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Faculty Advisors |
THESIS ADVISOR INFORMATION
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Thank you for agreeing to be a thesis advisor for a student in the Honors College. Please access the links on this page to learn more about the proposal, the paper, the presentation, and the final grade. Each student is required to identify a topic and research question or hypothesis in consultation with you as the advisor. An abbreviated discussion of thesis advisor information entitled "Guidelines for Mentoring Students for the Thesis Requirement" is shown below. If, at any point, you have questions about the Honors Thesis or the process we have established, please do not hesitate to call the Honors College. We appreciate the time and effort you are willing to spend with our students.
Guidelines for Mentoring Honors Students for the Thesis Requirement
Completion of an Honors
Thesis is a graduation requirement
for the Washington State University Honors College. This requirement can
be satisfied through library/laboratory research, a community service
or internship project, college level teaching experience, or a study abroad
research project. One to three credits of UH 450 are to be completed,
depending upon the college in which the thesis is done. Responsibilities
of the thesis advisor include the following:
Assisting the Student in the Development of a Proposal: Students have the primary responsibility for identifying a suitable topic and arranging a series of meetings with you to discuss the feasibility of the topic and a plan of action. After agreeing to serve as a faculty advisor, you and the student will develop a 3 - 5 page proposal that describes the project to be done. This proposal is signed by you and submitted to the Honors College for approval before beginning the project. The proposal must include a clear research question, one that relates to a body of knowledge that currently exists. For example, "How have the flute and flute repertoire evolved throughout the history of music and how does this evolution benefit today's flutists?" or "What are the analgesic effects of morphine against inflammatory pain in male and female rats?" The student's proposal should discuss the research question and include at least 5-6 scholarly sources that clearly relate to the question under investigation.
Mentoring the Student During the Thesis:
We encourage faculty and students to meet on a regular basis. A schedule
of at least semi-monthly meetings is appropriate to discuss the progress
of the student's work. For students who are completing a project off campus
(internship, study abroad), email communication would be satisfactory.
These regular interactions are key to ensuring the completion of a strong
paper and the intellectual growth of the student.
Thesis Paper: Each student is responsible
for completing a paper (typically 20 pages at a minimum) that is written
in an appropriate academic format, corresponding to the academic guidelines
of your discipline. Suggestions for organization of the paper are available
at
http://www.wsu.edu/honors/thesis/thesis.html/Writing_paper.html
Reference citations and a bibliography are required. The final paper is due Monday of the week prior to the week that oral presentations begin. This time period will provide Honors faculty a chance to review the paper before the oral presentation.
Oral Presentation: Each student will give a 20 minute oral presentation of the work completed. As faculty mentor and thesis advisor, your presence at this presentation is required. Some students will need coaching on how to give an effective presentation of their work. All faculty are encouraged to mentor their students in their presentations, just as you would any graduate student you have trained. For instance, several practice presentations of the student's work is good mentoring for the student, as he or she learns how faculty prepare presentations of their scholarly work. Presentations are typically held during the 7th week of the semester in Honors Hall, where all necessary presentation technology will be available. Two Honors College faculty who read the paper before the presentation will be prepared to ask questions of your student. They will also complete an evaluation form, indicating the student’s strengths and weaknesses in the final written thesis as well as the oral presentation.
Final Grade: You will be given the
Final Grade Form for your student at the time of the oral presentation.
Students are to be graded "excellent, pass, needs work or fail,"
with the option to nominate each student for "Pass with Distinction"
if the work is truly exemplary. The Honors College will submit grades
for the thesis work.
Pass with Distinction: Papers that merit "Pass
with Distinction" will reflect scholarly writing, i.e., be couched
in the relevant literature, be analytical, synthetic, well argued, well
written, and exhibit the potential for publication. If you wish to nominate
your student for Pass with Distinction, a typed statement will need to
be submitted after the oral presentation which indicates why you think
this student's work deserves this designation. The Honors College Council
will make the final determination on this designation.
Note: The Honors College is always available to answer questions you might have about this requirement and process. Please feel free to contact us at 335-4505 for clarification about any aspect of the Honors Thesis.
Previous winners
of this award have agreed to have their papers made available through
this web site. You can download
representative samples in a PDF file.
Contact
us: honors@wsu.edu 509 335-4505 |
Honors College, PO Box 642012, Washington
State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2012 USA
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