thesis plan
- Select a director and second reader
- Confirm preliminary requirements
- Enroll in thesis hours and apply for approval of your full thesis plan
- Complete your thesis: components and formatting guidelines
- Defend your thesis
- Submit your completed thesis
- Receive a grade of B or higher for your thesis
Develop a thesis plan
Seize opportunities to get to know your professors. Reach out to faculty whose work interests you. Discuss their work and how it could connect to potential thesis topics and ask how you might join their scholarship team. Work with your Honors academic mentor to develop a thesis completion plan well in advance of your graduation date. They can help you plan ahead to make sure you have time for a full research/creative experience while also taking courses that interest you and fitting in other opportunities, such as study aboard and internships. Of course, plans can change, so be sure to review and revise your thesis completion plan with your Honors College academic mentor each semester.
Select a director and second reader
Your thesis director must be a tenured or tenure-track faculty member from App State. Your Honors academic mentor can help you identify and connect with potential thesis directors that fit with your interests and your personality. However, finding a director is your responsibility and the process of searching for your director should start well before it is time to begin your thesis. You will work with your director to identify, plan, and execute your thesis project and your director will assign your final grade for your thesis course. Students typically meet weekly with their thesis directors throughout the thesis process.
You must also identify a second reader from outside your director’s home department. Your second reader will foster interdisciplinary thinking and provide insights from another perspective. They could be a tenured-track or non-tenure-track faculty member or someone from the community who is not employed at App State. If you would like to petition to consider a second reader from a different program within the same department as your thesis director, email the Honors College Dean with your request and include an explanation as to how your preferred second reader’s expertise can help you broaden the perspectives of your work.
Share your work regularly with your second reader for feedback. Do not wait until a final draft is ready. You want to incorporate their feedback throughout the process.
Together, your director and second reader will form your thesis committee. Students who are also completing Departmental Honors should contact their respective departments/college for any additional requirements regarding the thesis committee.
Confirm preliminary requirements
Before registering for thesis hours, meet with your Honors academic mentor to make sure you are on track to complete the requirements for graduating with University Honors.
Enroll in thesis hours and apply for approval of your full thesis plan
We encourage you to complete your 3-credit thesis project over a minimum of 2 semesters to give yourself the time you need to build an excellent thesis.
- Submit a special course form to register for thesis credits in each semester of your thesis work. Find the appropriate form and read more about thesis registration here.
- Let us know more about your thesis plans by submitting your full Honors College Thesis Plan in the semester in which you are completing your second thesis credit. The application asks you to attach a 1 to 2-page thesis prospectus (a.k.a. plan) and provide several names and email addresses for approval routing, including your thesis director’s name and your second reader’s name. Be particularly careful to enter the email address correctly. Approval requests will be sent to the addresses you enter and if they are incorrectly keyed your application cannot be approved.
Our Honors College Thesis Information Guide further details the distinct thesis course registration and thesis application processes.
Complete your thesis: components and formatting guidelines
Your thesis must include:
a title page using the formatting in the linked sample title page.
an abstract.
double-spaced text, unless specific formatting requires otherwise. 1.25-inch left margins, and 1-inch right, top, and bottom margins.
a minimum of 10 pages of written content. Creative thesis projects, such as performances, design projects, or exhibitions, can use this written component to provide context for their work, explain the project’s goals, and reflect on the accomplishments of the project. Projects not related to such creative endeavors will likely contain significantly more written work.
properly formatted citations using a citation style that is appropriate for your discipline. Most importantly, once you choose a reference style, you should be consistent in your application.
Defend your thesis
After writing your thesis, you will present your findings in your thesis defense. Work with your thesis director to determine exactly when you’re ready for your defense, and when you are ready, complete the following steps:
work with your thesis mentor to reserve a room for the thesis defense. Make sure that the room is big enough to hold guests from outside your thesis committee and that it has the technology that you need to give your presentation. Your thesis mentor can use App State’s room reservation system to reserve spaces in Appalachian Hall. If you face any challenges with this, please reach out to Viktoriia Kovtun (kovtunv@appstate.edu) for help with App Hall room reservations.
let the Honors College know about your defense by sharing the details through our Thesis Defense Google Form. This needs to be done at least 3 days in advance of the defense date. Soon after you submit this form you, your thesis committee, and the honors staff will receive calendar invitations to your defense. Someone form the Honors College will do their best to attend your defense, but it’s not required that we be there.
share a copy of your thesis with your committee prior to the defense. Aim to get this copy to them at least one week prior to the date of the defense.
create and deliver a presentation outlining your thesis work. This is your “defense,” although, we like to think of it more as a celebration of your work. The length of the presentation depends on your discipline; your director will let you know their expectations. Typically, presentations are between 20 and 30 minutes, but some are shorter and some are longer.
answer questions from your committee and other guests following the presentation. You may then spend some time talking with just your committee. Following that conversation, you’ll be excused while your committee decides what edits or updates need to be made and the timeline for those updates. Finally, you’ll be invited back to discuss next steps.
complete any edits that the thesis committee shares with you as a result of the thesis defense process.
Submit your completed thesis
Collect the following:
a complete, approved copy of your thesis
a digital copy of your thesis cover-page, signed by everyone except the Honors College Dean.
optionally, if you decide to purchase bound copies of your thesis, you’ll need to complete the thesis binding information form and obtain proof of payment via TouchNet,
optionally, if you decide to include your thesis in Open AIR, Appalachian State University's institutional repository, you’ll need to complete the thesis release form and the thesis metadata form.
Then follow the process describe on our thesis submission page to finalize your thesis submission.
Receive a grade of B or higher for your thesis
Your thesis director is responsible for assigning your thesis grade, and this does not need to occur until grades are due at the end of the semester. If you do not have time between the defense and the end of the semester to implement all necessary changes, you could discuss the possibility of receiving an incomplete grade with your director, although this may delay your graduation. You must receive a B or higher on your thesis to meet the Honors College thesis requirement.