Honors Thesis

Departmental Honors in Hispanic Studies

  • Students may become candidates for honors in Hispanic Studies at the invitation of the department their junior year.
  • To apply to become a candidate for honors in Hispanic Studies a student must have an overall grade point average of at least 3.0 and at least 3.5 in the major, and submit an honors thesis proposal to the department for approval.
  • The Thesis can be written in English or Spanish. This should be determined by the student and the advisor.
  • Candidates for honors complete at least two semesters of independent work beyond the usual major requirements for graduation, write a thesis, and undergo an oral examination by a committee comprised of two members of the Hispanic Studies faculty and one faculty member from another department who is chosen in consultation with the student’s thesis advisor.
  • Students who are invited to become candidates for departmental honors sign up for a year-long 500 independent research course with their thesis advisor.
  • During the fall semester the student will meet regularly with her Honors Thesis advisor regarding the honors project and research process.
  • During the spring semester the student will prepare a thesis for oral examination by the thesis committee at the beginning of May.
  • The committee assigns a grade for the thesis; to receive departmental honors a student must receive a grade of at least B+ for the thesis as determined by the committee.

Deadlines for honors candidates

Students interested in departmental honors should begin consultation with faculty by the end of their junior year.

Honors thesis proposals

Normally, proposals should be submitted by the end of the student’s junior year. This honors thesis proposal should outline its topic, the methods used to pursue it, the theoretical perspectives it will engage, and the significance of the work. The honors thesis proposal should also specify whom the candidate would like to participate in the thesis committee (including the thesis advisor), and explain how the particular expertise of each potential committee member is relevant to the project. Students will be expected to turn in a bibliography of twenty to forty sources with the proposal that should be the summer reading list. The Thesis proposal must be, at the very least, a prospectus of seven to twelve pages in total.

Registration for 500 Independent Study

This is done after the department has met to discuss the student’s proposal, and the candidate’s thesis has been approved.

Initial review of Honor’s Thesis progress

This should occur before the deadline for dropping courses. The student and the advisor have a formal meeting to assess the progress of the research section of the thesis. If no progress is detected the student should be encouraged to drop the Independent Study and to forfeit the Honors Thesis.

Selection of the Thesis’ committee members

This should be done once the candidate’s progress has been reviewed. When asking faculty members to participate as members of the committee, the candidate should meet with them to discuss the project, present a progress time line, and ask what preliminary work they would like to see, if any, as the project develops.

Registration for independent study (500)

This is done during the normal registration period for the spring semester. The student should have at this point completed and submitted the draft of at least a chapter.

Submission of Thesis for advisor review

The thesis advisor, in collaboration with the candidate, will establish deadlines for drafts of various sections of the thesis. However, the candidate should submit a copy of the complete thesis to her advisor in the beginning of April: traditionally April 1st for final review before circulating the thesis for committee review. The candidate should also ask other members of the committee if they would like to review the thesis at this point before the official submission to the committee for review in preparation of the defense.

Submission of Thesis for committee review

The candidate must submit and distribute the complete copy of the thesis for review by the defense committee by the end of the second week of April.

Defense

To be scheduled during the last week of classes, at latest.

Submission of Thesis to the Registrar

The final thesis, printed on archival paper and incorporating whatever revisions the committee may have requested, is normally due at noon on the Monday following the spring exam period. The committee may request that the candidate submit a revised version for their review prior to the final submission to the registrar.

Resources