THE HONORS PROGRAM AT ALVERNIA COLLEGE

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The Honors Thesis Contract: Notes for Students

In order to complete the requirements for the Honors designation at graduation, you must complete a 6-credit senior thesis in your major. Typically this will be completed over two semesters, either the Spring of your Junior year and the Fall of your Senior year, or during your Senior year. You will be responsible for notifying the Honors Director of your intentions and keeping her abreast of your progress. You must complete the Honors Thesis Contract as early as possible during the process. This contract will guide your work, outline your responsibilities, and detail your working relationship with your advisor. The following are some guidelines to help you as you work on the contract with your advisor. You should be familiar with the suggestions and work together to come up with a good partnership that will help you finish the project in the allotted time.

Committee

When you defend the thesis, it will be in front of at least 3 faculty members. Included will be your advisor, and the honors director, and one other faculty member of your choosing. You should put faculty on your list with whom you have a good working relationship, who might have some interest or expertise in your topic, or who you know would be willing to help you complete the project. You should ask faculty if they are willing to serve in this capacity.

Project Topic

A topic is neither as broad as a subject (e.g. French History) nor as narrow as a thesis (the very specific point that you intend to prove). Until you’ve done a good deal of research, you probably won’t know what your exact focus will be; but you need a specific topic in order to begin. Examples of topics: “Eugene O’Neill’s Plays,” “The Impact of War on Trade,” or “Psychological Reactions to Trauma”. These are all rather broad and would be narrowed down considerably before one began writing on them.

Keep in mind that this thesis is not simply a report. You won’t merely be telling some interesting things you’ve read in twenty-five books. Rather, you will be arguing for a particular point: that Long Day’s Journey Into Night is the most influential O’Neill play; that imports decrease but exports increase during the beginning year of a war; that trauma produces specific psychological reactions. Your argument will come from a combination of your research and your long and careful thought about the issue.

Rationale for this Topic

Explain in a paragraph why this topic is important enough to merit the energy, thought, and attention that you will be expending on it.

Anticipated Minimum Length of Finished Thesis

Agree on a number of pages that you expect your thesis to meet or exceed. You should decide on the number only after careful consideration of the topic and the sort of research you’ll be doing.

Frequency of Student/Advisor Meetings

You should plan to meet with your advisor frequently, at least every 2-3 weeks during the semester.

Research Procedure

Will you be working in the library, the lab, and/or the field? What will your research materials be? How will you begin your research? What steps are next?

Provide a general outline of the major steps your research will follow. You needn’t give title of books, but you should know what sorts of things you’ll look at. Be as specific as possible—how many sources will you use? How many interviews will you conduct? How many surveys will you send out? Will you be applying for outside funding? Through whom?

The second page of the contract details your responsibilities for the first semester’s worth of work. Any deviation from these assignments must be petitioned through the Honors Director. You and your chair may set up additional assignments or deadlines as you find necessary.

Student and advisor should sign and date the contract, and it should be forwarded to the Honors Director.

For More Information, Contact:
Dr. Victoria Williams, Director of the Honors Program
Francis Hall 406
Office Phone (610) 796-5511
Victoria.williams@alvernia.edu

Updated: October 18, 2005

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