The Senior Honors Project and Project Proposal Requirements
The School of Music
Senior Honors Projects for music majors must include a scholarly written document
at least eight pages long. As instructed by the Honors College, these papers must represent a
scholarly standard worthy of publication. Topics must have a strong connection to the
discipline of music when they are collaborative or interdisciplinary in nature.
Many honors projects completed by music majors cover a wide range of topics
related to musicology, comparative educational systems, or literature used by various
composers, and many projects have also provided material for senior recital program notes.
These are all topics requiring traditional research. On occasion honors projects concerned
with educational or pedagogical practice have included surveys or interviews in addition to
library research.
Other honors projects have involved creating a musical composition, such as etude
books for young students, performance art projects, or band or small ensemble
arrangements for particular public school levels. Other projects have involved shadowing a
musical production from start to finish, observing the creation of a symphony orchestra
season, or solving problems related to the commercial music business. Many projects
similar to these have been completed by honors students majoring in music. However, this
type project must include a scholarly document describing the project, its goals and
parameters, rationale for choosing materials (in the case of compositions, arrangements, or
pedagogical etudes), analysis of one’s own compositional structure when musical
composition is involved, and some research into precedents for the project.
All scholarly documents, including those in support of a compositional or
performance related project must include a bibliography. A program, score, CD, DVD or
other evidence documenting the project are included in an appendix to the paper. Projects
involving foreign language texts, poetry, or quotes of any kind must include both the original
text and the student’s own translation.
Honors Project Proposals
The Proposal
The honors project proposal may be brief, consisting of four paragraphs describing:
1. the nature of the project
2. how it will be researched or prepared
3. how it will be presented
4. and, per Honors College requirements, how it will benefit others.
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Take care to avoid first person and subjunctive in both the proposal and final
document. For example, instead of saying “I am going to arrange five piano pieces for middle
school band”, say, “This project will create arrangements of five piano pieces for middle
school band”. Instead of saying, “These arrangements should be a positive contribution to
the repertoire”, say “These arrangements will be a positive contribution to the repertoire”.
No more than four paragraphs are necessary.
When describing how the project will be presented, the proposal MUST STATE THAT
THE MAIN PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT WILL BE IN THE FORM OF A WRITTEN,
SCHOLARLY DOCUMENT. Also state that other material that enhances the written
document—program notes, CDs, DVDs, scores, etc—will be presented in the appendices of
the paper.
A short bibliography indicating that some research has already been considered, or
will be considered in regard to the project is expected. Attach this to the proposal before
circulating it among your committee for approval signatures.
Honors Project Committee
The honors project committee consists of three faculty members:
1. one will serve as the sponsor, the person who will direct your project and
help prepare the written document
2. one will be a someone willing to read the document after it has been
prepared to the satisfaction of the sponsor
3. one will be the honors preceptor who will double as the second reader.
A third reader is optional, but students are cautioned that the more people that are involved
in the project the more time it will take for completion. THE SPONSOR OF THE PROJECT
MUST BE A SCHOOL OF MUSIC FACULTY MEMBER, but a reader may be selected from
another department in the case of an interdisciplinary project. STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED
TO RESPECTFULLY MAKE ALL REVISIONS AND INCLUDE ALL MATERIALS REQUESTED BY
THEIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
Submitting the Proposal
Once your committee is selected and faculty members have agreed to work with you,
you may circulate your proposal among them, making any revisions or including any details
requested. Once you have completed everyone’s revisions, circulate the proposal with the
signature page (see the Honors College web link to the senior honors project) and deliver
this to the Honors College when complete. THE SENIOR HONORS PROJECT PROPOSAL IS DUE
A FULL YEAR PRIOR TO GRADUATION, OR, IN THE CASE OF MUSIC EDUCATION MAJORS, A
FULL YEAR PRIOR TO STUDENT TEACHING.
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Senior Honors Project Papers
Students may select a writing format compatible with their discipline, particularly
where publications for a discipline require a specific format such as MLA or Turabian. For
example, music educators use APA for all scholarly documents and publications. When there
is no particular custom, students may select a format with which they are comfortable.
Whatever format is selected, it is important to use the same format consistently throughout
the paper. HOWEVER, BE SURE TO CONSULT YOUR SPONSOR AND READERS TO VERIFY
WHETHER THERE IS A REQUIREMENT FOR YOUR DISCIPLINE.
As in the proposal, first person and subjunctive are to be avoided. Students may
select to use citations with an annotated bibliography OR to use footnotes with a
comprehensive bibliography, whatever is most appropriate to the project. Discuss this with
the sponsor and/or the honors preceptor. Information that is paraphrased and represents
“common knowledge”—the same information appears in all sources about the subject—does
not require a citation. Information peculiar to a particular source or that is directly quoted
must be cited using either footnotes or a citation and annotated bibliography. Again,
CONSULT YOUR SPONSOR TO SEE IF THERE IS A REQUIREMENT IN YOUR DISCIPLINE.
Begin by creating an outline of your topic and findings, then organize the paper into
subsections, making sure to include an introduction and a conclusion. Include a separate
title page in addition to the signature page. Scores, diaries, actual program notes, programs,
etc. are placed in appendices as needed, as stated in the proposal. There are dozens of
examples of completed papers in the advising office for reference—please feel free to
request to see examples.
Many students’ degree programs require two credits of Independent Study. It is
advisable to enroll in Independent Study to complete the background research or other
tasks needed to create the project the semester prior to enrolling in Senior Honors Project.
Ideally, the student will be in a position to simply write their paper and submit completed
documents the following term, when they are enrolled in Senior Honors Project. Normally,
students enroll for two credits, but it is allowable to enroll for up to six credits of Senior
Honors Project as needed. Discuss this with the preceptor.
Be sure to allow your sponsor and readers sufficient time to look at your work before
going on to the next step—at least two weeks. Many students find it useful to have a standing
appointment with their sponsor to use throughout the process of developing the project and
writing their paper. If the project meets the sponsor’s satisfaction by the midterm, it bodes
well for having enough time for the first reader to see the outcome, make suggestions, and
then for students to incorporate those suggestions. The honors preceptor is the last person
to look at your work, unless you request comments earlier in the process. It is
recommended your finished project be delivered to the preceptor three to four weeks prior
to graduation, or of the term prior to student teaching for music education majors.
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When your project and written document are completed to the satisfaction of your
sponsor, begin circulating this draft to your readers. As with the proposal, once you have
made all the amendments requested by your sponsor and readers, it is time to produce the
final copy and circulate it with the signature page (see the Honors College web link for the
template). As a courtesy to your sponsor and readers, be prepared to give them a copy of
your paper and supporting documents for their records. After your sponsor and readers
have signed off on the project, make an appointment to see the director of the School of
Music for that signature. Finally, it is recommended that you hand deliver your finished
projects with signatures to the Honors College for the signature of the Dean. There have
been a few cases where projects sent to the Honors College through campus mail have been
lost, so do not take that chance! THE COMPLETED SENIOR HONORS PROJECT MUST BE
SUBMITTED WITH SIGNATURES TO THE HONORS COLLEGE NO LATER THAN FINAL EXAM
WEEK OF THE TERM GRADUATING, OR, IN THE CASE OF MUSIC EDUCATION MAJORS, NO
LATER THAN FINAL EXAM WEEK THE TERM PRIOR TO STUDENT TEACHING.
Completing the Senior Honors Project: Behaving Honorably
Keep in mind that part of being an Honors Student is behaving in an honorable
manner. Be considerate of the faculty who have agreed to work with you and respectful of
their guidance—they are not compensated for these activities and are helping you purely
out of interest in your professional development. Be considerate of their time as well as
interacting professionally in response to suggestions and in the language used in e-mails or
personal conversations. Have the courtesy to invite all members of your committee and the
honors preceptor to any performances related to your honors project. Keep your sponsor
informed about your progress, particularly if you fall behind, are delayed by illness or
unexpected emergencies, or simply become over-extended with other coursework during
this process. Work with your sponsor throughout these kinds of difficulties. If you do fall
behind IT IS NEITHER HONORABLE NOR CONSIDERATE TO EXPECT SPONSORS OR READERS
TO BE AVAILABLE DURING BREAKS, HOLIDAYS, OR OVER THE SUMMER to help you catch up
or finish on a schedule outside of the academic calendar. Again, they are not being
compensated for these activities. Behave honorably and with consideration in all of these
situations even if it means delaying student teaching or graduation.
I have read and understand the above document.
Print name: __________________________________________________ Student ID #________________________
Signature____________________________________________________ ___________ Date: ______________________