planning honours thesis

Honors Theses

What this handout is about.

Writing a senior honors thesis, or any major research essay, can seem daunting at first. A thesis requires a reflective, multi-stage writing process. This handout will walk you through those stages. It is targeted at students in the humanities and social sciences, since their theses tend to involve more writing than projects in the hard sciences. Yet all thesis writers may find the organizational strategies helpful.

Introduction

What is an honors thesis.

That depends quite a bit on your field of study. However, all honors theses have at least two things in common:

• They are based on students’ original research.
• They take the form of a written manuscript, which presents the findings of that research. In the humanities, theses average 50-75 pages in length and consist of two or more chapters. In the social sciences, the manuscript may be shorter, depending on whether the project involves more quantitative than qualitative research. In the hard sciences, the manuscript may be shorter still, often taking the form of a sophisticated laboratory report.

Who can write an honors thesis?

In general, students who are at the end of their junior year, have an overall 3.2 GPA, and meet their departmental requirements can write a senior thesis. For information about your eligibility, contact:

• UNC Honors Program
• Your departmental administrators of undergraduate studies/honors

Why write an honors thesis?

Satisfy your intellectual curiosity This is the most compelling reason to write a thesis. Whether it’s the short stories of Flannery O’Connor or the challenges of urban poverty, you’ve studied topics in college that really piqued your interest. Now’s your chance to follow your passions, explore further, and contribute some original ideas and research in your field.

Develop transferable skills Whether you choose to stay in your field of study or not, the process of developing and crafting a feasible research project will hone skills that will serve you well in almost any future job. After all, most jobs require some form of problem solving and oral and written communication. Writing an honors thesis requires that you:

• ask smart questions
• acquire the investigative instincts needed to find answers
• navigate libraries, laboratories, archives, databases, and other research venues
• develop the flexibility to redirect your research if your initial plan flops
• master the art of time management
• hone your argumentation skills
• organize a lengthy piece of writing
• polish your oral communication skills by presenting and defending your project to faculty and peers

Work closely with faculty mentors At large research universities like Carolina, you’ve likely taken classes where you barely got to know your instructor. Writing a thesis offers the opportunity to work one-on-one with a with faculty adviser. Such mentors can enrich your intellectual development and later serve as invaluable references for graduate school and employment.

Open windows into future professions An honors thesis will give you a taste of what it’s like to do research in your field. Even if you’re a sociology major, you may not really know what it’s like to be a sociologist. Writing a sociology thesis would open a window into that world. It also might help you decide whether to pursue that field in graduate school or in your future career.

How do you write an honors thesis?

Get an idea of what’s expected.

It’s a good idea to review some of the honors theses other students have submitted to get a sense of what an honors thesis might look like and what kinds of things might be appropriate topics. Look for examples from the previous year in the Carolina Digital Repository. You may also be able to find past theses collected in your major department or at the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library. Pay special attention to theses written by students who share your major.

Choose a topic

Ideally, you should start thinking about topics early in your junior year, so you can begin your research and writing quickly during your senior year. (Many departments require that you submit a proposal for an honors thesis project during the spring of your junior year.)

How should you choose a topic?

• Read widely in the fields that interest you. Make a habit of browsing professional journals to survey the “hot” areas of research and to familiarize yourself with your field’s stylistic conventions. (You’ll find the most recent issues of the major professional journals in the periodicals reading room on the first floor of Davis Library).
• Set up appointments to talk with faculty in your field. This is a good idea, since you’ll eventually need to select an advisor and a second reader. Faculty also can help you start narrowing down potential topics.
• Look at honors theses from the past. The North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library holds UNC honors theses. To get a sense of the typical scope of a thesis, take a look at a sampling from your field.

What makes a good topic?

• It’s fascinating. Above all, choose something that grips your imagination. If you don’t, the chances are good that you’ll struggle to finish.
• It’s doable. Even if a topic interests you, it won’t work out unless you have access to the materials you need to research it. Also be sure that your topic is narrow enough. Let’s take an example: Say you’re interested in the efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and early 1980s. That’s a big topic that probably can’t be adequately covered in a single thesis. You need to find a case study within that larger topic. For example, maybe you’re particularly interested in the states that did not ratify the ERA. Of those states, perhaps you’ll select North Carolina, since you’ll have ready access to local research materials. And maybe you want to focus primarily on the ERA’s opponents. Beyond that, maybe you’re particularly interested in female opponents of the ERA. Now you’ve got a much more manageable topic: Women in North Carolina Who Opposed the ERA in the 1970s and 1980s.
• It contains a question. There’s a big difference between having a topic and having a guiding research question. Taking the above topic, perhaps your main question is: Why did some women in North Carolina oppose the ERA? You will, of course, generate other questions: Who were the most outspoken opponents? White women? Middle-class women? How did they oppose the ERA? Public protests? Legislative petitions? etc. etc. Yet it’s good to start with a guiding question that will focus your research.

Goal-setting and time management

The senior year is an exceptionally busy time for college students. In addition to the usual load of courses and jobs, seniors have the daunting task of applying for jobs and/or graduate school. These demands are angst producing and time consuming If that scenario sounds familiar, don’t panic! Do start strategizing about how to make a time for your thesis. You may need to take a lighter course load or eliminate extracurricular activities. Even if the thesis is the only thing on your plate, you still need to make a systematic schedule for yourself. Most departments require that you take a class that guides you through the honors project, so deadlines likely will be set for you. Still, you should set your own goals for meeting those deadlines. Here are a few suggestions for goal setting and time management:

Start early. Keep in mind that many departments will require that you turn in your thesis sometime in early April, so don’t count on having the entire spring semester to finish your work. Ideally, you’ll start the research process the semester or summer before your senior year so that the writing process can begin early in the fall. Some goal-setting will be done for you if you are taking a required class that guides you through the honors project. But any substantive research project requires a clear timetable.

Set clear goals in making a timetable. Find out the final deadline for turning in your project to your department. Working backwards from that deadline, figure out how much time you can allow for the various stages of production.

Here is a sample timetable. Use it, however, with two caveats in mind:

• The timetable for your thesis might look very different depending on your departmental requirements.
• You may not wish to proceed through these stages in a linear fashion. You may want to revise chapter one before you write chapter two. Or you might want to write your introduction last, not first. This sample is designed simply to help you start thinking about how to customize your own schedule.

Sample timetable

Avoid falling into the trap of procrastination. Once you’ve set goals for yourself, stick to them! For some tips on how to do this, see our handout on procrastination .

Consistent production

It’s a good idea to try to squeeze in a bit of thesis work every day—even if it’s just fifteen minutes of journaling or brainstorming about your topic. Or maybe you’ll spend that fifteen minutes taking notes on a book. The important thing is to accomplish a bit of active production (i.e., putting words on paper) for your thesis every day. That way, you develop good writing habits that will help you keep your project moving forward.

Make yourself accountable to someone other than yourself

Since most of you will be taking a required thesis seminar, you will have deadlines. Yet you might want to form a writing group or enlist a peer reader, some person or people who can help you stick to your goals. Moreover, if your advisor encourages you to work mostly independently, don’t be afraid to ask them to set up periodic meetings at which you’ll turn in installments of your project.

Brainstorming and freewriting

One of the biggest challenges of a lengthy writing project is keeping the creative juices flowing. Here’s where freewriting can help. Try keeping a small notebook handy where you jot down stray ideas that pop into your head. Or schedule time to freewrite. You may find that such exercises “free” you up to articulate your argument and generate new ideas. Here are some questions to stimulate freewriting.

Questions for basic brainstorming at the beginning of your project:

• What do I already know about this topic?
• Why do I care about this topic?
• Why is this topic important to people other than myself
• What more do I want to learn about this topic?
• What is the main question that I am trying to answer?
• Where can I look for additional information?
• Who is my audience and how can I reach them?
• How will my work inform my larger field of study?
• What’s the main goal of my research project?

Questions for reflection throughout your project:

• What’s my main argument? How has it changed since I began the project?
• What’s the most important evidence that I have in support of my “big point”?
• What questions do my sources not answer?
• How does my case study inform or challenge my field writ large?
• Does my project reinforce or contradict noted scholars in my field? How?
• What is the most surprising finding of my research?
• What is the most frustrating part of this project?
• What is the most rewarding part of this project?
• What will be my work’s most important contribution?

Research and note-taking

In conducting research, you will need to find both primary sources (“firsthand” sources that come directly from the period/events/people you are studying) and secondary sources (“secondhand” sources that are filtered through the interpretations of experts in your field.) The nature of your research will vary tremendously, depending on what field you’re in. For some general suggestions on finding sources, consult the UNC Libraries tutorials . Whatever the exact nature of the research you’re conducting, you’ll be taking lots of notes and should reflect critically on how you do that. Too often it’s assumed that the research phase of a project involves very little substantive writing (i.e., writing that involves thinking). We sit down with our research materials and plunder them for basic facts and useful quotations. That mechanical type of information-recording is important. But a more thoughtful type of writing and analytical thinking is also essential at this stage. Some general guidelines for note-taking:

First of all, develop a research system. There are lots of ways to take and organize your notes. Whether you choose to use note cards, computer databases, or notebooks, follow two cardinal rules:

• Make careful distinctions between direct quotations and your paraphrasing! This is critical if you want to be sure to avoid accidentally plagiarizing someone else’s work. For more on this, see our handout on plagiarism .
• Record full citations for each source. Don’t get lazy here! It will be far more difficult to find the proper citation later than to write it down now.

Keeping those rules in mind, here’s a template for the types of information that your note cards/legal pad sheets/computer files should include for each of your sources:

Abbreviated subject heading: Include two or three words to remind you of what this sources is about (this shorthand categorization is essential for the later sorting of your sources).

Complete bibliographic citation:

• author, title, publisher, copyright date, and page numbers for published works
• box and folder numbers and document descriptions for archival sources
• complete web page title, author, address, and date accessed for online sources

Notes on facts, quotations, and arguments: Depending on the type of source you’re using, the content of your notes will vary. If, for example, you’re using US Census data, then you’ll mainly be writing down statistics and numbers. If you’re looking at someone else’s diary, you might jot down a number of quotations that illustrate the subject’s feelings and perspectives. If you’re looking at a secondary source, you’ll want to make note not just of factual information provided by the author but also of their key arguments.

Your interpretation of the source: This is the most important part of note-taking. Don’t just record facts. Go ahead and take a stab at interpreting them. As historians Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff insist, “A note is a thought.” So what do these thoughts entail? Ask yourself questions about the context and significance of each source.

Interpreting the context of a source:

• Who wrote/created the source?
• When, and under what circumstances, was it written/created?
• Why was it written/created? What was the agenda behind the source?
• How was it written/created?
• If using a secondary source: How does it speak to other scholarship in the field?

Interpreting the significance of a source:

• How does this source answer (or complicate) my guiding research questions?
• Does it pose new questions for my project? What are they?
• Does it challenge my fundamental argument? If so, how?
• Given the source’s context, how reliable is it?

You don’t need to answer all of these questions for each source, but you should set a goal of engaging in at least one or two sentences of thoughtful, interpretative writing for each source. If you do so, you’ll make much easier the next task that awaits you: drafting.

The dread of drafting

Why do we often dread drafting? We dread drafting because it requires synthesis, one of the more difficult forms of thinking and interpretation. If you’ve been free-writing and taking thoughtful notes during the research phase of your project, then the drafting should be far less painful. Here are some tips on how to get started:

Sort your “evidence” or research into analytical categories:

• Some people file note cards into categories.
• The technologically-oriented among us take notes using computer database programs that have built-in sorting mechanisms.
• Others cut and paste evidence into detailed outlines on their computer.
• Still others stack books, notes, and photocopies into topically-arranged piles.There is not a single right way, but this step—in some form or fashion—is essential!

If you’ve been forcing yourself to put subject headings on your notes as you go along, you’ll have generated a number of important analytical categories. Now, you need to refine those categories and sort your evidence. Everyone has a different “sorting style.”

Formulate working arguments for your entire thesis and individual chapters. Once you’ve sorted your evidence, you need to spend some time thinking about your project’s “big picture.” You need to be able to answer two questions in specific terms:

• What is the overall argument of my thesis?
• What are the sub-arguments of each chapter and how do they relate to my main argument?

Keep in mind that “working arguments” may change after you start writing. But a senior thesis is big and potentially unwieldy. If you leave this business of argument to chance, you may end up with a tangle of ideas. See our handout on arguments and handout on thesis statements for some general advice on formulating arguments.

Divide your thesis into manageable chunks. The surest road to frustration at this stage is getting obsessed with the big picture. What? Didn’t we just say that you needed to focus on the big picture? Yes, by all means, yes. You do need to focus on the big picture in order to get a conceptual handle on your project, but you also need to break your thesis down into manageable chunks of writing. For example, take a small stack of note cards and flesh them out on paper. Or write through one point on a chapter outline. Those small bits of prose will add up quickly.

Just start! Even if it’s not at the beginning. Are you having trouble writing those first few pages of your chapter? Sometimes the introduction is the toughest place to start. You should have a rough idea of your overall argument before you begin writing one of the main chapters, but you might find it easier to start writing in the middle of a chapter of somewhere other than word one. Grab hold where you evidence is strongest and your ideas are clearest.

Keep up the momentum! Assuming the first draft won’t be your last draft, try to get your thoughts on paper without spending too much time fussing over minor stylistic concerns. At the drafting stage, it’s all about getting those ideas on paper. Once that task is done, you can turn your attention to revising.

Peter Elbow, in Writing With Power, suggests that writing is difficult because it requires two conflicting tasks: creating and criticizing. While these two tasks are intimately intertwined, the drafting stage focuses on creating, while revising requires criticizing. If you leave your revising to the last minute, then you’ve left out a crucial stage of the writing process. See our handout for some general tips on revising . The challenges of revising an honors thesis may include:

Juggling feedback from multiple readers

A senior thesis may mark the first time that you have had to juggle feedback from a wide range of readers:

• your adviser
• a second (and sometimes third) faculty reader
• the professor and students in your honors thesis seminar

You may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of incorporating all this advice. Keep in mind that some advice is better than others. You will probably want to take most seriously the advice of your adviser since they carry the most weight in giving your project a stamp of approval. But sometimes your adviser may give you more advice than you can digest. If so, don’t be afraid to approach them—in a polite and cooperative spirit, of course—and ask for some help in prioritizing that advice. See our handout for some tips on getting and receiving feedback .

Refining your argument

It’s especially easy in writing a lengthy work to lose sight of your main ideas. So spend some time after you’ve drafted to go back and clarify your overall argument and the individual chapter arguments and make sure they match the evidence you present.

Organizing and reorganizing

Again, in writing a 50-75 page thesis, things can get jumbled. You may find it particularly helpful to make a “reverse outline” of each of your chapters. That will help you to see the big sections in your work and move things around so there’s a logical flow of ideas. See our handout on  organization  for more organizational suggestions and tips on making a reverse outline

Plugging in holes in your evidence

It’s unlikely that you anticipated everything you needed to look up before you drafted your thesis. Save some time at the revising stage to plug in the holes in your research. Make sure that you have both primary and secondary evidence to support and contextualize your main ideas.

Saving time for the small stuff

Even though your argument, evidence, and organization are most important, leave plenty of time to polish your prose. At this point, you’ve spent a very long time on your thesis. Don’t let minor blemishes (misspellings and incorrect grammar) distract your readers!

Formatting and final touches

You’re almost done! You’ve researched, drafted, and revised your thesis; now you need to take care of those pesky little formatting matters. An honors thesis should replicate—on a smaller scale—the appearance of a dissertation or master’s thesis. So, you need to include the “trappings” of a formal piece of academic work. For specific questions on formatting matters, check with your department to see if it has a style guide that you should use. For general formatting guidelines, consult the Graduate School’s Guide to Dissertations and Theses . Keeping in mind the caveat that you should always check with your department first about its stylistic guidelines, here’s a brief overview of the final “finishing touches” that you’ll need to put on your honors thesis:

• Honors Thesis
• Name of Department
• University of North Carolina
• These parts of the thesis will vary in format depending on whether your discipline uses MLA, APA, CBE, or Chicago (also known in its shortened version as Turabian) style. Whichever style you’re using, stick to the rules and be consistent. It might be helpful to buy an appropriate style guide. Or consult the UNC LibrariesYear Citations/footnotes and works cited/reference pages  citation tutorial
• In addition, in the bottom left corner, you need to leave space for your adviser and faculty readers to sign their names. For example:

Approved by: _____________________

Adviser: Prof. Jane Doe

• This is not a required component of an honors thesis. However, if you want to thank particular librarians, archivists, interviewees, and advisers, here’s the place to do it. You should include an acknowledgments page if you received a grant from the university or an outside agency that supported your research. It’s a good idea to acknowledge folks who helped you with a major project, but do not feel the need to go overboard with copious and flowery expressions of gratitude. You can—and should—always write additional thank-you notes to people who gave you assistance.
• Formatted much like the table of contents.
• You’ll need to save this until the end, because it needs to reflect your final pagination. Once you’ve made all changes to the body of the thesis, then type up your table of contents with the titles of each section aligned on the left and the page numbers on which those sections begin flush right.
• Each page of your thesis needs a number, although not all page numbers are displayed. All pages that precede the first page of the main text (i.e., your introduction or chapter one) are numbered with small roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.). All pages thereafter use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.).
• Your text should be double spaced (except, in some cases, long excerpts of quoted material), in a 12 point font and a standard font style (e.g., Times New Roman). An honors thesis isn’t the place to experiment with funky fonts—they won’t enhance your work, they’ll only distract your readers.
• In general, leave a one-inch inch margin on all sides. However, for the copy of your thesis that will be bound by the library, you need to leave a 1.25-inch margin on the left.

How do I defend my honors thesis?

Graciously, enthusiastically, and confidently. The term defense is scary and misleading—it conjures up images of a military exercise or an athletic maneuver. An academic defense ideally shouldn’t be a combative scene but a congenial conversation about the work’s merits and weaknesses. That said, the defense probably won’t be like the average conversation that you have with your friends. You’ll be the center of attention. And you may get some challenging questions. Thus, it’s a good idea to spend some time preparing yourself. First of all, you’ll want to prepare 5-10 minutes of opening comments. Here’s a good time to preempt some criticisms by frankly acknowledging what you think your work’s greatest strengths and weaknesses are. Then you may be asked some typical questions:

• What is the main argument of your thesis?
• How does it fit in with the work of Ms. Famous Scholar?
• Have you read the work of Mr. Important Author?

NOTE: Don’t get too flustered if you haven’t! Most scholars have their favorite authors and books and may bring one or more of them up, even if the person or book is only tangentially related to the topic at hand. Should you get this question, answer honestly and simply jot down the title or the author’s name for future reference. No one expects you to have read everything that’s out there.

• Why did you choose this particular case study to explore your topic?
• If you were to expand this project in graduate school, how would you do so?

Should you get some biting criticism of your work, try not to get defensive. Yes, this is a defense, but you’ll probably only fan the flames if you lose your cool. Keep in mind that all academic work has flaws or weaknesses, and you can be sure that your professors have received criticisms of their own work. It’s part of the academic enterprise. Accept criticism graciously and learn from it. If you receive criticism that is unfair, stand up for yourself confidently, but in a good spirit. Above all, try to have fun! A defense is a rare opportunity to have eminent scholars in your field focus on YOU and your ideas and work. And the defense marks the end of a long and arduous journey. You have every right to be proud of your accomplishments!

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Atchity, Kenneth. 1986. A Writer’s Time: A Guide to the Creative Process from Vision Through Revision . New York: W.W. Norton.

Barzun, Jacques, and Henry F. Graff. 2012. The Modern Researcher , 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Elbow, Peter. 1998. Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process . New York: Oxford University Press.

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. 2014. “They Say/I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing , 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Lamott, Anne. 1994. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life . New York: Pantheon.

Lasch, Christopher. 2002. Plain Style: A Guide to Written English. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Turabian, Kate. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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A Distinctive Achievement Honors Thesis

As a Schreyer Scholar, you are required to complete an undergraduate honors thesis as the culmination of your honors experience. The goal of the thesis is to demonstrate a command of relevant scholastic work and to make a personal contribution to that scholarship.

Your thesis project can take many forms — from laboratory experiments all the way to artistic creations. Your thesis document captures the relevant background, methods, and techniques and describes the details of the completion of the individual project.

Two Penn State faculty members evaluate and approve your thesis — a thesis supervisor and an honors adviser in your area of honors.

Planning is Key Project Guide

The thesis is, by design, your most ambitious undertaking as a Scholar.

A successful thesis requires a viable proposal, goal-setting, time management, and interpersonal skills on top of the disciplinary skills associated with your intended area of honors. This guide will walk you through the thesis process. Keep in mind, though, that your honors adviser and thesis supervisor are your key resources.

Planning A Thesis

An ideal thesis project should:

• Satisfy your intellectual curiosity
• Give you the opportunity to work closely with faculty
• Develop transferable skills
• Clarify your post-graduation plans

The single biggest factor in determining thesis quality is your level of interest in and engagement with the topic, so consider multiple possibilities rather than selecting the first one that seems attractive to you.

From the perspective of the Schreyer Honors College, the purpose of the thesis experience is to develop your intellectual and professional identity in the field and to help you think about your future.

Once complete, the purpose of the thesis is to advance knowledge, understanding, or creative value in its field.

Lab-Based Research Fields

We recommend avoiding the temptation to stick with your first lab placement merely out of convenience if the topic is not interesting to you. The quality of your thesis is truly dependent on the depth of your interest and the energy behind your curiosity. Your intellectual engagement is the thing that will carry you through what may at times feel like a long and sometimes difficult process.

A Thesis Needs A Thesis

A thesis is problem-oriented and identifies something of importance whose answer or best interpretation is not fully known or agreed-upon by people who make their careers in the field, and it proceeds towards the answer or best interpretation. Even with a creative or performance thesis, the purpose is not to demonstrate technical ability (writing, painting, acting, composing, etc.), but to express something you think is worth expressing and hasn't been fully expressed already.

Identifying a Topic

An interest can come from anywhere, but the problem that defines a thesis can only come from a thorough acquaintance with "the literature," the accumulated knowledge or creative value in your field.

By speaking with faculty (preferably more than one) and reading professional journals (again, more than one), you not only get a "crowd-sourced" sense of what is important, you also get a sense of what the open questions are. This is where you start to strike a balance between ambition and feasibility.

Feasibility & Realistic Ambition

You might want to come up with the definitive explanation for Rome's decline and fall, or the cure for cancer. There is strong evidence — several thousand prior theses — that your honors thesis will not accomplish anything on that scale. This realization might be disheartening, but it is an introduction to the reality of modern scholarship: Knowledge almost always moves incrementally and the individual units of knowledge production and dissemination (theses, journal articles, books, etc.) are only rarely revolutionary in isolation. This is part of what the thesis experience will test for you — whether or not you want to continue via graduate school in that kind of slow-moving enterprise.

The feasibility of a given thesis problem is bounded, as mathematicians might say, by several factors.

The honors thesis should not extend your time at Penn State by design. There are circumstances where you might defer graduation to complete your thesis, but that should not be your initial plan.

Resources are a potential issue in that even a comprehensive and well-funded university like Penn State does not have the physical infrastructure for every possible kind of research. The expense of ambitious off-campus research, such as a comparative study requiring visits to several countries, can easily exceed our funding abilities. If you expect to incur more than $300 in expenses, you should get commitments from your department and academic college before proceeding.

Proposal, Supervisor & Area of Honors

Thesis proposal.

The thesis proposal is due at the end of your third year, assuming you're on a four-year path to graduation. File your Thesis Proposal with the Schreyer Honors College via the Student Records System (SRS) . The end-of-third-year requirement is from the Honors College, but your major may expect a much earlier commitment so be sure to talk to your honors adviser as early as your second year about this. The thesis proposal needs the following things:

• Supervision
• A Working Title
• Purpose/Objective
• Intended Outcome
• How do you intend to earn honors credit?
• How often do you plan to meet with your supervisor?
• Will your thesis satisfy other requirements?
• Does your thesis involve working with human, animals, or biohazardous materials or radioactive isotopes?

The Honors College staff does not review the content of the proposal, so the intended audience is your thesis supervisor and the honors adviser in your intended area of honors.

Thesis Supervisor

Your thesis supervisor is the professor who has primary responsibility for supervising your thesis.

Ideally your thesis supervisor will be the single most appropriate person for your thesis in the whole university, or at least at your whole campus, in terms of specialization and, where relevant, resources. How far you can stray from that ideal depends on the nature of the thesis. If specific lab resources are needed then you cannot stray too far, but if general intellectual mentoring is the extent of the required supervision then you have more flexibility, including the flexibility to choose a topic that does not align closely with the supervisor's specialization.

Apart from a professor being unavailable for or declining your project, the biggest reason to consider bypassing the "single most appropriate person" is that you have doubts about whether you would get along with them. Do not put too much stock in second-hand information about a professor, but if after meeting him or her you have concerns then you should certainly consider continuing your search.

Area of Honors

Thesis honors adviser.

An honors adviser from the area in which you are pursuing honors must read and approve your thesis. If the thesis supervisor and thesis honors adviser are the same person, you must find a second eligible faculty member from your area of honors to read and approve your thesis.

Multiple Majors

If you have more than one major, you can do the following:

• Pick one major and write a thesis for honors solely in that major
• Pick a topic that can legitimately earn honors in both majors. This will be considered interdisciplinary .
• Write multiple theses, one for honors in each major

The first scenario is the most common, followed by the second depending on how closely related the majors are. You can also pick a non-major area of honors.

Second- and Third-Year Entrants (including Paterno Fellows)

If you were admitted to the Honors College after your first year or via the Liberal Arts Paterno Fellows program, you are expected to write your thesis for honors in your entrance major. You do have the right to pursue honors elsewhere, for instance in a concurrent major for which you were not admitted to the Honors College, but there is no guarantee of approval.

Topic, Not Professor

Typically, the area of honors suggested by the topic aligns with the professor's affiliation, as when you seek honors in history based on a history thesis supervised by a professor of history. But if the supervisor happens to be a professor of literature, you are still able to pursue honors in history based on the substance and methodology of the thesis.

This is especially worth remembering in the life sciences, where faculty expertise is spread among many different departments and colleges. As always, the honors adviser in the intended area of honors is the gatekeeper for whether a given thesis topic and supervisor are acceptable.

From Proposal to Thesis

Timetable & benchmarks.

The thesis proposal does not require a timetable, but you and your supervisor should have a clear idea of how much you should accomplish on a monthly basis all the way through completion. Not all of those monthly benchmarks will be actual written work; for many Schreyer Scholars the write-up will not come until toward the end. If you fall behind during the earlier part of the thesis timeline, it will be difficult if not impossible to make up that ground later.

Regular Meetings with Your Thesis Supervisor

You should take proactive steps against procrastination by making yourself accountable to someone other than yourself. Scheduling regular meetings (or e-mailing regular updates) with your thesis supervisor — even if you are working in the same lab routinely — is the best way to do that. You should also regularly update your thesis honors adviser.

Think ahead, preferably well before the time of your thesis proposal, about what your thesis work will mean for your fourth-year schedule. This is especially important if you have a significant capstone requirement like student teaching for education majors, or if you expect to do a lot of job interviews or graduate/professional school visits.

There are many reasons to plan to include the summer between third and fourth year in your research timeline: those mentioned above, plus the benefit of devoting yourself full-time to the thesis, whether it is in a lab on campus or in the field. Funding opportunities for full-time summer thesis research include Schreyer Honors College grants , the Erickson Undergraduate Education Discovery Grant , and funding via your thesis supervisor (especially in the sciences and engineering).

Department & College Thesis Guides

In addition to this guide, many departments and colleges have thesis guides with important information about their deadlines and expectations. If you do not see your college or department listed, consult with your honors adviser.

• College of Agricultural Sciences
• Smeal College of Business
• Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
• Aerospace Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Biobehavioral Health
• Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Hospitality Management
• Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management
• College of Information Sciences and Technology
• Comparative Literature
• Germanic & Slavic Languages and Literatures
• Global & International Studies
• Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• College of Nursing
• Astronomy & Astrophysics: Thesis 1
• Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
• Chemistry: Thesis 1 | Thesis 2 | Thesis 3
• Mathematics: Thesis 1 | Thesis 2 | Thesis 3 | Thesis 4 | Thesis 5 | Thesis 6

Follow the Template Formatting Guide

The formatting requirements in this guide apply to all Schreyer Honors theses. Please follow the thesis templates provided below:

Information about using LaTeX is available from the University Libraries .

Formatting Requirements

Fonts & color.

All text should use the Times New Roman font.

Reduced type may be used within tables, figures, and appendices, but font size should be at least 11-point in size and must be completely legible.

The majority of your thesis document should be in black font, however, color is permissible in figures, tables, links, etc.

Organization

Begin each section on a new page. Do the same with each element of the front matter, the reference section, and the appendix.

Try to avoid typing a heading near the bottom of a page unless there is room for at least two lines of text following the heading. Instead you should simply leave a little extra space on the page and begin the heading on the next page.

If you wish you use a "display" page (a page that shows only the chapter title) at the beginning of chapters or appendices, be sure to do so consistently and to count the display page when numbering the pages.

Page Numbers

Excluding the title page and signatory page, every page in the document, including those with tables and figures, must be counted. Use lower case Roman numerals for the front matter and Arabic numbers for the text. The text (or body) of the thesis must begin on page 1. Follow the template provided at the top of this section.

Use the template provided as a pattern for creating your title page. Be sure all faculty members are identified by their correct professional titles. Check with the department for current information. Do not use such designations as "PhD" or "Dr." on the title page. (Ex. John Smith, Professor of English, Thesis Supervisor).

Electronic Approvals

Please submit your final thesis to your Thesis Supervisor and Honors Adviser at least two weeks prior to the final submission due date to allow them ample time for review and suggested changes. Also, please communicate with your professors to find out their schedule and preferred amount of time to review your thesis. Once your thesis is submitted, your committee will review the thesis one last time before giving their final approval.

Number of Approvals

A minimum of two approvals is required on each thesis. If one of the approvers has a dual role (e.g. Thesis Supervisor and Honors Adviser), then list both roles under the professional title. Do not list the same person twice. If the sharing of roles leaves you with fewer than the required number of approvals, an additional approver must be added (Faculty Reader).

Professional Titles

Be sure to identify all faculty by their correct professional titles. Check with the department for current information. Do not use such designations as "PhD" or "Dr." on the title page.

This is a one-paragraph summary of the content of your thesis that identifies concisely the content of the thesis manuscript and important results of your project. Some students like to think of it as an advertisement — i.e., when someone finishes reading it, they should want to examine the rest of your work. Keep it short and include the most interesting points.

The abstract follows the title page, must have the heading ABSTRACT at the top, and is always page Roman number i. There is no restriction on the length of the abstract, but it is usually no longer than one page.

Table of Contents

The table of contents is essentially a topic outline of the thesis and it is compiled by listing the headings in the thesis. You may choose to include first-level headings, first- and second-levels, or all levels. Keep in mind there usually is no index in a thesis, and thus a fairly detailed table of contents can serve as a useful guide for the reader. The table of contents must appear immediately after the abstract and should not list the abstract, the table of contents itself, or the vita.

Be sure the headings listed in the table of contents match word-for-word the headings in the text. Double check to be sure the page numbers are shown. In listing appendices, indicate the title of each appendix. If using display pages, the number of the display page should appear in the table of contents.

Formatting Final Touches

An honors thesis manuscript should replicate the appearance of professional writing in your discipline. Include the elements of a formal piece of academic work accordingly. For specific questions on organization or labeling, check with your thesis supervisor to see if there is a style guide you should use.

Acknowledgements (Optional)

Acknowledgements are not a required component of an honors thesis, but if you want to thank particular colleagues, faculty, librarians, archivists, interviewees, and advisers, here's the place to do it. You should include an acknowledgements page if you received a grant from the University or an outside agency that supported your research.

Tables & Figures

A table is a columnar arrangement of information, often numbers, organized to save space and convey relationships at a glance. A rule of thumb to use in deciding whether given materials are tables or figures is that tables can be typed, but figures must be drawn.

A figure is a graphic illustration such as a chart, graph, diagram, map, or photograph.

Please be sure to insert your table or figure. Do not copy and paste. Once the figure or table is inserted, you right click on it to apply the appropriate label. Afterwards, return to the list of tables or list of figures page, right click on the list, and "update table (entire table)" and the page will automatically hyperlink.

Captions & Numbering

Each table and each figure in the text must have a number and caption. Number them consecutively throughout, beginning with 1, or by chapter using a decimal system.

Style Guides

These parts of the thesis will vary in format depending on the style guide you are following. Your discipline will use a consistent style guide, such as MLA, APA, CBE, or Chicago. Whichever style you are using, stick to the rules and be consistent.

Appendices (Optional)

Material that is pertinent but is somewhat tangential or very detailed (raw data, procedural explanations, etc.) may be placed in an appendix. Appendices should be designated A, B, C (not 1, 2, 3 or I, II, III). If there is only one appendix, call it simply Appendix, not Appendix A. Titles of appendices must be listed in the table of contents. Appendix pages must be numbered consecutively with the text of the thesis (do not number the page A-1, A-2, etc.).

Bibliography/References (Optional)

A thesis can include a bibliography or reference section listing all works that are referred to in the text, and in some cases other works also consulted in the course of research and writing. This section may either precede or follow the appendices (if any), or may appear at the end of each chapter. Usually a single section is more convenient and useful for both author and reader.

The forms used for listing sources in the bibliography/reference section are detailed and complicated, and they vary considerably among academic disciplines. For this reason, you will need to follow a scholarly style manual in your field or perhaps a recent issue of a leading journal as a guide in compiling this section of the thesis.

Academic Vita (Optional)

The academic vita is optional, must be the last page of the document, and is not given a page number or listed in the table of contents. The title — Academic Vita — and the author's name should appear at the top. A standard outline style or a prose form may be used. The vita should be similar to a resume. Do not include your GPA and personal information.

The Final Step Submission Guide

Once your final thesis is approved by your thesis supervisor and honors adviser, you may submit the thesis electronically. This guide will provide the details on how to submit your thesis.

Public Access to Honors Thesis

Open access.

Your electronic thesis is available to anyone who wishes to access it on the web unless you request restricted access. Open access distribution makes the work more widely available than a bound copy on a library shelf.

Restricted Access (Penn State Only)

Access restricted to individuals having a valid Penn State Access Account, for a period of two years. Allows restricted access of the entire work beginning immediately after degree conferral. At the end of the two-year period, the status will automatically change to Open Access. Intended for use by authors in cases where prior public release of the work may compromise its acceptance for publication.

This option secures the body of the thesis for a period of two years. Selection of this option required that an invention disclosure (ID) be filed with the Office of Technology Management (OTM) prior to submission of the final honors thesis and confirmed by OTM. At the end of the two-year period, the work will be released automatically for Open Access unless a written request is made to extend this option for an additional year. The written request for an extension should be sent 30 days prior to the end of the two-year period to the Schreyer Honors College, 10 Schreyer Honors College, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, or by e-mail to [email protected] . Please note: No one will be able to view your work under this option.

Submission Requirements

Electronic submission of the final honors thesis became a requirement in spring semester of 2010. Both the mandatory draft submission and the final copy must be submitted online.

The "official" copy of the honors thesis is the electronic file (eHT), and this is the copy that will be on file with the University Libraries. Electronic submission does not prevent the author from producing hard copies for the department or for personal use. All copies are the responsibility of the author and should be made prior to submission. The Schreyer Honors College does not provide copies.

How to Submit

In order to submit your thesis, you must upload a draft in PDF format to the Electronic Honors Thesis (eHT) website .

What/When to Upload

• The initial submission, the Thesis Format Review, should be the textual thesis only and should be in a single PDF file (it may include image files such as TIFFs or JPEGs)
• The recommended file naming convention is Last_First_Title.pdf
• Failure to submit the Format Review by the deadline will result in removal from the honors graduation checklist. If this occurs, you must either defer graduation or withdraw/be dismissed from the Honors College

Uploading Video, Audio or Large Images

If your thesis content is such that you feel you need to upload content other than text to properly represent your work, upload the textual portion of your thesis first as a single, standalone PDF file. Then, add additional files for any other content as separate uploads.

If the majority of your thesis work is a multimedia presentation (video, slideshow, audio recording, etc.) you are required to upload these files in addition to your PDF.

Acceptable formats include:

Please do not upload any ZIP files. If uploading more than one file, keep individual file sizes for the supplementary material under 50 MB where possible. Large files will upload, but it may take a long time to download for future use.

Final Submission & Approval

Final submission.

In order to submit your final thesis:

• Refer to the thesis templates above to create your title page (no page number).
• Make sure you have correctly spelled "Schreyer Honors College".
• Be sure to include the department in which you are earning honors, your semester and year of graduation (Ex. Spring 2024, not May 2024), your thesis title and your name.
• List the name and professional title of your thesis supervisor and honors adviser (in the department granting honors). If your honors adviser and thesis supervisor are the same person, a second faculty reader signature from the department granting honors is required.
• Include your abstract following your title page (Roman numeral i).
• Make sure your thesis is saved in PDF format.
• Upload your final thesis on the eHT website .

Final Approval

When the final thesis is approved, the author and all committee members will be notified via e-mail of the approval. Your thesis will then be accessible on the eHT website within a month after graduation unless you have specified restricted access.

Being in Schreyer has pushed me further than I ever thought an undergraduate education could. I knew coming to Penn State that I would receive an amazing education with access to a multitude of state-of-the-art resources, but being a Scholar has allowed me to use this environment to maximize my potential and place my education in an ever-changing global community. Connor Cassady ' 18 Mathematics

Planning for an Honors Program

Main navigation.

Honors is a designation offered by academic programs to recognize outstanding independent student work that has met the highest scholarly standards for the relevant discipline. It usually involves good grades, a sequence of upper-division coursework, and the completion of an honors project. Stanford offers a variety of honors programs. Some are designed for majors and others allow students to work outside their major field.

Considerations for Pursuing Honors

Advantages to pursuing honors.

Pursuing Honors as an undergraduate offers many academic and personal benefits.  It allows you to do the following:

• Initiate in-depth research in a field you may continue to pursue in graduate school or throughout your career
• Demonstrate to postgraduate programs or future employers that you can do independent, creative work
• Participate in advanced original research in close, one-on-one consultation with a faculty member
• Contribute to the knowledge of the world and perhaps discover your life’s intellectual passion
• Mental discipline
• Intellectual judgment and independence
• Capacity to pursue an area in depth
• Self confidence
• Mastery of the material
• The ability to plan and implement a project and see it to its end
• The ability to meet a challenge and succeed

Additional Considerations

Many qualified students decide not to pursue honors. Stanford students engage in a host of academic and extracurricular activities (public service, athletics, student government) that require serious time commitments. It’s simply not possible to do everything. Incidentally, pursuing honors is not the only means to engage deeply in a field of study that interests you.

You can take advantage of a variety of opportunities to involve yourself in research before you decide to participate in an honors program. These can involve close collaboration with a faculty member or graduate student. Read more about getting started in research , and check out the  Undergraduate Research website  to learn more.

Departmental Honors vs Interdisciplinary Honors

Many students will choose to apply to the Honors program within their major department.  But Stanford also offers several interdisciplinary programs that allow students to do an honors project in that field regardless of their major.  The current Interdisciplinary Honors programs are:

• Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity
• Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law  (CDDRL)
• Ethics in Society
• Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• International Security Studies  (CISAC)
• Science, Technology, and Society

Like departmental honors programs, Interdisciplinary honors programs generally require an application, a minimum GPA, and some selected classes, as well as the thesis or capstone project. Most application deadlines are in junior winter, but may range from sophomore spring to senior fall. Check the program website for the basics, look out for information sessions, and arrange to meet with program leaders for more information.

Typical 4 year plan for Honors

Frosh or sophomore year.

• Undertake a significant research experience through a class, internship or other opportunity that interests or excites you.
• As you consider declaring a major, investigate the requirements for honors in your field and related fields.
• In addition, explore Interdisciplinary Majors programs that might allow you to engage in an honors project outside your major.
• If your project is in the humanities or qualitative social sciences, consider applying for a  Chappell-Lougee grant  as a sophomore to start doing research in your field.

Junior Year

• Find a Faculty Advisor, develop a research methodology and research plan.
• Apply to the honors program in your department, or to an Interdisciplinary Honors program.  Note that different programs have different application deadlines, so check ahead of time!
• Start honors work or research.
• In Spring quarter, plan to take a seminar within your honors program.
• Consider writing a  Major Grant  proposal and applying for funding to support you while you do research on your topic over the summer between junior and senior years.
• Apply for Bing Honors College.

Summer between Junior and Senior Year

• Conduct honors work or research.
• In September, participate in  Bing Honors College  during the three weeks before Fall Quarter starts.

Senior Year

• Complete your research
• Draft and write your honors thesis in close consultation with your Honors Advisor.

Choosing an Honors Thesis Topic

You do not necessarily need to have a topic already in mind when you decide to pursue honors. There are many different ways to help you decide upon an honors thesis topic.

• Identify and reach out to a faculty member you'd like to work with. (See our tips for connecting with faculty here .)  Faculty are often very open to helping you brainstorm thesis ideas, especially when they build on that professor’s area of expertise.
• It's also possible to develop a topic on your own, before selecting a Faculty Honors Advisor. Think back to any final papers or projects in past classes that you particularly enjoyed.  They could be the seed of an excellent honors thesis!  
• Brainstorm ideas with tutors affiliated with the  Honors Writing Program  at the Hume Center for Writing and Speaking.
• Have a conversation with your  Academic Advisor  about your academic interests and goals.

Working with a Faculty Honors Advisor

Choosing a Faculty Honors Advisor and establishing a strong working relationship with that person is essential to having a positive experience in an honors program. Find more detailed advice about  working with your Faculty Honors Advisor here .

• Student Services: Undergraduate Honors
• How do I get started in research?
• How do I pursue my own independent project?

Return to the Advising Student Handbook

Office of Undergraduate Education

University Honors Program

• Honors Requirements
• Major and Thesis Requirements
• Courses & Experiences
• Honors Courses
• NEXUS Experiences
• Non-Course Experiences
• Faculty-Directed Research and Creative Projects
• Community Engagement and Volunteering
• Internships
• Learning Abroad
• Honors Thesis Guide
• Sample Timeline
• Important Dates and Deadlines
• Requirements and Evaluation Criteria
• Supervision and Approval
• Credit and Honors Experiences
• Style and Formatting
• Submit Your Thesis
• Submit to the Digital Conservancy
• Honors Advising
• Honors Reporting Center
• Get Involved
• University Honors Student Association
• UHSA Executive Board
• Honors Multicultural Network
• Honors Mentor Program
• Honors Recognition Ceremony
• Honors Community & Housing
• Freshman Invitation
• Post-Freshman Admission
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Faculty Fellows
• Faculty Resources
• Honors Faculty Representatives
• Internal Honors Scholarships
• Office for National and International Scholarships
• Letters of Recommendation
• Personal Statements
• Scholarship Information
• Honors Lecture Series
• Make a Donation
• UHP Land Acknowledgment
• UHP Policies

Thesis Guide: Sample Timeline

Plan ahead! Developing a project, completing research or creative work, and writing your thesis will be a year-long effort at a minimum. Consult with your honors advisor and honors faculty representative to determine a timeline that is appropriate for you.

Freshman & Sophomore Years

• Explore major options; meet with faculty teaching your courses
• Ask faculty and advisors about research opportunities in your department
• Get involved in research to develop topics of interest

Junior Year

• Discuss thesis options with appropriate faculty
• Select a faculty supervisor and additional readers (if required)
• Review current literature
• Define your thesis topic
• Begin (or continue) thesis research

Senior Year, fall 

• Submit your Thesis Proposal form  by the established deadline  using the Honors Reporting Center.
• Finish thesis research
• Establish a comprehensive outline to inform your preliminary draft
• Submit a preliminary draft to your faculty supervisor

Senior Year, spring

• Please consult your faculty supervisor for discipline-specific guidelines
• Submit final draft to supervisor and readers  by the established deadline.
• Submit revised draft to committee and arrange public presentation (if presentation is required by your department) by the established deadline.
• Submit your Thesis Completion  by the established deadline  using the Honors Reporting Center.
• Submit PDF copy of thesis according to  submission guidelines .
• Summer Research Opportunities
• Global Seminars and LAC Seminars
• Honors Research in London - Summer 2024

Pages in this Section

• Explore Your Field of Study
• Resources for Thesis Development
• Connect with a Faculty Advisor
• Browse Past Honors Thesis Projects
• Submit Your Thesis Proposal

Planning Your Thesis

Because a Thesis Project is the culmination of your undergraduate career at Syracuse, the planning process should ideally begin in your first year.  This is an opportunity for you to explore your professional and academic interests, make connections, ask questions, and gather ideas.

The first place to start is just where you are: explore what opportunities there are in your major(s); what are other students doing or what have past students accomplished? What labs and research centers are out there on campus? Connect with people working in those spaces and begin reading papers, viewing works, taking classes that expand on those interests or perhaps add an interdisciplinary lens to them.

Use the links to the left to begin the planning process for your Thesis Project.

Timelines & Due Dates for 2023 - 2024

Developing ideas & research, quick links to thesis forms.

Writing an Honors Thesis

An Honors Thesis is a substantial piece of independent research that an undergraduate carries out over two semesters. Students writing Honors Theses take PHIL 691H and 692H, in two different semesters. What follows answers all the most common questions about Honors Theses in Philosophy.

All necessary forms are fillable and downloadable.

Honors Thesis Application

Honors Thesis Contract

Honors Thesis Learning Contract

Who can write an Honors Thesis in Philosophy?

Any Philosophy major who has a total, cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 and a GPA of at least 3.5 (with a maximum of one course with a PS grade) among their PHIL courses can in principle write an Honors Thesis. In addition, students need to satisfy a set of specific pre-requisites, as outlined below.

What are the pre-requisites for an Honors Thesis in Philosophy?

The requirements for writing an Honors Thesis in Philosophy include

• having taken at least five PHIL courses, including two numbered higher than 299;
• having a total PHIL GPA of at least 3.5 (with a maximum of one course with a PS grade); and
• having done one of the following four things:
• taken and passed PHIL 397;
• successfully completed an Honors Contract associated with a PHIL course;
• received an A or A- in a 300-level course in the same area of philosophy as the proposed thesis ; or
• taken and passed a 400-level course in the same area of philosophy as the proposed thesis .

When should I get started?

You should get started with the application process and search for a prospective advisor the semester before you plan to start writing your thesis – that is, the semester before the one in which you want to take PHIL 691H.

Often, though not always, PHIL 691H and 692H are taken in the fall and spring semesters of the senior year, respectively. It is also possible to start earlier and take 691H in the spring semester of the junior year and PHIL 692H in the fall of the senior year. Starting earlier has some important advantages. One is that it means you will finish your thesis in time to use it as a writing sample, should you decide to apply to graduate school. Another is that it avoids a mad rush near the very end of your last semester.

How do I get started?

Step 1: fill out the honors thesis application.

The first thing you need to do is fill out an Honors Thesis Application   and submit it to the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) for their approval.

Step 2: Find an Honors Thesis Advisor with the help of the DUS

Once you have been approved to write an Honors Thesis, you will consult with the DUS about the project that you have in mind and about which faculty member would be an appropriate advisor for your thesis. It is recommended that you reach out informally to prospective advisors to talk about their availability and interest in your project ahead of time, and that you include those suggestions in your application, but it is not until your application has been approved that the DUS will officially invite the faculty member of your choice to serve as your advisor. You will be included in this correspondence and will receive written confirmation from your prospective advisor.

Agreeing to be the advisor for an Honors Thesis is a major commitment, so bear in mind that there is a real possibility that someone asked to be your advisor will say no. Unfortunately, if we cannot find an advisor, you cannot write an Honors Thesis.

Step 3: Fill out the required paperwork needed to register for PHIL 691H

Finally, preferably one or two weeks before the start of classes (or as soon as you have secured the commitment of a faculty advisor), you need to fill out an Honors Thesis Contract  and an Honors Thesis Learning Contract , get them both signed by your advisor, and email them to the DUS.

Once the DUS approves both of these forms, they’ll get you registered for PHIL 691H. All of this should take place no later than the 5th day of classes in any given semester (preferably sooner).

What happens when I take PHIL 691H and PHIL 692H?

PHIL 691H and PHIL 692H are the course numbers that you sign up for to get credit for working on an Honors Thesis. These classes have official meeting times and places. In the case of PHIL 691H , those are a mere formality: You will meet with your advisor at times you both agree upon. But in the case of PHIL 692H , they are not a mere formality: The class will actually meet as a group, at least for the first few weeks of the semester (please see below).

When you take PHIL 691H, you should meet with your advisor during the first 5 days of classes and, if you have not done so already, fill out an Honors Thesis Learning Contract  and turn in to the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) . This Contract will serve as your course syllabus and must be turned in and approved no later than the 5th day of classes in any given semester (preferably sooner). Once the DUS approves your Honors Thesis Learning Contract, they’ll get you registered for PHIL 691H.

Over the course of the semester, you will meet regularly with your advisor. By the last day of classes, you must turn in a 10-page paper on your thesis topic; this can turn out to be part of your final thesis, but it doesn’t have to. In order to continue working on an Honors Thesis the following semester, this paper must show promise of your ability to complete one, in the opinion of your advisor. Your advisor should assign you a grade of “ SP ” at the conclusion of the semester, signifying “satisfactory progress” (so you can move on to PHIL 692H). Please see page 3 of this document for more information.

When you take PHIL 692H, you’ll still need to work with your advisor to fill out an Honors Thesis Learning Contract . This Contract will serve as your course syllabus and must be turned in to and approved by the DUS  no later than the 5th day of classes in any given semester (preferably sooner).

Once the DUS approves your Honors Thesis Learning Contract, they’ll get you registered for PHIL 692H.

At the end of the second semester of senior honors thesis work (PHIL 692H), your advisor should assign you a permanent letter grade. Your advisor should also change your PHIL 691H grade from “ SP ” to a permanent letter grade. Please see page 3 of this document for more information.

The Graduate Course Option

If you and your advisor agree, you may exercise the Graduate Course Option. If you do this, then during the semester when you are enrolled in either PHIL 691H or PHIL 692H, you will attend and do the work for a graduate level PHIL course. (You won’t be officially enrolled in that course.) A paper you write for this course will be the basis for your Honors Thesis. If you exercise this option, then you will be excused from the other requirements of the thesis course (either 691H or 692H) that you are taking that semester.

Who can be my advisor?

Any faculty member on a longer-than-one-year contract in the Department of Philosophy may serve as your honors thesis advisor. You will eventually form a committee of three professors, of which one can be from outside the Department.  But your advisor must have an appointment in the Philosophy Department. Graduate Students are not eligible to advise Honors Theses.

Who should be my advisor?

Any faculty member on a longer-than-one-year contract in the Department of Philosophy may serve as your honors thesis advisor. It makes most sense to ask a professor who already knows you from having had you as a student in a class. In some cases, though, this is either not possible, or else there is someone on the faculty who is an expert on the topic you want to write about, but from whom you have not taken a class. Information about which faculty members are especially qualified to advise thesis projects in particular areas of philosophy can be found  here .

What about the defense?

You and your advisor should compose a committee of three professors (including the advisor) who will examine you and your thesis. Once the committee is composed, you will need to schedule an oral examination, a.k.a. a defense. You should take the initiative here, communicating with all members of your committee in an effort to find a block of time (a little over an hour) when all three of you can meet. The thesis must be defended by a deadline , set by Honors Carolina , which is usually a couple of weeks before the end of classes. Students are required to upload the final version of their thesis to the  Carolina Digital Repository  by the final day of class in the semester in which they complete the thesis course work and thesis defense.

What is an Honors Thesis in Philosophy like?

An Honors Thesis in Philosophy is a piece of writing in the same genre as a typical philosophy journal article. There is no specific length requirement, but 30 pages (double-spaced) is a good guideline. Some examples of successfully defended Honors The easiest way to find theses of past philosophy students is on the web in the Carolina Digital Repository . Some older, hard copies of theses are located on the bookshelf in suite 107 of Caldwell Hall. (You may ask the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) , or anyone else who happens to be handy, to show you where it is!)

How does the Honors Thesis get evaluated?

The honors thesis committee will evaluate the quality and originality of your thesis as well as of your defense and then decides between the following three options:

• they may award only course credit for the thesis work if the thesis is of acceptable quality;
• they may designate that the student graduate with honors if the thesis is of a very strong quality;
• they may  recommend  that the student graduate with highest honors if the thesis is of exceptional quality.

As a matter of best practice, our philosophy department requires that examining committees refer all candidates for highest honors to our Undergraduate Committee chaired by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. This committee evaluates nominated projects and makes the final decision on awarding highest honors. Highest honors should be awarded only to students who have met the most rigorous standards of scholarly excellence.

WRITING AN HONORS THESIS IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Updated January 2022

Honors English students, following Schreyer Honors College requirements, compose a thesis of significant scholarly research or creative writing. The thesis is completed in close consultation with a thesis supervisor during the semester before the student’s graduation semester, while the student is enrolled in English 494H.

In the graduation semester, students polish and submit their theses for approval by the thesis supervisor and the honors advisor and then submit them to Schreyer Honors College. Dates of final submission vary; please consult your honors advisor and the Schreyer website .

An Honors Thesis in English

An English honors thesis in scholarly research and interpretation should be an ambitious, well-researched, in-depth study focused on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with the thesis supervisor.

An English honors thesis in creative writing should be a sophisticated and well-crafted creative project written in consultation with the thesis supervisor, a project that demonstrates the student’s increasing proficiency of their chosen creative genre(s).

The Critical/Literary Studies Thesis

A critical / literary studies thesis might arise from a range of possibilities: a course paper you would like to extend; an interest you were unable to pursue in class; a connection between two classes that you’ve made on your own; an author, set of works, or theme you want to explore in greater depth; a critical question that has been puzzling you; a body of literature that you want to contextualize; a topic relevant to post-graduate plans (e.g., law school, graduate school, marketing career, writing career, and so forth). Consider also your skill sets, your workload and experiences, and the timeline for completion. The questions you’re asking should be open to productive analysis, questions worth asking.

The topic should challenge you, so that you’re neither summarizing nor skimming the surface of the primary and secondary work under consideration. Chapters within the thesis should build upon each other and connect to an overarching theme or argument. The thesis should be as clear and concise as possible. Make sure the argument is structured, with each chapter and each paragraph having a clear role to play in the development of the argument.

Because the thesis is a scholarly product, it will demonstrate good research skills and effective use of secondary readings. It will also be grammatically correct. Your work will be entering existing critical conversations with other scholarship, so your research should be sufficiently completed prior to your finalizing the thesis plan. Your work should have properly formatted notes and bibliography, whether in Chicago, MLA, or APA style.

Note length stipulations: Honors theses in critical / literary studies may be as short as 8,000 words but no longer than 15,000 words. If the thesis is shorter or longer than these advised limits, explain your thinking and decision-making in the introduction of your thesis.

The Creative Thesis

The creative thesis will be an innovative, stylistically sophisticated work, attentive to language and voice. The work should develop a sustained narrative or theme. Most students who write creative theses produce a collection of short stories or personal essays, a novella, a memoir, a research-based piece of creative nonfiction or a collection of poems. It is very, very difficult to write a novel in one semester, so unless you already have a novel underway, writing a novel is probably not a realistic thesis project. Creative works should be unified (by theme, by topic, or in some other way).

Students should already have taken a 200-level creative writing workshop in the chosen genre(s) and a 300- or 400-level workshop in this same genre(s). (You can be signed up to take the 400-level workshop in 494H semester.) Ideally, students will have studied creative writing with the faculty member who will serve as supervisor, but note that this is a suggestion and not a requirement. Schedule an initial meeting with your prospective thesis supervisor to discuss your plans for the execution of your creative work.

Note this requirement! Creative works will offer an introductory reflective essay (five to eight pages) outlining the project’s aims and placing the project into the context of the style and/or themes of work by other authors. The introductory reflection should address how your creative project complements or challenges work done by others. It should 1) explain the goals of the project and 2) place it into the context of relevant creative or critical texts. Any works referred to in this essay should be documented using Chicago, MLA, of APA style.

Note length stipulations: Honors theses in creative writing may be as short as 8,000 words but no longer than 15,000 words. If the thesis is shorter or longer than these advised limits, explain your thinking and decision-making in the introductory reflective essay. 

The Thesis Supervisor

Schreyer Honors College requires thesis proposals to be submitted in early April of the year before graduation. For this reason, you must have a thesis supervisor by March, so that you can draft your proposal under the supervisor’s direction.

The first step in finding a thesis supervisor is having a meeting with your honors advisor in order to talk through your thesis interests. When identifying a thesis supervisor, consider professors with whom you have a good rapport; professors whose creative or scholarly interests seem like they might dovetail with your own; professors willing to oversee experimental work. You do not need an exact match with any given professor’s work or interests. For instance, a professor’s methodology might fit yours, even if the focus of their research differs.

Before approaching a potential thesis supervisor, meet with your honors advisor to confirm that this would be an appropriate fit for you. After meeting with your honors advisor, you will be making an appointment to meet with the potential thesis supervisor. During that meeting, you will offer some plans with concrete ideas. Be open-minded. Be prepared to listen to alternatives. Discuss the professor’s willingness to supervise the thesis. (Sometimes faculty are already committed to other projects.) If a faculty member cannot agree to supervise, use the opportunity to ask for further suggestions about your topic and a potentially appropriate supervisor, then check back in with your honors advisor.

Crafting the Thesis Proposal

For students graduating in the spring semester of any given year, thesis proposals are due in early April of the prior year. As with other deadlines, the Schreyer Honors College will prompt you to complete the thesis proposal form on the SRS site. Start planning the thesis as soon as a supervisor has been identified. Look at other proposals and at completed theses for good models. Read one or two award-winning theses to get a sense of the scope and depth of a successful thesis: < https://honors.libraries.psu.edu/search/ >.

Critical / literary studies thesis proposals will articulate the questions being asked, identify the primary and secondary materials to be used, and hypothesize about a general argument to be made. You might not have specified your conclusions yet, but a well formulated set of questions is key.

Creative thesis proposals will identify the genre(s) of writing, identify the writing method and approach, and situate the work within the critical context of that genre.

Both kinds of theses require, at the proposal stage, a bibliography (in standard documentation format) of sources consulted. This will reveal how your project is in conversation with other relevant work.

Once you have drafted the thesis proposal, consult with your proposed thesis supervisor and your honors advisor, allowing them sufficient time to offer suggestions. Do not submit a proposal without getting the approval of your thesis supervisor and honors advisor! Expect to get feedback on your plans. Give your thesis supervisor and your honors advisor time to respond to your proposal draft, because it’s complicated to make changes once you submit the form for them to sign off on.

Planning the Project

One semester prior to the ENGL 494 semester, consult with your thesis supervisor to develop a reading list to be completed before you start writing. For theses written in the fall (for May graduation), this will be summer reading; for theses written in the spring (for December graduation), this reading will have to be compacted over the holiday break.

For critical / literary studies theses, read in both primary (the literature, films, authors, or evidence you are analyzing) and secondary materials (articles and books about your topic).

For creative theses , read primary texts in your chosen genre, along with such secondary sources as reviews of these works and articles and books about writing and the writer’s life.

Finding primary materials. The primary materials you’re using should extend beyond what you’ve done in classwork, but do not take on too much. In the end, the quality of the analysis matters much more than pages generated. If you can sustain an analysis of a single novel for fifty pages, offer a thorough account of the secondary criticism on that novel and make a real contribution to that criticism. Note, however, that a twenty-five page plot summary of a single novel is not worthy of honors in English.

Finding secondary materials. Look for important secondary studies offering fresh and provocative approaches to your topic or genre as well as studies that articulate the relationship between your topic and general literary history.

Library and internet databases will assist your work . Library databases of both primary and secondary writings can assist your background research. Think flexibly about useful keywords for searching databases. Also, consider using the resources found in the notes of scholars whose work you have discovered. Using other scholars’ resources will assist your work in identifying pertinent additional primary and secondary sources. If two or three very current articles cite the same older work, you have probably found a foundational critical study.

Look into possible grants to assist your work. Schreyer Research Grants, Erickson Grants, and Liberal Arts Enrichment Grants are available. Consult with the Schreyer Honors College about summer research funding, research travel funding, and other ways to support ambitious research projects. Erickson grants and Liberal Arts Enrichment Grants are available to rising seniors who will incur expenses for their research. If you are a Paterno Fellow, ask the fellows assistant if grants might be available to assist your work. Also consult this link: https://la.psu.edu/beyond-the-classroom/research/

Preliminary Research/Writing and the 494H Semester

During the semester and/or break before the 494H semester, set a rigorous schedule for reading and note-taking. Of course, you will continue to read while you are writing during that semester. But concentrate now on getting the foundation for what you want to say.

Work on developing connections and ideas across your readings. Take the time to take notes! As you continue reading, you might find that your ideas and goals change. That’s a success! Be aware that if your original idea isn’t going anywhere, you need to keep pushing to find a new idea. If your sources aren’t helping you develop new ideas, find new sources.

Try putting findings or notes or creative materials into a preliminary outline of your thesis chapters, so that you can construct a fuller outline before you formally start writing during the 494H semester. Writing is a form of thinking, so start writing and see where your ideas go. Drafting helps refine both ideas and purpose.

Keep in contact with your thesis supervisor. You can use email for this, or zoom, if your professor prefers. Let your supervisor know about how your reading is going and any new ideas you have.

Strategies for success in the 494H semester

Remember you are getting three honors course credits for ENGL 494, so treat this time commitment seriously! Three credits total 135 hours, so use your time wisely. Incorporate time into your schedule for the multiple drafts of each section.

Set aside time each week for your thesis preparation and writing.

Plan to meet with your thesis supervisor on a regular basis (every other week is typical) throughout the semester. Set up a schedule and keep to it. Remember that the thesis supervisor has agreed to help you with your work, so respect your supervisor’s time. Don’t miss meetings or have nothing to show. Set deadlines for the submission of each chapter with your thesis supervisor.

Be responsible: Aim to allow your supervisor two weeks to read and respond to your written work. Be in regular communication with your thesis supervisor. Also, don’t make your thesis supervisor or the honors advisors track you down. Arrive at meetings promptly. If the honors advisor or thesis supervisor drops you a line by email, answer it promptly. Even if – especially if – you fall behind, stay in communication with thesis supervisor and with the honors advisor.

Remember that advice is given to you to help you improve. Listen to your thesis supervisor’s advice and suggestions. If your honors advisor, your second reader, offers suggestions, listen to these suggestions, too! Follow the advice or else respond in a mature and informed way. If you disagree with suggestions offered you, or if you wish to go in another direction, initiate a fruitful dialogue with your supervisor or honors advisor about the project. Let your supervisor and honors advisor know that you are listening.

The Graded Thesis Draft Submitted During the 494H Semester

A complete draft of your thesis is due at the end of the 494H semester.

The thesis supervisor evaluates your consistent progress toward completion, your regular communication about your work, and your effort to acknowledge and use the supervisor’s feedback. Your supervisor is the one who determines your grade, even though the honors advisors are the professors of record for the 494H course. Remember that the grade for 494H evaluates your draft, not the final thesis.

The grade for 494H evaluates the student in the following areas: 1) consistent progress in thesis planning, research, and writing; 2) regular communication with the thesis supervisor through the 494H semester; 3) attention, in revision, to the supervisor’s advice. Thesis supervisors will take into account any additional expectations particular to a thesis topic, the ambition and originality of the developing project, and, in the case of critical / literary theses, the student’s growing skills in employing secondary sources in original ways.

Revision and Submission of Thesis

The final thesis is due according to the Schreyer Honors College’s deadline, near the middle of the student’s final semester. The Schreyer Honors College’s deadlines are firm. The first Schreyer deadline is for formatting approval. Students are responsible for making sure to follow the most up-to-date formatting and submission guidelines on the Schreyer website. See the guidelines: shc.psu.edu/academic/thesis/formatting.cfm

At the time the thesis is submitted to Schreyer for format approval, submit the final draft to your thesis supervisor and honors advisor. The honors advisor might require revisions concerning the clarity of presentation to non-specialist readers, grammar and usage errors, and so forth. You must have the approval of your supervisor and your honors advisor for your thesis to be approved by Schreyer, so be sure to take seriously the feedback offered at this point.

The second Schreyer deadline is for final submission, at which point your thesis supervisor and your honors advisor must approve your thesis. Follow the Schreyer guidelines for submitting the final version of your thesis and getting the digital signatures of approval from your thesis supervisor and your honors advisor.

For questions, please contact the English Honors Co-Advisors, Professors Claire Colebrook and Carla Mulford .

College of Social & Applied Human Sciences

Honours Thesis Guide

In completing an Honours degree a student may want to complete the Honours thesis sequence (POLS*4970/4980) which takes place over two consecutive semesters.

In order to fully benefit from the thesis process you need to:

• be self-motivated
• choose a topic of high interest
• establish a good working relationship by meeting regularly with your supervisor
• plan the project carefully

Students who have at least a solid “B” average or above (75%+) likely have demonstrated abilities to undertake the Honours thesis project, which will be a longer and more sophisticated research and writing project than students have experienced previously.

While it is the most sophisticated piece of writing required by the program and involves in-depth research, it does not necessarily require field work. However, some limited form of primary research such as interviews or research of primary documents may be undertaken depending on the topic.

When research involves interaction with human subjects the supervisor must get formal approval on ethics which is a lengthy process and would have to be undertaken in the first semester.

Student Considerations

Students who have a research question that fits at least somewhat with the research interests of a faculty member and who are interested in gaining practical knowledge of research and writing methods, learning how to organize and edit a major paper, and working with a professor on a project should consider the Honours thesis process.

Students interested in pursuing a graduate or professional degree (such as law) and who have realistic odds of being admitted to such programs may want to consider writing an Honours thesis, though it is not necessary to gain admittance to graduate or professional programs.

Faculty Considerations

Professors consider whether the student has a research interest that is at least somewhat related to their own teaching and research interests. They look for a student who has at least a “B” average or above (75%+). If not, they look to see if the student has shown improvement over time in terms of grades and/or can reasonably explain their lower grade averages.

They also take into consideration whether the student would be a good student to work with (does the student appear organized, committed and enthusiastic?). In order to give appropriate attention to each Honours thesis student, faculty members can only supervise a limited number of thesis students so this will also be taken into consideration.

The Administrative Process

Students should consult the faculty webpage and determine which professors have research and teaching interests in the general area that interests them and approach them about the possibility of supervision. Students will need to obtain the supervisor’s signature for instructor’s consent on a Course Waiver Request Form available at the BA Counselling Office in order to register.

Within the first week of class in which the student is enrolled in both POLS*4970 and POLS*4980, the student and his or her supervisor must complete the Honours Political Science Research Agreement form, a copy of which must be submitted to the co-ordinator of the undergraduate committee in the Department of Political Science.

The Research Agreement form and additional information about the honours thesis can be found in the Department of Political Science Honours Research Paper Regulations booklet which is available at the main office from the undergraduate secretary.

A typical assignment is a literature review. Before you begin a project you will want to know what has already been written about your research question in order to build upon that knowledge. A literature review accomplishes this.

In a literature review you analyze and synthesize the literature by looking at: the key themes in the literature, how the question has been studied and analyzed, what conclusions have been reached and why, where the disagreements are in the literature and what questions or issues require further exploration.

Talk with your supervisor and make sure you are clear on content, length, due date and how your grade will be assigned for POLS*4970.

In the second semester the student will complete a thesis – which is a paper approximately 50-pages long double-spaced. While it is the most sophisticated piece of writing required by the program and involves in-depth research, it does not necessarily require field work.

Some limited form of primary research such as interviews or research of primary documents may be undertaken depending on the topic. Students and supervisors must agree on a clear final deadline since the defense needs to be arranged, the thesis needs to be read and grades need to be handed in during the exam period.

The grade for POLS*4980 is determined after an oral defense of your thesis before your supervisor and a second-reader agreed upon by the student and supervisor. At the end of the examination (about 45 minutes) the supervisor and the second reader will decide on the mark.

Although there is no set formula, the bulk of your POLS*4980 will be determined by your written work, with the oral defense playing a more supplementary role.

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Structuring Your Thesis Proposal

How should i structure the proposal.

The following sections are recommended for your research proposal report. Check with your supervisors for optional sections, variations and additional sections that may be required.

Routine information

This can be a full cover page or a quarter page header.

• Address, telephone and email details
• Degree for which you are a candidate
• Supervisor's and co-supervisor's names
• Thesis proposal title

Statement of Topic

Introduce the reader to the recognised general subject area and how your topic is related. Briefly point out why it is a significant topic and what contribution your work will make.

Aims of the thesis/dissertation

Set out specific objectives of the research.

Review of the literature

This, together with the following section on the theoretical orientation, will be the main substance of the proposal and will lay the basis for your discussions of your methods and your total research program.

The literature review should explain the relation of your topic and research aims to significant literature and recent (and current) research in your field. The form of the literature review may vary according to the nature of your field: experimental, philosophical, theoretical, comparative, etc., but its purpose will be the same in all fields. The literature review should place your proposed research topic clearly in its relevant research context, and should demonstrate your awareness of significant similar or relevant research.

You may need to make qualitative judgements concerning the literature. Be careful not to allow the evaluation of previous work to become a large open-ended task. You should consult with your supervisors on the types of questions you need to be asking and what boundaries you should place on your literature review.

In one sense the literature review for the proposal is incomplete. You will continue to expand and update the literature as your research progresses and as you locate new publications. The final literature review will be included in your thesis.

Ask yourself:

• Which pieces of research seem to have been most successful, the most promising and which less so?
• What are the major lines of criticism that can be levelled at previous work?
• What major omissions, gaps or neglected emphases can be identified?

Theoretical orientation

Your aim here is to state your basic ideas on the topic.

• First, state the various theoretical approaches taken in your topic. Which one do you propose to use in your research and why? Where, tentatively do you stand on the topic?
• If there are various theories on your topic or in your field, which one(s) will you use in your conceptual framework for your thesis?
• Which terms or trends do you wish to follow up from the literature review?
• Do you have any fresh suggestions of an explanatory, interpretative, or programmatic kind?

Think it through:

• Perhaps the best way to approach this section is to set down your main insights, hypotheses, hunches, or even hopes about your topic.
• In view of past theory and research, and your emerging issues, what are the areas that you expect to have findings?
• For empirical theses you may need to formulate explicit hypotheses.

Methodology

Describe your proposed methods in sufficient detail so that the reader is clear about the following:

• What kind of information will you be using?
• From what sources will the information be obtained?
• What resources will you require?
• What methodology will you be using?
• Why have you selected this approach?
• What ethical and safety issues have you identified and how do you propose to proceed?

Research program timelines and milestones

Timelines and milestones are important tools for planning your research project effectively and completing your thesis on time.

Milestones are the steps you need to take to meet your goals. Timelines help you plan out when your key goals and milestones will be completed.

Your timeline can be formatted as a table or a list. Include when you will start and finish important aspects of your research, such as: literature research, required training or attending courses, stages of experiments or investigations, beginning and completing chapters, reviews and seminars you will give, and completing the thesis.

The Graduate Research School (GRS) provides resources and seminars on developing effective milestones and preparing for Research Progress Reviews. For more information, visit this page .

Tentative thesis chapter outline

You should check with your supervisor if this is a required section of the thesis proposal. Present the chapter outline as a draft contents page with brief annotations of expected content or stages. Follow the standard sections relevant to your type of research. Look at past theses in your area and discuss your ideas with your supervisor.

List all publications cited in your proposal. Use the style recommended by the school or your supervisor. This may be a standard style the whole school follows or it may be the style of the leading journal in your field.

Recommended reading and acknowledgments

Recommended reading.

Here are some of useful resources and texts that you can consult. Your school may also have a postgraduate handbook or specific guidelines on thesis proposals.

Allen, G.R. (1976) The graduate student's guide to theses and dissertations: A practical manual for writing and research . San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass.

Cryer, P. (1996) The research student's guide to success . Buckingham, Open University Press.

Davis, G.B. & Parker, C.A. (1979) Writing the doctoral dissertation: A systematic approach . Woodbury, NY, Barrons Educational Series.

Laws, K. (1995) Preparing a Thesis or Dissertation Proposal. University of Sydney.

Phillips, E.M. & Pugh D.S. (1987) How to get a Ph. D.: A handbook for students and their supervisors. 2nd Ed. Buckingham, Open University Press.

Postgraduate Board, Student Guild (1998) Practical aspects of producing a thesis at the University of New South Wales. 3rd Ed. Available from the Student Guild, First Floor East Wing, Quadrangle Building, The University of New South Wales.

Karathwohl, D.R. (1988) How to prepare a research proposal. Guidelines for funding and dissertations in the social and behavioural sciences. 3rd Ed. New York, Syracuse University Press.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the following academics, staff and students, for their contributions and advice: Professor David Trimm, Professor John Trinder, Dr. Jacquelyn Cranney, Professor Staffan Kjelleberg, Dr. Tony Partridge, Professor Clive Fletcher, Professor Chris Sorrell, Professor Jason Middleton, Dr. Khosrow Zarrabi, Professor Marilyn Fox, Professor Michael Wootton, Dominic Fitzsimmons, Gwyn Jones, Bianca Azar.

Postgrad Research

• Academic skills support
• Structuring the proposal
• Literature review

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HLTH432 Honours Thesis information guide

What is hlth432a/b honours thesis, why complete a thesis, who is eligible to enroll in hlth432a/b, contact potential supervisors, tips for the interview with your potential supervisor, external supervisors, complete hlth432a/b enrollment process, how am i graded in hlth432a/b.

According to the calendar course description, HLTH432 is:

“An independent research project on an approved topic, supervised by a faculty member. Includes an approved proposal and completion of -- introduction, review of literature, methods, data collection, data analysis and presentation of results in thesis form. Recommended for students planning graduate studies.”

Generally, an Honours thesis is a research project in which you choose a topic, review all relevant literature, collect and analyse data and then report your results. If there is an area of health sciences or public health that you find particularly interesting and if you feel that you understand statistics and research design, you may want to consider completing the honours thesis, which may require either Social Science (non-lab based) or a Biohealth (lab based) research. The research may involve:

• Original field or lab research (pending finances);
• Secondary analysis of existing data;
• Historical or archival analyses;
• Systematic Review or meta-analysis.

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The main objective of the Honours Thesis (HLTH 432A/HLTH 432B) is to provide you with an opportunity to gain experience in formulating and evaluating research ideas, but even more importantly, completing a thesis will allow you to consolidate your thinking about the many aspects of health you have studied during your undergraduate career.

How will that happen? You will:

• review, evaluate and interpret information from a wide range of relevant disciplines that are relevant to a specific area of health science / public health.
• integrate and apply that information to identify and address a specific health problem.
• consider the ethical issues specific to your research.
• apply your knowledge of methodologies, at least in one type of research.
• you will have the opportunity to polish your written communications, and
• in your meetings with your supervisor, you will have the chance to practice communicating your ideas orally in a one-on-one situation with a scientist-mentor; moreover,
• you will have the opportunity to enhance your information literacy skills and your data collection and analysis skills.

The thesis is an exciting way to cap off your undergraduate career. It provides huge opportunities for you to consolidate what you already know, and to learn about a specific topic in-depth. It also provides you with invaluable preparation for whatever path you take after your undergraduate studies. Finally, it is a really amazing experience to actually create new knowledge!

The following prerequisites apply:

• Department Consent Required: please submit HLTH432 Honours Thesis Pre-approval Application online.
• HLTH 204 or approved equivalent statistics course and HLTH 333; Level at least 4A School of Public Health Sciences (SPHS) students.
• Normally, minimum 75% major and overall averages are recommended to enrol in the course but 80% major and overall averages are preferred.
• A faculty member must agree to act as your supervisor. Because of limited faculty resources, enrolment in HLTH 432A/B is not guaranteed.

You will be notified via email once your HLTH432 Honours Thesis Pre-approval Application is approved. The email will also include a course outline for HLTH432. If you have received this material, you have indicated an interest in taking HLTH 432A and have received Department Consent. Your next step is to:

• Review this package completely.
• Create a WORD document (250 words or less) that provides details of any research or other relevant experience that a potential supervisor might be interested in knowing about you.
• Create a WORD document (250 words or less) that provides details of any specific research interests or research questions you might wish to investigate, including support for your questions (if you have considered the area in greater depth).
• Review and update your resume.
• Review the SPHS Faculty members’ areas of research interests and decide on one or two potential supervisors. If you already have a research question, try to select a potential supervisor whose area of interest is most closely related to that question. See the list of SPHS faculty members by area of focus .
• DO NOT approach faculty members without emailing first to make an appointment.
• If at all possible use your @uwaterloo.ca email. This email is less likely to end up in Junk mail.

Email template

Dear (Use proper title and full name),

I am writing to express interest in working on an honours thesis under your supervision. I have reviewed your research interests and would be very excited to work on an aspect of your research, or to develop independent research that is consistent with your work. I am attaching a recent resume, a statement of my experience and a statement of my research interests for you to review.

I am available on (state days of the week) at (state hours of availability) to see you. Would it be possible to book an appointment at any of those times? I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your research, and whether there is a way in which I can contribute to it with an honours thesis.

Yours truly, (your name) (contact email and telephone)

• Be punctual
• Be respectful
• Highlight any experience you have.
• Highlight your academic strengths
• your unofficial transcript
• your resume
• your statement of research interests and/or another sample of your written work
• the Thesis Requirements (Appendix A in the course outline) so that your potential supervisor can review the expectations for the thesis
• FORM 432A - Agreement to Supervise .

On occasion, students may be permitted to work with a supervisor from outside the School of Public Health Sciences. There are two separate categories of external supervisors:

• Category B supervisors are UW professors from other Departments in the Faculty of Health or are one of our adjunct faculty members. In such cases, the research thesis and the supervisor must be approved by the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies, who is the coordinator of HLTH 432A/B. The thesis will be approved if it meets SPHS standards for learning objectives.
• Category C supervisors may be professors from another faculty at the University of Waterloo (e.g., Science, Arts), or the supervisor may be someone who conducts research outside the University of Waterloo. In such cases, the research thesis and the supervisor must be approved by the Associate Director, Undergraduate Studies, who coordinates HLTH 432A/B. The thesis will be approved if it meets SPHS standards for learning objectives and the HLTH 432A/B coordinator can arrange for an SPHS faculty member to co-supervise the thesis.

My supervisor has agreed! What’s next?

• Submit HLTH432 Honours Thesis Enrollment Form for HLTH432A online no later than one week prior to the last day to add courses for the school term . Note you will need to upload a signed copy of Form432A (PDF) in order to complete the online submission, so please allow plenty of time for yourself to gather your supervisor’s signature.
• At the end of your HLTH 432A term, you need to submit another HLTH432 Honours Thesis Enrollment Form for HLTH432B. You will not be enrolled in HLTH 432B until your supervisor has agreed to supervise you for a second semester. The procedure and deadline is similar to HLTH432A enrollment: the HLTH432 Honours Thesis Enrollment Form for HLTH432B needs to be received no later than one week prior to the last day to add courses for the school term . A signed copy of Form432B (PDF) will need to be uploaded at the same time to complete the online submission.

Separate grades are submitted for your work in 432A and 432B and the nature of the term products that will be evaluated will depend upon the type of thesis you are completing (Social Science/non-lab or Biohealth/lab –the course outline). Due dates for term products for each of 432A and 432B are specified in the course outline. Normally these are the final day of classes for the term in which you are enrolled in the course. Your supervisor must submit final grades to the Course Coordinator at the very latest by the end of the examination period, and you must submit your term products before this to give your supervisor time to read and grade it. A number of drafts should be submitted early so that your supervisor can read them and provide comments. This will allow for revisions to be made before the final submission of materials for grading. Remember to provide the Course Coordinator with a final copy of your thesis. Note that you will also have to give a poster presentation on your proposal towards the end of the HLTH 432A term and a Powerpoint presentation on your final thesis project during the 4 th year Honours Thesis Colloquium at the end of the HLTH 432B term.

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Research skills for HDR students

• Overview and planning
• Theses including publications
• Originality

Structuring your thesis

• Literature reviews
• Writing up results
• Interpreting results

The structure of your thesis will depend on the kind of thesis you are writing.

In some cases, there are conventional structures that are expected in the discipline. For example, theses that are empirical, experimental, and/or quantitative in nature generally follow the structure: introduction including aims, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion.

In other theses that are not quantitative in nature (typically those dealing with ideas, concepts, theories and arguments), the structure will arise from the nature of the subject matter and your treatment of it. In these theses, the structure varies greatly. It may be based on considerations such as your research design or methodology, or your individual stance on the topic.

For example, if you’re a researcher in the humanities, you have to make many decisions about the scope and focus of your thesis topic, and how best to present these to your reader. You need to pay special attention to communicating the structure so that your readers feel comfortable. They should always know which direction you’re going in and why.

Since your thesis needs to show your own analysis of the literature and other evidence/data you might be using, you need to have a clear analytical framework (or set of analytical frameworks) to make this analysis clear to the reader. You may need to experiment with this framework, in outline form, several times before committing yourself to writing.

This material was developed by the Learning Hub (Academic Language and Learning), which offers workshops, face-to-face consultations and resources to support your learning. Find out more about how they can help you develop your communication, research and study skills .

See our handout on Writing a thesis proposal (pdf, 341KB) .

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Bachelor of City Planning (Honours)

Entry requirements

What will i study, future careers, double degrees, how to apply, fees & scholarships.

The UNSW Bachelor of City Planning is a four-year, full-time honours degree that shows you how to shape the future of built environments to benefit residents, businesses and communities alike. Because cities and regions need to be more than efficient and convenient – they need to adapt to foster a sense of connection, create new ways of living, and make sure we can sustainably grow.  

Learn to thrive at the intersection of development, land use, environment and urban design. At the same time, gain the knowledge and skills to turn your creativity and critical thinking into solutions. From protecting our natural and heritage-built environments to working with communities in cultivating fair, equitable and inclusive neighbourhoods – you can make real change.

This planning degree gets to the heart of what makes great places tick. Shape the future of our cities and regions and make your mark on what urban and regional planning will be capable of for years to come.

Key features

Work experience  Learning from real-world experience is vital to getting ready for your next step, which is why work experience is a defining feature of this degree. As part of our diverse Arts, Design & Architecture (ADA) community, you'll work alongside students and professionals across the built environment sector. You'll benefit from our strong ties to the industry when you complete our highly regarded and world-leading Practice Year in your third year of study.

Strong connections Throughout this bachelor’s degree, you'll be supported by our diverse, open and inclusive community and gain access to our world-class alumni connections. What's more, you'll also have access to networking events with the  PIA Young Planners  and opportunities to connect with Australia's leading urban research centre, the  City Futures Research Centre .

Become job ready Prioritise your career success and increase your employability through our honours program while taking the first steps toward gaining corporate membership with the  Planning Institute of Australia  (PIA). Not only did UNSW win the 'Australian Financial Review's Most Employable Students Award' in 2024, but we also rank #4 in Australia and #35 worldwide in Architecture and Built Environment according to QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2024.

Grow your knowledge  You'll explore city planning through crucial subject areas, including:

• Urban society, theory, history
• City economics and development
• Heritage planning
• Housing policy and urban renewal
• Rural and regional planning
• Environment, sustainability and resilience
• Planning law and administration
• Strategic planning
• Social and community planning
• Urban design and plan making
• GIS and city analytics
• Infrastructure and transport planning

Why study this degree at UNSW?

• UNSW is ranked in the top 20 universities in the world by QS Rankings ^
• Increased employability with an honour’s degree
• Accreditation with the  Planning Institute of Australia  (PIA)
• Network with the  PIA Young Planners  
• We've got Australia's leading  City Futures Research Centre  
• Current research informs your education 
• Ranked #4 in Australia and #35 worldwide*
• Strong industry links and partnerships
• Access to world-class alumni connections

*QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2024.

^QS World University Rankings 2024

Want to see more from UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture?

• The 2023 Lowest Selection Rank (LSR) is the adjusted rank (ATAR plus adjustment factors) you would have needed to gain entry to this degree in 2023.
• The 2023 A levels score is based on four Advanced Level (A2) subject. Entry scores are calculated from the best three or four A2 subjects (excluding repeated subjects) using the following values: A*=6, A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1. At most one Applied A Level subject may be included in the best four subjects used to calculate the aggregate.
• The 2023 IB Diploma is an indication of the IB you would have needed to gain entry to this degree in 2023. It is to be used as a guide only.
• The 2023 Lowest ATAR is the lowest ATAR (before adjustment factors were applied) to which an offer was made. Where <5 is listed, this indicates that less than 5 ATAR-based offers were made and so the score has not been published. N/A indicates no offers were made on the basis of ATAR.

At UNSW, we are committed to ensuring prospective students have all the information they need in order to make informed decisions about their study options.

To assist you in gaining a better understanding of how Admissions works at UNSW, we have provided you with a summary of ATAR offers and the student profile.

We hope this information will help you identify the degree that is right for you.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Domestic students are eligible to apply for the following volume of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) credits towards their UNSW degree that belong in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture:

• 1-year Diploma: 48 UoC (equivalent to first year)
• 1.5-year Advanced Diploma/Associate Degree: Up to 72 UoC (equivalent to first year and a half)
• 2-year Advanced Diploma/Associate Degree: Up to 96 UoC (equivalent to two years)

Considering your previous qualifications and their relevance to the chosen program at UNSW, the type and amount of credit you can apply for, as well as the duration of your remaining program, will then be determined. 

Assessment by the Program Director is required for RPL applications toward Professional Accredited programs. Please note that eligibility for the full volume of RPL may be subject to accreditation requirements.

Portfolio Entry 

At UNSW ADA, you will find the freedom and support to design the future you want. An ADA Portfolio Entry submission will demonstrate your passions alongside your best work, to boost your chances of admission to a bachelor’s degree of your choice. For more information and to see specific guidelines for portfolio submissions visit UNSW Portfolio Entry.

Adjustment Factors

We offer a range of adjustment factor schemes that reward students for academic performance and extra-curricular achievements. These schemes also take into account a range of personal and educational disadvantages that may have affected your studies. 

HSC Plus   This scheme rewards students who perform well in Year 12 subjects that are relevant to their preferred UNSW degree. You may be awarded up to five points. 

Elite Athletes, Performers and Leaders (EAPL)   This program recognises achievements in the areas of sport, academia, leadership and music at an elite level. You may be eligible for up to five points.

Educational Access Scheme (EAS) Factors such as illness, financial hardship, language difficulties or attending a particular school can mean you don't always get the best possible marks in Years 11 and 12. If one of these situations applies to you, submit an application for the Educational Access Scheme (EAS) via UAC. Eligible students can receive between 1 and 10 points towards their chosen UNSW degree.

Admission pathways

Your ATAR is not the only measure of your potential to succeed, which is why we offer a range of pathways into university. Explore your options below and  get in touch  with our future student advisors to discuss your path to UNSW. 

Gateway Admission Pathway This scheme is open to students in Years 11 and 12 who attend Gateway schools. It significantly adjusts the ATAR requirements for your preferred UNSW degree and provides you with an early conditional offer to UNSW. 

Entry programs for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people We offer entry programs for Indigenous Australians, including the Indigenous Preparatory Programs and the Indigenous Admission Scheme (IAS). The entry pathway program you apply for will depend on the degree you want to study. 

English language requirements

You may be asked to provide evidence of your English proficiency to study at UNSW depending on your educational background and citizenship. English language skills are vitally important for coping with lectures, tutorials, assignments and examinations - this is why UNSW requires a minimum English language competency for enrolment.

If you’re completing an Australian Year 12 qualification (e.g. NSW HSC or equivalent), you do not need to provide anything extra to prove your proficiency. Your qualification will be used as evidence of your English proficiency.

If you do need to provide evidence of your English proficiency, this will be indicated in your application. You can prove this by providing evidence that you meet one or more of the following criteria:

• English language tests and university English courses
• Prior study in the medium of English
• Other qualifications

If you need to improve your English skills before you start your degree, UNSW College’s Academic English Programs are for you. The programs are suitable for various English levels and help you prepare for university studies and life in Australia.

International direct entry

We do not accept secondary qualifications from this country. We may accept tertiary study results, please contact us for more information.

Please contact us for direct entry requirements.

Typically, international students are eligible to apply for the following volume of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) credits towards their UNSW degree that belong in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture:

• 1-year Diploma: Up to 48 UoC
• 1.5-year Advanced Diploma/Associate Degree: Up to 72 UoC
• 2-year Advanced Diploma/Associate Degree: Up to 96 UoC

Generally, International students must ensure that their prior qualifications are assessed and deemed relevant to the program they intend to pursue. Additionally, they are required to maintain a full-time study load as part of the conditions for their Confirmation of Enrolment.

If you do not meet the requirements for direct entry into your chosen degree, you may be eligible for a pathway program with UNSW College . UNSW College provides alternative entry options using university-approved content so that you can start your UNSW journey with confidence. 

You may be asked to provide evidence of your English proficiency to study at UNSW depending on whether you are from an English-speaking background or non-English speaking background. English language skills are vitally important for coping with lectures, tutorials, assignments and examinations - this is why UNSW requires a minimum English language competency for enrolment.

If English is not your first language, you’ll need to provide proof of your English proficiency before you can be given an offer to study at UNSW. You can do this by providing evidence that you meet one or more of the following criteria:

Check the specific English language requirements for this program

Have you ever wanted to change the places and spaces we inhabit? Make them easier to navigate, more rewarding, or sustainable for visitors and residents alike? This degree will give you the skills and knowledge to create and shape the environmental planning that affects how we live.

Consisting of 28 courses, including the Practice Year and a research thesis, this program will challenge you to see beyond what you think is possible and set in motion your vision for the future. 

The Practice Year applies your city planning theory and skills in the real world. You'll make industry connections and experience diverse workplaces in public and private organisations. - including state government, local authorities, urban consultancies, development companies, private practice and NGOs.

You'll bring new insights back to the classroom for your final year. With a self-directed research project, you'll deepen your knowledge of different contexts, analytical skills, and strength of conviction. This year prepares you to graduate and kick-start your career with solid skills that stand out. 

Program details: 

• 15 core courses
• 3 prescribed elective courses (choose from within City Planning)
• 2 free electives
• 2 general education courses (choose from other schools)
• The Practice Year - five professional practice courses completed during one year of practical experience
• A studio course in plan making

Full program structure

Each university year at UNSW has three terms and an optional summer study period. You can study full-time or part-time.

Some courses need to be studied in your first and second year, so you’re prepared for courses that can only be studied in later years. Depending on how you plan your study load, you can fit two or three courses into a term and one course in a summer term.

Depending on how you plan your study load, you can fit two or three courses into a term and one course in a summer term.

Below is an example of what you could study in a standard four-year-year, full-time study plan.

• 6 Core courses
• 2 Electives

Second year

• 8 Core courses

Third year (Practice Year)

• 5 Practice courses
• 3 Electives

Fourth year (Honours)

• 1 Research core course
• 1 Studio core course

For further information on coursework, course listing, descriptions and timetables please see the  UNSW Online Handbook.

More than a foot in the door or a pathway towards your first job – this degree sets you up with the professional, practical and research skills you'll need as a successful city planner. 

Graduate with confidence and career-ready skills that turn creativity and critical thinking into real-world solutions. Look forward to building a career that addresses the local and global challenges facing our natural and built environments. 

Potential careers

• Strategic planner
• Local government planner
• Urban planner
• Social and community planner
• Environmental planner
• Urban consultant
• Urban policy analyst
• Urban policy officer
• Transport planning
• Urban designer
• Heritage officer
• Property developer

Accreditation

Planning Institute of Australia, Graduates are eligible for Corporate Membership of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), subject to practical experience.

Combine your interests for a unique career connected to your talents and passions. In a double degree, you focus on two areas of expertise to graduate with more knowledge, skills, and career options. 

Despite the name, it's not double the workload. A double degree has the core courses from two programs. You'll graduate with two certificates sooner than studying for one degree followed by another.

The Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) pairs with the Bachelor of Laws. This double degree gives you a broad and comprehensive understanding of professional demands, global trends, and contemporary social issues - such as sustainability, equitable environments, land law, strata and community titles, and construction contracts.

Explore the  UNSW Bachelor of City Planning (Honours)/Law .

Applications for undergraduate study from domestic students (Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents, Australian permanent humanitarian visa holders and New Zealand citizens) are processed by the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC).

Visit the Apply section of the UAC website  and you can nominate up to five degrees in order of preference, with the first being your most desired degree and university.

On-time applications for admission usually close at the end of September each year for Term 1 admission. Late applications can be submitted, but a late fee will apply. For study starting in Term 1, the majority of offers are made in December and January. Visit the UAC website for key dates for admission outside of Term 1.

Ready to start your application?

For most international students, applications are submitted via our  Apply Online  service. We encourage you to submit your completed application as early as possible to ensure it will be processed in time for your preferred term.

Some high-demand programs with limited places, may have an earlier application deadline or may have an earlier commencement date. For more information visit our  international applicant information page .

*If you are an international student studying an Australian qualification, go to the  Universities Admission Centre (UAC)  for application and UAC key dates. Note: If you are under 18 years of age, you need to make special arrangements.  Read more .

Commonwealth Supported Place: Student Contribution Band 2

*The student contribution for a Commonwealth Supported Place is an indication only of the amount payable in Year 1 based on a standard full-time load of 48 credit points (1.0 EFTSL). The actual student contribution you will be liable for depends on your individual program of study and the calendar year in which you enrol. Actual fees are calculated upon enrolment. Student contribution amounts are subject to annual review by the university and may increase each year during your studies (subject to caps determined by the Australian Government), effective at the start of each calendar year.

The indicative fees listed here are based on an estimated average and are for tuition only - other fees and charges are not included.

*Fees are subject to annual review by the University and may increase annually, with the new fees effective from the start of each calendar year. The indicative fees listed here are based on an estimated average and are for tuition only other fees and charges are not included. The amount you pay will vary depending on the calendar year to enrol, the courses you select and whether your study load is more or less than 1 Equivalent Full Time Student Load (8 courses per year).

Indicative fees are a guide for comparison only based on current conditions and available data. You should not rely on indicative fees. More information on fees can be found at the  UNSW fees website .

Indicative fees to complete the program have been calculated based on a percentage increase for every year of the program. Fee increases are assessed annually and may exceed the indicative figures listed here.

Indicative fees to complete the program include tuition plus an estimate of study-related costs of approximately $1,000 per year. To find out more about other costs, visit  UNSW International .

Scholarships

At UNSW, we award over $83 million in scholarships each year. We pride ourselves on rewarding excellence and making university accessible to students from all walks of life. Whether you’re a domestic or international student, our range of scholarships, prizes and awards can support your journey.

QS World University Rankings, 2024.

AFR Top 100 Future leaders Award.

#1 Australian uni attended by start-up founders.

Shirelle Altona

Current Student

What could you be creating at UNSW?

How to design the future you want

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Professional experience while you study

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• Urban Planning Honours Thesis (Part 2)

Urban Planning Honours Thesis (Part 2) (PLAN40002)

Honours Points: 37.5 Dual-Delivery (Parkville)

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About this subject

• Eligibility and requirements
• Dates and times
• Further information
• Timetable (opens in new window)

Contact information

Students undertaking this subject will complete a thesis on a topic approved by the program coordinator. The thesis subject is taken across two semesters, and will consist of independent research undertaken under the supervision of a thesis supervisor.

Note: The Urban Planning Honours Thesis requires two consecutive semesters of enrolment. Students commence Urban Planning Honours Thesis Part 1 in Semester 1 must continue Urban Planning Honours Thesis part 2 in the following semester. Upon successful completion of the Urban Planning Honours Thesis, students will receive 50 points credit.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this subject, students should be able to or have acquired:

• Research, plan and write a substantial piece of independent research focused on a specialised field of study;
• Critically evaluate the contemporary and historical context of the discipline area, and how these contexts change over time;
• Demonstrate critical and analytic skills, and problem solving ability, in identifying issues and proposing solutions
• Ability to communicate and defend research project, in both written and verbal formats

Generic skills

Students who complete this subject will have the ability to:

• Engage in independent research

Communicate effectively in a variety of formats

Use appropriate technologies including referencing software and research databases

• Apply appropriate problem solving to issues

Last updated: 31 January 2024

• Programs and Courses

Honours Thesis

An undergraduate course offered by the Fenner School of Environment and Society .

• Code ENVS4000
• Unit Value 6 to 24 units
• Offered by Fenner School of Environment and Society
• ANU College ANU Joint Colleges of Science
• Course subject Environmental Science
• Areas of interest Geography, Environmental Studies, Sustainability, Environmental Science, Resource and Environmental Management
• Work Integrated Learning Projects
• Academic career UGRD
• Dr Sara Beavis
• Mode of delivery In Person
• Offered in First Semester 2025 Second Semester 2025 See Future Offerings
• STEM Course

• Introduction

Learning Outcomes

Work integrated learning, indicative assessment, inherent requirements, requisite and incompatibility, prescribed texts.

• Offerings and Dates

This course is a compulsory component of the Honours program that provides practical training in research practice culminating in the production of a thesis.  Students develop a research topic in consultation with one or more academic supervisors, and design, plan, execute and report on their research conducted with the guidance of a supervisory panel.

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

• Plan and engage in an independent and sustained critical investigation and evaluation of a chosen research topic to generate new knowledge.
• Systematically identify and evaluate relevant theory and concepts, relate these to appropriate methodologies and evidence, and draw appropriate original conclusions.
• Analyse and interpret original science research data with statistical or other evaluative processes where appropriate.
• Demonstrate sufficient mastery to understand and apply experimental techniques and methods to collect original research data.
• Communicate complex research concepts, methods, results and implications clearly and effectively both in writing and orally.

Students may engage with WIL partners (internal/external) as a component of the course

• 15,000 word thesis (90) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
• Final exit seminar (10) [LO 2,4,5]

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Approximately 1365 hours distributed over approximately 39 weeks across two semesters of full-time enrolment (24 units)

Not applicable

You will need to contact the Fenner School of Environment and Society to request a permission code to enrol in this course.

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees . 

If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place  or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at  Fees .

Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage .

First Semester

Second semester.

Responsible Officer: Registrar, Student Administration / Page Contact: Website Administrator / Frequently Asked Questions

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UK weighing sending troops into Gaza to distribute aid

Risk-filled mission to escort aid from US-built floating pier into combat zone under consideration in defence ministry

Britain’s defence ministry is considering sending troops into Gaza to escort trucks of aid being driven off a giant floating pier built by the US military , a UK defence source has said.

The pier is due to be completed next month in the eastern Mediterranean, and then it will be pushed towards the Gaza shore. But the US president, Joe Biden, has pledged that American forces managing the project will not set foot on land there.

That means someone else must be found to take responsibility for one of the most challenging parts of a politically contentious aid delivery.

There is “consideration” of a UK role inside the British defence ministry, a source said, although the challenges mean it seems unlikely. “It’s not a done deal, and the mood music is probably not.”

The idea emerged “organically” during discussions between the UK and the US about aid deliveries from the pier, the source added.

No proposal has been sent to the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, for consideration, according to the BBC, which first reported a possible UK role. The ministry declined to comment.

Officials in Washington are probably casting around for possible partners willing to take on a mission that will incur huge risks, and carry little upside beyond currying favour in Washington.

Whoever drives the trucks off the floating pier will be going into an active combat zone where more than 200 humanitarian workers have been killed.

The Israeli bombing of an aid convoy run by World Central Kitchen on 1 April , in which seven international aid workers died, heightened security concerns around any independent distribution effort.

The level of desperation and hunger in northern Gaza means there is also a risk from huge crowds trying to reach trucks carrying supplies, although the US plan envisages aid being unloaded in a secure area before it is transferred to trucks driven by Palestinians for delivery across Gaza.

In late February at least 112 people were killed and more than 700 injured in a “massacre” when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd gathered around aid trucks. Israel said people died in a crush or were run over by aid lorries, although it admitted its troops had opened fire.

The US pier is designed to stave off famine in Gaza’s north, with the US saying it is designed to supplement, not replace, land deliveries. The ambition is for the new sea route to allow 90 trucks a day of supplies in to Gaza, rising to 150.

But there are growing concerns in the humanitarian community about how useful it will be. When the US uses innovative military technology to get aid into disaster zones, it is usually because access is blocked by geography or hostile actors.

In Gaza, the Israeli authorities have refused to open more land routes – which are cheaper and quicker – to allow aid in, despite repeated requests from the US.

Both the US and Israel have said they are aiming for aid shipments to reach 500 trucks of aid a day, roughly matching prewar levels – although the territory had a functioning economy and agricultural sector then, so the need was far lower.

The average shipped over the last month was less than half that, according to UN figures, so even with the floating pier at full capacity, Gaza will need more access by land.

There are also fears that Israel is trying to exploit the deliveries to sideline Unrwa , the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which is the main provider of food aid in the territory. The US announced last week that the World Food Programme (WFP) will help distribute aid inside Gaza after it arrives at the pier.

• Palestinian territories
• Middle East and north Africa
• US military

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