Steps to Complete Your Honors Thesis

• Map your timeline: Meet with your Honors academic mentor to customize a thesis path that fits with your other plans such as study abroad or internships. Update it each semester.
• Network with faculty: Attend campus research events and reach out to professors whose scholarship interests you.

• Secure your committee: Secure a tenured/tenure-track App State faculty member as your Thesis Director and a second faculty member or community expert as your Second Reader. Aim to have your committee finalized early during this time-period so they can guide your prep.

• Refine your focus: Work with your thesis director to clarify your specific research question and narrow your project's scope.
• Begin hands-on work: Start your background reading, lab work, community networking, survey designs, or IRB approvals. Work with your thesis director to define what this stage means for you.
• Check graduation track: Meet with your Honors academic mentor to confirm degree requirements before registering for thesis hours.

• Spread your credits: Enroll in your 3 required thesis credits across two semesters for maximum breathing room.
• Engage with campus resources. Consider making an appointment with the librarian assigned to support your academic department. Our librarians can alert you to research resources in your field and discuss the process of doing advanced research in your discipline. You might also make an appointment with a staff member at the University Writing Center. They can help you discuss writing goals and deadlines, and point you to specific resources for writing in your discipline.
• Incorporate early feedback: Share writing drafts with your committee regularly, not just at the end.
• Format correctly: Ensure your final document, including your title page, is formatted according to the guidelines in the Honors Thesis Template & Style Guide.
• Plan around your major: If student teaching or interning your last semester, work with your advisor to shift this entire phase one semester earlier so you can finish before these commitments begin.

When you are ready to write, open the Honors Thesis Template and Style Guide (Google Doc). Feel free to make a copy to use as your direct writing template, or use the template and style guide as a reference for alternative word processors.

Register for thesis credits via the appropriate special course form. We recommend spreading your thesis credits over two semesters and you'll need to complete the special course form separately for each semester's registration. 

Note: You must earn a grade of B or higher in each thesis credit to meet the Honors College thesis requirements.

Submit your official Honors College Thesis Plan (including a 1–2 page prospectus and correct committee emails) early in the semester you are completing your second thesis credit.

Submit your Honors College Graduation Application early in your final semester to officially notify the college of your graduation timeline (this is separate from your thesis plan submission).

When your thesis director believes you are ready to present your results, submit the Thesis Defense Notification Google Form at least five days before your defense date.

Upload your completed, final thesis to our Honors College Thesis Submission Google Form by the first day of final exams. Note that if you are also completing Departmental Honors you will need to separately submit the thesis to your department.

Note: You must earn a grade of B or higher in each thesis credit to meet the Honors College thesis requirements and your grade of B or higher in your third and final thesis credit serves as your director's official approval of your final submitted thesis product.

To share your scholarship globally through Open AIR (App State’s digital repository), submit the Open AIR Electronic Thesis Deposit Agreement.

Before submitting, review the agreement and discuss your Creative Commons license choice with your thesis director. This step is critical if you plan to publish your results, apply for a patent, or protect original creative work, as early public release can impact future intellectual property rights. Refer to the e Deposit Agreement and discuss your choice of with your director before submitting. The linked Open AIR Info Sheet for guidance.

If you would like physical, hardbound copies of your thesis, bring the following materials to your coordinator (listed below):

• Pre-printed, single-sided final copies of your thesis (each placed in its own separate clasp envelope). Please be sure to collect cover-page (see template) signatures for all copies before dropping off the copies for binding.
• A completed Thesis Binding Information Form.
• Proof of payment for binding via TouchNet ($9 per copy).
• Where to deliver: If you are completing University Honors, make an appointment to drop these items off with Viktoriia Kovtun  in the Honors College. If you are completing Departmental/College Honors only, deliver these items directly to your specific Honors Program Director.