The Honors College

Thesis projects require that students enroll in at least 3 credits. When possible, the Honors College encourages students to spread these credits over more than one semester. This helps to stress that a thesis is an extended project that takes time to research, implement, write, and defend.

• Determine if the student needs IRB or other Research Protection approval. Note that this can take 3-4 months; see here for more information.
• Clarify who will serve as thesis mentors/readers.
  • First readers/mentors must be tenured or tenure-track App State faculty.
  • Second (and beyond, if relevant) readers may be App State faculty or outside experts in the field who are qualified to assess the thesis project. Different departments have different requirements for thesis mentors; you can check your program’s description in the Bulletin for more information.
  • Students graduating with University Honors must have a second reader who can provide an interdisciplinary lens to their thesis. The Honors College assumes App State faculty teaching in a different department than the thesis director or outside experts will serve this purpose. Second readers who teach in the same department as the thesis director but represent different disciplinary expertise can be approved by the associate vice provost for the Honors College on a case by case basis.
  • App State students may not serve as thesis mentors/readers.

• Set a clear timetable of meetings and expectations for the student and the thesis. For example, enrolling in one credit of the thesis project could result in an annotated bibliography and project outline; the remaining two credits the following semester could be used for writing and defense.
• Set clear objectives for the thesis - what will be produced and how will it be assessed? How will the project go above and beyond what would be expected of a capstone? (Capstone work should not merely substitute for an honors thesis - see below.)
• Regarding the above, faculty may consider crafting a syllabus or other guiding document for the thesis course that outlines deliverables, deadlines, and how the grade will be calculated. For example, the Honors College uses the linked special course registration form for all HON 4010 registrations, asking students and faculty mentors to list objectives, evaluative criteria, and a schedule of meetings/conferences for their work during the semester.
• Encourage students to make an appointment with their subject librarian to discuss library resources (including journals and databases), scholarship, and services such as Interlibrary Loan. You may stress that a library information session they may have had in a lower-level course will not necessarily introduce them to all the resources needed for an Honors thesis.
• Encourage students to work with the Writing Center at various stages throughout the development and writing process.

• Students use a special course form to register for thesis credits.
• Additionally, students intending to graduate with University or Upper-Division Honors must let the Honors College know about their overall thesis plan by submitting their official Honors College Thesis Plan in the semester they are completing their second thesis hour.

• Faculty mentors should meet with students as needed; generally at least once every two weeks. Students should regularly provide drafts or other evidence of their work throughout the semester.
• Students should also connect with second (and third, if relevant) readers regularly throughout the semester. Second readers should not only be given the work at the end of the term, but should have ample time to give input and feedback before the defense is scheduled.

All theses should include:

1. A title page following the linked template and abstract.
2. A literature review,
3. Clarification of the project’s goals and intentions;
4. An explanation of the project’s connection with extant scholarship; and
5. A bibliography of scholarly sources (using the standard citation style of the discipline).

The length of each section will depend on the type of research that is being conducted. The Honors College does not specify page length requirements, as these can vary widely by discipline and are not necessarily indicative of quality. The advisor/mentor and readers set the length , depending on the scope of the project. Undergraduate theses are generally longer than a capstone paper, but do not need to be as expansive as a master’s thesis.

Creative projects should be accompanied by a framing essay of at least 3000 words (not including title page and bibliography). In addition to the above contents, the essay should include a reflection on the accomplishments of the project as a whole.

Writing and citation style should follow standards for the student’s primary discipline.

Samples of theses from all disciplines can be found in the NC Docks database.

The student, in consultation with the mentor and reader(s), should schedule the defense, ideally at least two weeks before Reading Day. If the student is also in the Honors College, the Honors College should be notified of the defense. More information and expectations can be found here.

Ideally, all work for the thesis should be completed by Reading Day. The thesis mentor/advisor will assign a grade, determined in conjunction with the second (and third, if relevant) reader during the thesis defense. Theses can receive a range of letter grades. The letter grade is formally submitted via Appalnet as with all other course grades.

There are various options if a student does not complete a thesis, including: dropping their thesis by the drop date, assigning an Incomplete (for extenuating circumstances), or assigning a grade lower than a B. There are many issues at hand, particularly if the student is using the thesis as their capstone or a major elective. Please reach out to Heather Waldroup at waldrouphl@appstate.edu before assigning a grade if you have a student who is at risk for not completing their thesis.

Students who are also in the Honors College must submit their final, approved theses to the Honors College. The Honors College only needs a departmental honors thesis if the student wishes the thesis to be included in Open AiR, a repository of academic work that is indexed by google scholar. All students completing theses can follow the steps outlined here to submit their work and/or optionally include it in the Open AiR repository.