honors thesis iu

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Honors thesis guidelines

The senior thesis represents a written documentation of the independent research project performed by the student. Take advantage of the list of faculty willing to supervise undergraduate research to consider who would be a good advisor.

Requirements for honors thesis documentation are flexible and can be in a number of possible formats. Documentation can be designed as a stand-alone description of the project and its results, of an expanded note or collection of technical notes authored by the student in the research group, and (in the best situation), a copy of a thesis publication or manuscript draft intended for submission for publication.

Requirements

The thesis must be approved and signed by a university faculty member, typically a Physics faculty member who is the supervisor of the research and co-signed by a second member of the Physics faculty. Students are expected to have arranged consultations with these faculty members and to have met with them by the fall of their senior year.

Honors students are expected to submit three copies of the thesis, to be presented in a bound form (including a cover page) following the given format. One copy is given to each faculty signer and the third copy is turned in to the Undergraduate Academic Services Office, SW132.

The deadline for the completed and signed thesis is three weeks before the end of the senior spring semester.

The signing faculty members will convey a copy of the thesis to the undergraduate curriculum committee who, in consultation with the signing members and the student, will arrange the scheduling of an oral presentation. The audience for this event is a group of other honors candidates and faculty members. The presentation must take place before the end of the classes in the semester when the thesis is submitted.

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Advice For Your Honors Thesis

Posted on May 3, 2024 by lhamid

Completing my honors thesis has been one of the most rewarding, yet challenging, projects I’ve embarked on during my time at IU. Do not be deterred by the slightly overwhelming idea of writing a thesis in one year – you can do it! Through this process you will learn so much about academic writing and your interest. However, here are a few key points to consider before beginning your thesis.

• Take your time choosing your research topic: Fine-tuning your research question is essential. Not only will this keep you engaged in your research throughout the year, but a specific question that leads to a hypothesis will create a well established flow to your paper and ensure the relationship you are exploring is valid! Additionally, you’ll have a much easier time conducting your research.
• Understand the method you are choosing: Depending on your research question, you may rely on quantitative or qualitative research methods. Regardless of what you choose, take the time to understand the pros and cons behind these two as well as the various techniques that fall under them. Developing your understanding of the technique you choose will make conducting your research a much smoother process.
• Know your resources : Understanding how to use Google Scholar, the IU Document Delivery Service, and the various research and writing centers across campus can be super helpful! Also, your classmates and professors from 491/499 are always there to discuss ideas and more!
• Set goals and deadlines for yourself (seriously): Take your time and assignments in V491 seriously – if you spend some time creating your research question, understanding your variables, and gathering literature you will be thanking yourself in V499 as you are writing the bulk of your thesis. Additionally, create a schedule of when you will be writing and stick to it! Life gets busy and committing yourself to a few hours of research and writing per week is essential to creating a good thesis.
• Reread, review, and revise: Unfortunately, a thesis is not a one-draft kind of deal. Commit yourself to rereading a couple sections at a time and checking for spelling, grammar, or syntax errors. Additionally, I would recommend scheduling time to do major revisions (i.e., reorganizing sections of your paper, adding in something new, taking out sections, etc.) for after you have met with your advisor or have finished a peer review. These are typically the points at which bigger “issues” with your paper will be pointed out, so revising as soon as you have received feedback can keep it fresh on your mind. Lastly, have others read your paper or read it out loud. We can easily glance over silly errors in our papers while we skim and read in our heads.
• Remain reasonable but be proud of yourself!: Remember, writing a thesis is not an easy task, especially for undergraduates doing it in under a year. Your thesis will not be perfect, but do not sweat the little details or small setbacks. By planning early and communicating with your advisor and professors, you can create a thesis that is feasible given the time and resources you have but is still something you are passionate about. Obstacles are inevitable during this process – but learning how to address them will allow you to learn so much from this process. Do not lose faith during this process and know that there are people who would love to help you throughout the way!

I am super grateful that I stuck through the honors program and completed my thesis. Frankly, writing a thesis seemed like something completely out of reach, but here I am! Throughout this process, I have found a passion for something I knew very little about before this year. I am grateful to have had great professors, classmates, and an advisor to support me along the way.

Laila Hamid is a senior at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She is studying Policy Analysis with minors in Information Systems and Environmental Science & Health. After graduation, Laila will be an Associate Analyst at Salesforce.

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The Political Science honors thesis program

Political Science offers an honors program for outstanding undergraduate students who wish to undertake original research and writing under expert direction from a faculty sponsor. This program is designed to guide students in advanced scholarly work, culminating in a thesis project that must be orally defended before two faculty members.

Honors colloquium

All participants are required to enroll in a two-semester Y499 Honors Thesis sequence that offers comprehensive training to design and complete a thesis project.  During the fall section ( Research design and prospectus ), students learn the nuts and bolts of social science research to formulate an adequate research plan (a "thesis prospectus") in consultation with their main advisor and honors program director.  Following an approved prospectus, students register for the spring section ( Research and Thesis Defense ), to complete research tasks and write a thesis.  The spring semester includes a few class meetings to jumpstart and clarify research activities, but students are otherwise expected to conduct independent research under close supervision of their faculty sponsor. 

Y499 sections are graded separately in accordance with their own semester-specific requirements.  Successful participation in the honors program requires not just a complete undergraduate thesis, but also a minimum grade of B+ for each semester.

Oral defense and final thesis approval

Honors program participants defend an initial draft of their thesis at least a couple of weeks before the end of the spring semester.  A typical thesis defense consists of a 10- to 15-minute oral presentation, 30 minutes of Q & A, and a final segment with private committee deliberations.  Students are welcome to bring guests for oral presentation and Q & A segments.

The main purpose of oral defenses is for thesis committee members to offer feedback and concrete instructions for final revisions within a time frame that complies with campus grade submission deadlines.  Upon approval of the final version by both thesis committee members, the Department then certifies completion of all honors program requirements to the College of Arts of Sciences.  This final step is required to certify eligibility to receive an Indiana University honors diploma.

Admission requirements

To be considered for next year's honors thesis program, students must complete an application form by the announced deadline, which further explains these admission requirements:

• Required: Y205 Political Analysis with a grade of B or higher.
• At least 3 credit hours from 300-level courses.
• An additional 3 credit hours from 100-, 200-, and 300- level courses, excluding Y205
• A minimum POLS GPA of 3.5
• A minimum College GPA of 3.3
• A working title and short description of proposed thesis project (see "Previous theses" table below for a list of previous undergraduate thesis titles).
• Signatures from academic advisor and main faculty sponsor
• A signed acknowledgement of honors program participation requirements

Contact an advisor   Fill out the application

Previous theses

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Our Anthropology Honors Program

Developing your own in-depth research project and writing an honors thesis can be an excellent way to prepare for graduate training in anthropology and many other post-graduation career paths for which strong research and writing skills are needed.

If you think you might be interested in our Honors program, the first step is to schedule an appointment with our Director of Undergraduate Studies , during your junior year. They will go over the requirements of the program and help you to formulate a plan. And it is never too soon to reach out to potential faculty mentors and find out if they are interested and available to work with you on your project.

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Guidelines for your honors thesis

An honors thesis in Classical Studies is, first, a study of primary sources for the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, like literary and historical texts, inscriptions, sculptures, vase paintings, and murals. After identifying an area of interest, you will work with a faculty advisor to define an appropriate, interesting topic and make a research and writing plan. Emphasis should be placed upon critical analysis and interpretation of primary evidence while secondary literature can be used to build background knowledge and support your interpretation of primary sources. The final thesis should not only be a synthesis of secondary literature.

Other innovative projects are also possible, especially those combining primary evidence from the classical world with your expertise in another discipline. All theses involve significant, analytical writing, the nature and scope of which is to be determined in consultation with the faculty advisor, second reader, and the director of undergraduate studies.

Application for admission into the departmental honors program is usually made during the junior year and the thesis is written during the senior year. You may be nominated by a faculty member or may nominate yourself. Acceptance into the honors program is made by the honors advisor and the Undergraduate Committee.

Faculty advisor

Each honors thesis will be directed by a faculty advisor whose areas of expertise relates to the thesis topic.

In either the spring of the junior year or at the start of the senior year, you should approach a faculty member and discuss your plans of study or areas of interest. You may also consult with the director of undergraduate studies (DUS). If you plan to study abroad, you should set up your thesis project with a faculty advisor before leaving for travel, preferably during the spring of your junior year.

With the advisor, you will narrow the topic and decide whether the project requires one or two semesters of work (C399 in the fall and/or C499 in spring). You will write a one-page abstract describing the project, specifying which primary sources it will focus on and outlining the plan to study.

The faculty advisor in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies will select a second faculty member to serve as reader. The reader should review and comment on the abstract and may be consulted as the student works. After the thesis is turned in to the DUS , s/he will promptly arrange for a copy of the thesis to be made for the advisor and the reader.

Both advisors will read the thesis and report a grade to the DUS along with brief comments about the argument, use of evidence, clarity of presentation, editorial matters, etc. The readers will submit their reports to the DUS within one week of receiving copies of the thesis. The readers may require revisions to be completed before the final submission, though these should be limited to reasonable changes that can be made within the timeframe.

You will receive as a grade the average of the two grades. In a case of wide disparity, the undergraduate advisor will also read and grade the thesis and the three grades will be averaged.

The thesis must be submitted to the director of undergraduate studies no later than six weeks before graduation in the semester in which you graduate or plan to complete your studies at Indiana University Bloomington. This deadline allows time for the usual revisions and assures that you will receive honors at the time of graduation. Because working out the argument and polishing the writing take more time than is usually imagined, you should present a draft of the thesis to the advisors at least one month before this deadline. The DUS will have copies made and distribute them to the two readers.

A clean, absolutely final copy of the thesis must be submitted to the director of undergraduate studies no later than the last day of classes in the semester in which you graduate or plan to complete your studies at Indiana University Bloomington.

Honors theses are bound by the department and preserved in the departmental library with doctoral theses and faculty publications.

C399 & C499

Students usually write a thesis over two semesters, registering for C399 (3 credits) for the first semester of work and C499 (3 credits) for the second. An exception may be made, for example, for a student who has begun a project while studying abroad during the first semester of senior year but wishes to write a thesis in their final semester.

This course work (3 or 6 credits) is in addition to the 27 credit hours required of the regular major. The thesis writer must visit the director of undergraduate studies (DUS) and pick up a copy of these guidelines in order to obtain authorization to register for C399 and/or C499.

C399 Readings for Honors should be a tutorial focusing on the area/s which the thesis will explore. The semester should be dedicated to general research, preparation of a bibliography, and an outline of the project. At the beginning of the semester, you and your faculty instructor will put together a statement outlining the readings and work to be completed in this tutorial as well as the schedule of meeting times. At the end of the course, both you and the instructor will each submit a brief report.

An honors thesis should be between 30 and 40 pages in length.

It should have the following formal features:

• table of contents
• chapters with informative titles (and sub-heading as appropriate)
• bibliography of all works used in writing the thesis
• footnotes citing primary and secondary sources
• numbered plates with illustrations (as appropriate)
• continuous pagination

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Courses and Honors Credit

Add depth to your degree.

Honors coursework is available in a number of academic areas. You'll have the opportunity to pursue honors courses within your major or minor, work closely with faculty on a scholarly or creative senior experience, and gain valuable research experience to prepare you for graduate or professional study. You'll gain a greater understanding of the world through service learning, civic engagement, culture studies, and study abroad experiences. Students work with their academic schools and honors advisors to meet degree requirements and to complete an academic plan that leads to graduating with honors.

If you choose not to enroll in an honors course, you can earn honors credit by selecting one of the four alternatives (e.g., honors contract, honors credit, honors graduate coursework, HON-H 398). Information and the application forms can be found on the Student Portal . You may enroll in no more than two honors courses/experiences per semester.

ePortfolio requirement

All students who entered the Honors College during fall 2022 or later should include an ePortfolio entry as part of their honors course, honors credit, or other honors experience each semester.

You learned about the ePortfolio requirement in HON-H 200. Make sure you have an honors section in your ePortfolio and add your honors projects and engaged learning experiences each semester. An ePortfolio entry consists of an artifact, a summary so the reader understands the context for that artifact, and a reflection on the learning demonstrated in your artifact.

In your final semester, you must enroll in HON-H 496 Honors Senior ePortfolio for 0 or 1 credit hour. The 1 credit hour version of the course requires either a final presentation or participation in the Honors Showcase or campus Research Day.

Additional ways to earn honors credit

Honors contract.

When you enter into an honors contract with a faculty member, you are agreeing to engage in work clearly beyond what is required for a regular undergraduate course. Simply increasing the quantity of coursework does not constitute an honors contract project. Projects can include—but are not limited to—the following examples:

• Completing an independent project that employs research methods taught in the course
• Writing a research paper that expands upon a topic covered in the course
• Producing teaching materials, such as creating a test, new handouts, or PowerPoint presentation for a course
• Researching a topic and teaching a class session to share your findings
• Designing and completing a special project, performance, or product

Honors credit application

Departmental research and capstone courses also provide students with the opportunity to pursue honors-level study within their disciplines. An  h onors credit application for departmental research and capstone courses is required. Students also may receive honors credit for student teaching, senior design courses, internships, and co-op experiences. Students must submit the  h onors credit application to receive honors credit for these experiences.

This form requires you to provide a 200–300 word description of the experience for which you are applying to earn honors credit. In addition to submitting your honors credit application, your faculty will receive an email to verify that the information you have provided is correct. Both your form and the faculty approval are due by the deadline.

Graduate honors credit

Graduate coursework enables students to become familiar with graduate education while delving further into their major field. A graduate honors credit application for applying graduate coursework to the general honors notation is required. The faculty member's signature is not required, and no extra project is required.

Graduate courses automatically count for honors credit, as long as the application is submitted. This form requires you to provide a 200–300 word description of the experience for which you are applying to earn honors credit.

HON-H 398 Independent Study

Complete an independent project with a faculty member or register for credit for a study abroad experience. If you are interested in pursuing honors credit for a study abroad experience, please contact  Ian McIntosh .

This form requires you to provide a 200–300 word description of the experience for which you are applying to earn honors credit. In addition to submitting your independent study application, your faculty will receive an email to verify that the information you have provided is correct. Both your form and the faculty approval are due by the deadline.

Completing this form does not automatically register you in the course.  You must register for HON-H 398 by requesting permission from the IU Indianapolis Honors College.  Please email Lisa Ruch for permission.

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Indiana University East

Expand your academic experience

The Honors Program offers world class educational experiences from outstanding teachers to academically accomplished students. It is an ‘Academics Plus’ program designed to scholastically enrich the undergraduate experience, and to expand professional and post graduate opportunities.

There is also an Honors Club devoted to promoting academic leadership, research, cultural well-roundedness and service.  Click this link to learn more about the Honors Club .

Find Honors Classes

Visit the new iGPS course search , select ‘IU East’ and the desired term, then click ‘Attributes’ and check the ‘ Class approved for Honors Credit ’ option!

How to apply/participate

Requirements:   You must be enrolled in a bachelor's degree program. GPA of 3.3 or higher. A  cumulative GPA of 3.3 is required for graduation from The Honors Program.

To Join:   Contact the Honors Program Director [email protected]  and Karen Chambers [email protected] .

Participation in The Honors Program is by invitation or by application. Students matriculating to the university with an accumulated grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale are automatically invited to participate in the program. Upperclassmen who have obtained an accumulated grade point average of 3.3 may apply. Continued membership in the program is contingent upon the maintenance of a minimum accumulative grade point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale and the completion of the appropriate courses in The Honors Program curriculum each year.

A combination of minimum grade point attainment and the completion of all courses and requirements in The Honors Program curriculum is required for graduation from the program. Course requirements in the programs may vary according to students’ date of matriculation.

For students in online programs

Honors Online is a dimension of The Honors Program devoted to supporting the particular needs of Honors students who are completing their course work remotely. A full suite of Online programming and planning tools is available to students in The Honors Program Canvas site. 

Curriculum (Academic Requirements)

• HON-H 100  Freshman Honors Seminar (3 credits) - This course is a specially designed Freshman Year Seminar for academically accomplished students. Course content and activities guide students through meaningful self-exploration that informs their introduction to The Honors Program and to university life.
• HON-H 209 Introduction to Honors Program (for online students; 1-3 credits) - Interdisciplinary, special topics course with an introduction to research, service learning, and portfolio writing.
• HON-H 233 Sophomore Humanities (3 credits) - This course is a survey of the Great Books and the Great Ideas of the Western Tradition. Students will engage in explication and analysis of the history of the human endeavor from myriad perspectives, including philosophy, history, literature and the fine arts.
• HON-H 303 Honors Colloquium (3 credits) - The topic of this course is variable as it will be taught by different faculty from various departments. This course is designed for Honors students to learn about cutting edge research and creative work being conducted by faculty across the disciplines.
• H-option courses (9 credits) - These courses are ones in which students will personalize their general study by conducting individualized inquiry that reaches beyond common content of the class. Students will present the artifacts of their H option work in the Honors Poster Session at Student Research Day.
• HON-H 499  Honors Senior Thesis (3 credits) - This course is the capstone research experience which is student-designed and faculty-mentored. Students may elect to complete a written thesis or a creative project in their major area or in a different discipline of study. Student will present their final thesis project during the Honors Oral Presentation Session at Student Research Day.
• 3 curated, cultural learning experiences
• Completion of E Portfolio
• Maintain a 3.5 GPA

Scholarships & Awards

Students who are admitted into and active in the Honors Program and meet certain requirements are eligible for the IU East Honors Program Scholarship . You must apply for this scholarship annually through the central IU Scholarships application. Available to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Learn more about the Honors Program scholarship

The Paul and Pat Lingle Scholars program is for incoming freshmen from Wayne County, Indiana, and enrolling in the Honors Program is part of the requirements of this scholarship.

Learn more about the Paul and Pat Lingle Scholars program

Graduating seniors who successfully complete their Honors Thesis and participate in Student Research event on campus are automatically considered for awards for Best Theses/Projects in the following categories: 1) Research, 2) Creative Work, and 3) Service-Learning.

Learn more about Student Research at IU East

Honors students interested in taking on a major research or creative project over the summer months should consider the SUMRS Scholars Award . This highly-competitive award is open to all IU East students, not just Honors students. For this award, you will need a faculty mentor and a complete application.

Learn about the SUMRS Award on the Research & Creative Work site

Information for Faculty and Advisors

H-option courses.

In H-option courses, faculty work closely with students to create and complete an additional unit of study focused on the students’ more personalized interests in the discipline.  This additional unit may be an extra assignment or research project pre-designed by the faculty member.  Or, it may be a unit of study wholly created by the Honors students. Faculty will receive a $100 stipend for each honors student they mentor in an h option course.

Each semester, a list of pre-approved, Honors option, or H option, courses are available in the schedule of courses. To find these classes, click the appropriate term; select IUE for campus; then click “Approved for Honors Credit” under “Attributes.”

 This list of courses will be comprised of a combination of general education classes and upper division courses in various major and minor programs.  The courses on this H option list will be available for direct registration for Honors students.

Honors students, faculty, or advisors may also elect to petition their course instructors to add H-option sections for existing courses. This Honors Option petition process will consist of the following steps:

• Honors students interested in proposing an H option section of a non-Honors course will contact the course instructor to obtain their approval.
• If the instructor agrees to working with the Honors student in an H option class, together they will develop the unit of study, decide upon the desired deliverable, and designate the method of discipline-specific assessment of the project.*  
• The instructor then emails the registrar ( [email protected] ) and director ( [email protected] ) to add the class to the schedule and to add the student into that section.

The Honors Option unit of study should be seen as a ‘class within the class,’ meaning that faculty are encouraged to have periodic contact with Honors students throughout the completion of the unit of study, and to set distinct deadlines for the submission of project parts.  The weight of the process and project that comprise the Honors option unit of study should be equal to 20% of the overall point total in the class.

Faculty will receive a link for their assessment of the students’ H-option work.  Faculty will decide how they wish to apply H-option assignments in the calculation of final grades. Directing the work of Honors student in H options courses is considered Service to the Campus Community.

H-Option Statement for Syllabus

H-Option Student Evaluation Form

Honors HON-H 499 Course

Honors HON-H 499 is the Senior Honors Thesis which is the capstone project in the Honors Program at Indiana University East. By design, the project integrates attributes of undergraduate research and Masters level practices and protocols. Thus, the project is one which brings together attributes of Honors education in general, and best practices in accelerated undergraduate research in particular.

The faculty research mentor works closely with the Honors students to determine a specific timeline for the completion of each portion of the thesis project. Serving as the faculty research mentor for an Honors 499 Senior Thesis Project is a funded opportunity.

Completion of the Honors 499 project ought to adhere to the following guidelines:

• The Honors student is the one who takes the lead in brainstorming about possible topics for the Honors thesis which can be focused on the student’s major or minor, or another topic or discipline as appropriate for each individual student. Aside from preliminary brainstorming about topic, the first step in the project is the formulation of the first draft of a thesis project proposal. The second step is to invite a faculty member to serve as a research mentor through the project. The third step is then to work in conjunction with the faculty research mentor to refine the proposal. When ready in final form, the proposal is forwarded to the Director of the Honors Program. The project proposal should include the topic of choice, the methods of research that will be employed, and the projected final form of the project. A timeline for project completion should also be included.
• The thesis project proceeds with the compilation of the literature review or annotated bibliography . Working in conjunction with the faculty research mentor, the student will locate the most recent and most relevant resources to provide information, data and statistics to support critical analysis and impactful explication of the most compelling ideas and issues embedded in the thesis topic. The document will be submitted to and approved by the faculty research mentor, and if directed, the final draft will become a part of the formal thesis submission.
• Upon the completion of research in and analytical interaction with the resources captured in the literature review or annotated bibliography, the student is then ready to compose the first draft of the thesis project. The first draft will bring together the student’s deep learning about the thesis topic, facilitated both by the thesis research and by the student’s original critical thinking, explication and analysis. The result is new knowledge that the student then presents in a cited and documented, extended essay.
• The faculty research mentor will evaluate the first draft of the thesis project, recommending revisions and modifications to guide the student’s final work. These recommendations will culminate in the completion and submission of the final draft of the thesis project.
• The faculty research mentor will designate specific due dates for all thesis project components and will assess the quality of the thesis project in regard to discipline specific content.  The faculty member will submit the final assessment of the Senior Honors Thesis to the Director of The Honors Program by the end of the term, 
• All thesis projects will become a part of Student Research Day at the conclusion of the academic year. Held the first Friday of April, Student Research Day is a campus wide showcase of student research and creative work, and an important part of the program is the Honors Thesis Track. Taking place in the afternoon, the Honors Thesis Track will be comprised of three break-out sessions during which students will present a summary and brief analysis of the key research findings of the Honors thesis projects. Members of the Honors Program Planning Committee will assess the Honors Education elements of the projects using a rubric comprised of the essential learning objectives of The Honors Program.
• All thesis project authors will be invited to publish their work in the Indiana University East Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal. Details of submission will be provided to students at the Student Research day event.

HON-H 499 Student Evaluation Form

Please direct questions and concerns about these guideline to the Director of the Honors Program, Dianne Moneypenny, at 765.973.8339.

The Honors Program Planning Committee

Faculty who would like to become more intrusively involved with the inner workings of  The Honors Program at the ‘meta’ level are encouraged to join The Honors Program Planning Committee.  Membership on the committee is by appointment. Interested faculty are encouraged to contact the Director of The Honors Program at [email protected] .

Planning Committee

Dianne Moneypenny

• Professor, World Languages and Cultures
• Director, Honors Program Committee

Faculty Profile

Robin Brunk

• Assistant Professor, School of Nursing and Health Sciences
• Member, Honors Program Committee

Karen Chambers

• Administrative Assistant, Academic Affairs
• Honors Program admin, Honors Program Committee

Chien-Chung Chen

• Associate Professor, Marketing

Denise Frazier

• Assistant Professor, School of Education

Justina Licata

• Assistant Professor, History

Josh Tolbert

• Associate Professor, School of Education

• Associate Professor, Mathematics

Danielle Cameron

• President, Honor's Club

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Honors degree in Psychology or Neuroscience

You can earn an Honors degree in Psychology or Neuroscience by completing an independent laboratory research project and thesis. The earned designation appears on your transcript and degree, giving you an advantage on the job market or if you apply to a doctoral program.

Application for admission to the Honors program may be made during the sophomore or junior year. The requirement for admission into the Honors program is that you must have a 3.3 GPA minimum and a faculty sponsor for research.

While faculty may recommend students for the Honors program, students may also recommend themselves. Letters are sent to students who are eligible and informational meetings are set up during the year explaining the benefits you can gain through the Honors program.

It’s a good idea to prepare early for an Honors degree. We strongly recommend that you choose a research sponsor and project area by your sophomore year. During your sophomore and junior year, you should work in a PBS faculty member's research lab and enroll in supervised research. 

To prepare to complete your Honors project, you need to complete most of the requirements for your major before your senior year. This gives you an in-depth understanding of an academic area, helping you develop an independent research project.

Work on the Honors project consists of twelve to eighteen months of laboratory research, sponsored by a faculty member. You write up your research project in a format similar to a master's thesis, give a poster presentation on your work, and successfully defend the thesis before a committee of three faculty members.

We recommend that you begin your independent research project no later than spring of their junior year in order to allow adequate time for completion before graduation. Similarly, we recommend that you enroll in P499 (a two-semester sequence course) by the spring of the junior year.

Most Honors projects are financially supported through the sponsoring laboratory. All Indiana University Bloomington undergraduate students are eligible for  Hutton Honors College Research Grants  (you do not need to be a member of Hutton to receive a grant).

The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences makes a number of small monetary awards at the end of the projects to those seniors who have achieved distinction in research. Examples include the Excellence in Research Award and the Cheryl Burnham Buehler Award.

Honors courses have smaller enrollments and more discussion, giving Honors students the opportunity to be better known by the faculty.

The Honors degree designation will appear on your transcript and degree.

An Honors project shows that you are committed to the field and have some experience in the research, which is a plus for getting into graduate school. Competition for entry to many doctoral programs in psychology or neuroscience is very stiff, so any edge is very worthwhile.

Completing an honors project gives you an idea of the area you might want to pursue in graduate studies. The individual research project gives you a good background in research methodology, important for graduate admission. Your work might result in a possible publication or presentation at a conference.

The department Honors committee, chaired by Dr. Dale Sengelaub, oversees the program. Dr. Sengelaub also teaches the P499 course, with individual research sponsors chosen by the student.

For more information, contact Psychology and Neuroscience Advising or Dr. Sengelaub:

Dale R. Sengelaub  Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience  Phone: 855-9149

Email Professor Sengelaub

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High achieving students may be recognized for  Academic Excellence  by the College of Arts and Sciences by making the Dean’s List or earning a Degree with Distinction. Very high achieving students may be invited to apply for admission to the Hutton Honors College .

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IU East Honors Thesis

Permanent link for this collection https://hdl.handle.net/2022/28395

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Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

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Honors courses

The department offers Honors courses equivalent to its main courses, designated with an “S,” to provide opportunities and challenges for superior students.

In addition to covering the basic material taught in the regular courses, these small-enrollment courses offer tightly integrated lecture and laboratory experiences. They include an experimental approach and a quantitative orientation.

Candidates for an Honors degree do not necessarily need to take these courses, but would clearly benefit from them. The courses include:

• S211 Honors Molecular, offered fall semester only
• S311 Honors Genetics, offered spring semester only
• S318 Honors Evolution, offered every spring and every other fall

To enroll, you need to have a 3.300 GPA overall and have also completed the prerequisites.

Relationship between BIOL-X490 and the Honors degree

BIOL-X490 is designed to provide students with experiences and knowledge not normally available through formal courses. The course might be taken only one semester, for a limited number of credit hours (e.g., one or two), in order to accomplish a specific goal.

Alternatively, BIOL-X490 might be considered an integral part of a student’s curriculum and be taken each semester for two or three years in order to broaden the normal scope of an undergraduate degree in Biology. Students are permitted to count a total of 12 hours of BIOL-X490 credits toward an undergraduate degree.

An Honors program provides a more intense, comprehensive, and demanding experience than a BIOL-X490 course alone normally provides. It is required that an Honors candidate take BIOL-X490. As a major part of the BIOL-X490 course, a prospective Honors student works on a goal-oriented research program for at least two semesters and a minimum of 6 credit hours total. Writing a research report based upon the results of field observations or laboratory research is the ultimate goal of the BIOL-X490 efforts.

In contrast to regular BIOL-X490 work, the Honors degree BIOL-L490 project must include either laboratory or field research. While BIOL-X490 projects can be based entirely on library research, the Honors degree project must include laboratory or field research.

In summary, although BIOL-X490 is an integral part of the Honors program in Biology, the Honors program encompasses more than the completion of two semesters of BIOL-X490.

Learn more about BIOL X490

Substitution/replacement

Departmental honors can substitute for one advanced lab course for Biology B.A. and standard Biology B.S. students as long as the candidate meets all Honors requirements, including the 3.300 overall GPA requirement. Several precisely defined steps must be taken before the department will approve such a substitution. A description of the requirements which must be met for such a substitution is available from the Biology Undergraduate Advising Office . No substitution will be made without such approval.

It is NOT recommended that Biology students rely on departmental Honors to replace a lab course. Departmental Honors status is determined at graduation. If the departmental Honors requirements are not met and the student does not have sufficient lab coursework, then the student will not graduate.

The Honors thesis does not replace any coursework for the Microbiology B.A. or B.S. or the Animal Behavior degree. If you are doing an Area of Concentration (AOC) for the B.S. in Biology, your Honors thesis will not count as one of the two required upper-level labs.

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Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs

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Honors Research Symposium

Highlighting our honors students and their honors thesis research.

The completion of an honors thesis is the cornerstone of the O’Neill Undergraduate Honors Program experience. Each student, with a faculty advisor,  has conducted in-depth research on a topic of interest and relevance to public and environmental affairs. The Symposium celebrates their work resulting in research useful to both practitioners and academic scholarship.

Fall 2023 O'Neill Honors Symposium

Friday, december 1, 9:30 am to 12:30 p.m..

• Welcome and refreshments
• Five minutes are set aside at the end of each presentation for questions and answers.

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