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University Honors Program Thesis
Revised July 2017
In the AUM Honors Program, completion of the senior thesis normally includes taking HONR
3957 and HONR 4957.
UHP Research. HONR 3957. 3 hours. Successful completion requires thesis/project proposal
approved by faculty director and the UHP Director and composition of a committee comprised of
two full time faculty from the student’s major department (including the advisor).
Normally UHP students take this course in the first semester of their senior year under
the direction of a full time faculty member in their academic majors. The course is
designed to assist students in the first part of the thesis or project requirement.
This course is not complete without the constitution of a thesis/project committee
comprised of two full time faculty members, at least one of whom is in the student’s
major department. Grading is satisfactory/unsatisfactory.
Prior to the start of this semester, students should:
! Find a thesis advisor (a full-time faculty member in the student’s major
department).
! Contact the UHP Coordinator to register for this course.
! Choose a thesis topic.
During this semester, students should:
! With the advisor’s help, form a committee of two full-time faculty members
(including the advisor). Part-time faculty may serve on a thesis committee with
approval of the department head or chairperson. Committees may include more
than two faculty members if the advisor approves.
! Complete an Honors Thesis Proposal (page 4 of this document) and get it signed
by your thesis advisor and the UHP Director; you must turn it in to the UHP
Coordinator by the third Friday of the semester.
! Meet with your advisor regularly over the course of the semester to discuss
preparation (research, prospectus writing, etc.).
! By the end of the semester, turn in to the thesis advisor a prospectus for the thesis.
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Honors Thesis. HONR 4957. 3 hours. Completes the work begun in HONR 3957. Successful
completion includes thesis/project approval by the student’s committee and the director of the
UHP. Grading is satisfactory/unsatisfactory.
Normally UHP students take this course in the last semester of their senior year under the
direction of a full time faculty member in their academic majors. Grading is
satisfactory/unsatisfactory.
The Honors Thesis is usually a research paper documenting a sustained piece of research
that adds to the knowledge in the student’s field. Lengths vary, but should represent a
significant research and writing effort.
A creative project can meet the requirements of the senior thesis. The production,
performance or creation of work should be fashioned according to the requirements of the
student’s specific area of study, and must be deemed appropriate by agreement of the
thesis advisor and thesis committee. Projects will vary, often considerably, according to
the requirements of the student's discipline/major.
A traditional defense, public presentation, or other public display should be scheduled.
Responsibility for scheduling the thesis defense/presentation/display rests with you, the
author. The thesis defense must take place at least a week before final exams begin in
the semester you wish to graduate, and a final draft of your thesis must be
submitted to your committee at least a week prior to the scheduled defense.
Confirming a location and time for the defense can be a complicated process, so begin it
as soon as possible. As a rule of thumb, students graduating in the spring semester should
contact their committee members and the UHP Coordinator no later than March 31 about
scheduling a defense; students graduating in the summer semester should do so by June
30; and students graduating in the fall semester should do so by October 31.
Thesis Defense (traditional)
! Plan to begin your thesis defense with a 5-10 minute overview of the work. Your
committee will ask questions in a formal manner, led by your thesis advisor.
! Your defense will be open to the public, and all participants in the University Honors
Program will be encouraged to attend.
! You may invite anyone you want. You may have and consult notes, an outline, your
entire thesis, but please don’t merely read from your thesis.
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Thesis Defense (non-traditional)
Definitive guidelines or requirements are impossible because the UHP includes
students from many, markedly different disciplines, with students writing theses or
doing creative theses, such as sculpture or painting, performance, or creative writing.
Any work, however, must have a public component to satisfy thesis requirements;
this might include a performance or reading, an exhibition of work, or some other
display.
Written Product
! All theses must have a written component. That written component will vary from the
traditional thesis (long research paper with footnotes) through artists’ statements.
! Submit a digital (pdf) copy of your thesis to your committee and to the UHP Director
at least one week before your scheduled defense.
! In addition to the thesis itself, you need to submit a signature page (page 5 of this
document; see page 6 for a sample). Print a hard copy of your signature page and
bring it to your thesis defense. Your advisor and the UHP director will sign it
afterwards. The Honors staff will scan it and submit it, along with your thesis, to the
Library.
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! All pages must have 1-inch margins on three sides and a 1.5-inch left margin.
! The UHP will pay for the binding of one copy for the Honors library. Additional
bound copies can be obtained from the UHP for $50 each. When you submit your
digital thesis, please let us know how many additional copies you would like.
! Submit one copy of the copyright waiver form (page 7 of this document) with your
signature and one copy of the Thesis Clearance Form (page 8 of this document) with
your thesis advisor’s signature.
! Double-space all text.
! Documentation style will vary; any style (MLA, APA, Turabian, etc.) is acceptable so
long as your committee approves.
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Note to staff: Send both files to archives@aum.edu; the Library will merge the documents.
University Honors Program
Thesis Proposal (HONR 3957)
Name:
Student number:
Thesis advisor:
Tentative title or topic:
__________________________
Description or plan (please type):
______________________________________________________________________________
Student Signature:_____________________________________________ Date: ___________
Thesis Advisor Signature:_______________________________________ Date: ___________
UHP Director Signature:________________________________________ Date: __________
Must be completed and returned to the UHP office by the third Friday of the semester.