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New Mexico State University

The Honors Thesis

An Honors Thesis is a serious research, writing and/or creative project. It represents the most advanced and original research and writing for an undergraduate. The thesis should be regarded as preliminary to master's level research and course work. Such a project enables students to work independently with a professor in the field and to develop a level of professional interaction and mutual respect associated with graduate-level work. The best preparation for an Honors Thesis is solid grounding in the major field and familiarity with the research approaches of that discipline.

Eligibility

To qualify for submitting an Honors Thesis, the student must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and be of Junior or Senior rank. The Honors Thesis, a 3-credit one-semester course, is generally seen as the final stage of the "University Honors" track. The thesis is required to receive "University Honors" certification and graduation recognition.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium

All Honors Thesis students are encouraged to present their work at the annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium. The symposium is held each spring and is intended as a forum for research and creative work by students of all disciplines. Students may present their work in one of the poster or paper sessions. Student writers will be able to present their work in readings. Venues for student exhibitions and performance projects will also be arranged.

Steps to Completing an Honors Thesis

When beginning the Honors Thesis, you should follow these steps:

  1. Choose and meet with a supervising professor.
  2. Investigate Honors 410 (Honors Internship), Honors 313 (Research and Writing), and other support.
  3. Prepare thesis proposal (includes creative arts and performance projects).
  4. Secure proposal approvals and signatures from the supervising professor and the Honors Director.
  5. Enroll in Honors 400 the semester in which the Honors Thesis is written.

1. Choose and meet with a supervising professor

The student is responsible for selecting the professor who will supervise the Honors Thesis. The professor's research specialties should be connected to the student's area of interest and potential Honors Thesis topic. It is advisable to choose a person for whom the student has performed successfully in more than one course. The student should have a specific topic in mind before conferring with the professor. Since the Honors Thesis is basically an independent study, the student will need to convince the potential supervising professor that he/she understands the major field and has done sufficient preliminary research on the topic. Please furnish your thesis advisor with the Faculty Information Sheet (yellow insert).

NOTE: The person who serves as the thesis supervisor also assigns the letter grade to the project.

2. Investigate Honors 410, Honors 313, and Additional Support

Honors 410 – The Honors Internship enables you to work independently with a professor for academic credit. An Honors Internship can be a medium for doing research that helps clarify the direction and content of your Honors Thesis. As with the thesis, you need to arrange the terms of an internship directly with a professor. It is recommended that the internship be taken one or two semesters prior to writing the thesis. The Honors Internship should be preceded by an explicit and fairly detailed contract between the student and advisor. The contract should explain the goals of the internship, the methodology to be followed, and should include a detailed plan of study.

Honors 313 – Research and Writing is another option to help you write your Honors Thesis. Ideally, students enroll in Honors 313 the semester before they actually enroll in Honors 400. This class is a rigorous seminar restricted to 12 students. Honors 313 is designed to help the student focus his/her research problem, prepare a coherent proposal, and begin drafting the thesis itself. The course operates as a workshop that uses student proposals and drafts to discuss effective research approaches and thesis writing. The instructor in Honors 313 is a technical advisor whose goal is to help students articulate research problems, clarify thesis directions, and communicate research results in effective written form.

NOTE: Honors 313 does not count toward general education or Honors certification credit.

Additional Support can be obtained through an individual consultation with a reference librarian. You should contact the New Library reference desk (646-5292) to discuss how a reference librarian can assist you in locating and accessing information pertinent to your research. This consultation is also highly encouraged in Honors 313.

3. Prepare Thesis Proposal

Proposal content and focus will vary from one discipline to another. You should discuss the protocols of proposal writing in your field with faculty members in that discipline. The proposal needs to contain a clear delineation of a research topic and a concise outline of the research methodology or approach. It should be evident in the proposal that the research goal is an original one. Other research or scholarship that relates to your thesis focus should be cited in the proposal as well. Proposals should be clearly written in acceptable, grammatical English and accessible to literate non-specialists.

Although the format of the proposal will vary from one discipline to another, all proposals should contain the following items:

  • Introduction, including relevant background information and your reason for choosing this research project.
  • Detailed statement of the problem you propose to investigate. (It is often helpful to formulate this in terms of a question)
  • Review of literature. Discuss the results of previous research in this area and how your research will contribute to knowledge in this area.
  • Statement of hypothesis (if relevant). State the research hypothesis or the research questions and objectives of the thesis.
  • Explanation of the research methodology or procedure you propose to follow in your research. This might also include a brief explanation of the sources you intend to use. If your project includes experimental or statistical research, give a detailed description of your proposed research strategy, or include examples of any data-collection instruments you plan to use.
  • A statement of the significance of your research. This statement should make it clear why your research will result in an original contribution.
  • A preliminary bibliography.

Creative Arts and Performance Projects

The Honors Program encourages student writers and artists to develop Honors Thesis projects. Proposals for creative arts and performance projects will, naturally, be somewhat different from proposals in scholarly and scientific fields. Nevertheless, like other thesis proposals, arts proposals should contain a clear statement of the project, a plan for its development, and a tentative plan for the exhibition, reading, or performance of the thesis. Creative arts students will be given an opportunity to present their work at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium. Honors Thesis students in the area of creative writing will submit their written work as the Thesis. In the case of visual or performance arts projects, a written report explaining the project and a photographic record will be submitted.

Although the format of the proposal will vary depending on the medium involved, all creative arts proposals should contain the following:

  • A description of the project and the concept(s) underlying it.
  • A description of the significance of the project; i.e., what is the artist trying to accomplish?
  • A statement of the methodology or the significance of the medium (if appropriate).
  • A preliminary bibliography (if appropriate).

4. Secure Proposal Approval

Both the supervising professor and the Honors Director must approve the proposal. Approval for the project is required before the student formally registers for Honors 400. For the acceptance of a Fall Honors Thesis, approval must be obtained by the prior April 30th. For acceptance of the Spring Honors Thesis, approval for the proposal must be obtained by the prior November 30th.

5. Enroll in Honors 400

To write the Honors Thesis, the student must enroll in Honors 400. A special studies permit must be signed by all parties to complete registration for Honors 400. The thesis is an independent study, and there must be close interaction between professor and student, as well as a very clear understanding about expectations for performance. The supervising professor is solely responsible for assigning grades in Honors 400. Upon satisfactory completion of the thesis, the student must provide a bound copy of the thesis to the Honors Program.

Honors theses and thesis proposals that have been written over the past several years, covering many subject areas, are available for review in the Conroy Honors Center, Room 104.

Undergraduate Research Awards

Undergraduate Research Awards of up to $200 are available on a competitive basis to students who are enrolled in Honors 400 – Honors Thesis. Please read carefully and complete the application form on the other side. Deadline for submission of the application is the same each semester as the deadline for submission of Honors Thesis proposal (Fall semester, April 30th and Spring semester, November 30th).

To be considered for the Award, submit the following to the Honors Dean (Conroy Honors Center on Espina St., Box 3HON):

  • One copy of the completely approved proposal for your Honors Senior Thesis.
  • A detailed budget breakdown of how you intend to spend the research award funds. List precise dollar figures with each item in your proposed budget.

Notes:

The award is not a stipend or a salary. It is intended to help you purchase materials and supplies in support of your project, e.g., lab supplies, library services, reproductions, copying, etc., and books (only reference books that are not available in library or by ILL and only when they can be shown to be critical to the project).

Approval of the Thesis Proposal does not constitute approval of the Research Award request.

You do not have to apply for the full $200. That is the maximum amount available to each applicant.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Must be a junior or senior and have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. All Undergraduate Research Award recipients must enroll in Honors 400 – Honors Thesis.

Click Here to download the Undergraduate Research Awards Application.

Thesis Format

Your thesis should be bound using spiral binding (available at Kinko's), with a clear plastic outer cover. The front cover should contain the title of your thesis, your name, and the date of the thesis.

Preliminary Pages

Lowercase Roman numerals should be used for page numbers for each of the following:

  1. Title Page (numeral i is assigned but not shown on the page)
  2. Vita
  3. Abstract
  4. Table of Contents
  5. List of Tables*
  6. List of Figures*
  7. List of Appendix Figures*
  8. List of Abbreviations (or Nomenclature or List of Symbols)

* Not all theses will have tables, figures, or special nomenclature.

Suggested Style Guides

Margins

  • All pages, including figures, tables and appendix material must conform to the margin requirements. If wide tables or figures require the page to be in the landscape position, the tops of the figures/tables must be at the binding edge (the side with the 1.50" margin). The page number will remain in portrait position.
  • 1.50" left margin (binding margin)
  • 1.25" top and right
  • 1.0" from the bottom edge of the page for the page number. In Word, be sure to set the footer margin to 1.0". If you do not set the footer, your bottom margin will not be 1.0". Setting the bottom margin as described here will automatically result in the distance between the last line and the page number being 0.25". See "standard typing rules" for exception to the .25" margin (this distance may be larger in some instances, but never smaller).

It is appropriate to consult one of the styles manuals published by professional societies in your field. You may also wish to consult one of the following published style manuals. Some departments may require use of a particular manual. Before adopting a style guide, check with your thesis advisor.

  • Slade, Campbell, and Ballou. Form and Style: Research Papers, Reports and Theses (9th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1994.
  • Gibaldia, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (4th ed.). New York: The Modem Language Association of America, 1995. (Used widely in the humanities.)
  • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1994. (Used in psychology and education.)
  • Turabian, Kate. Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (5th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
  • The Chicago Manual of Style (13th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982.


FACULTY INFORMATION SHEET HONORS 400 – HONORS THESIS

The Honors Thesis is required of students who wish to graduate with University Honors. It is a 3-credit one-semester independent study course and is the culminating project for the 18 "University Honors" sequence.

Directing an Honors Thesis represents a commitment of time on your part, but it also signals a commitment to our Honors-level students who are serious about their undergraduate study and interested in graduate-level work.

The thesis is decidedly not a master's thesis, but it should be regarded as a rigorous, original and extended undergraduate research or creative project that may well form the basis for a master's thesis or a master's seminar project. The Honors Thesis often serves as the writing sample that students submit to graduate committees and employers.

Honors Thesis students should approach you with a clear idea of their research area. Often students need assistance in narrowing the topic to make it manageable and in recognizing the genuine originality of their approach to the problem. They may well need to be directed to read primary or secondary materials germane to their proposed topic.

The student will be required to submit a proposal to you and the Honors Director for approval. Your job will be to make certain the student conforms to the protocols and expectations of your discipline with respect to a formal proposal. Although proposal formats will vary, each should clearly identify the research problem and methodology, and should establish the original thrust of the research. In some cases, "anticipated results" is an appropriate section of a proposal. If there are questions about the adequacy or clarity of a proposal, it may be necessary for the supervising professor and the Honors Director to confer.

Honors 313 (Research and Writing) is available to thesis students to assist them in proposal writing, researching tasks, and execution of the thesis drafts. The instructor in Honors 313, Professor Gail Lavender, is a technical advisor to the process. It may be useful for her to confer with the supervising professor at some point regarding the student's progress. Honors internships (Honor 410) also exist to give students a medium for studying a particular problem and developing a research agenda.

Once the proposal has been approved by the supervising professor and theHonors Director, there should be close and formally scheduled interaction between student and professor. Performance expectations should be clearly understood between student and professor. The professor is solely responsible for the thesis grade, which is submitted to the Honors office.

Thesis students should be very capable, motivated, self-directed students. The results of their work should bring great satisfaction to both the student and the professor. Your work with these students is greatly appreciated. Please note also that the annual report form now has a category under "Teaching" where you can cite work with Honors Thesis students.

Please feel free to contact the Honors office (646-2005) to discuss any aspect of your involvement with an Honors Thesis student.