GUIDELINES FOR SENIOR HONORS THESIS
1.
The Honors College Thesis (HCT) is the capstone scholarly experience for Honors students.
To enroll in the HCT, all University Honors students who enrolled at ASU in 2006 or earlier
must have a GPA of 3.4 in all Honors courses; students who enrolled at ASU in Fall 2007 and
later must have a 3.45 cumulative GPA as well as a 3.45 honors GPA. All Honors students
should schedule an appointment with the Honors office before signing up for the HCT to
check their Honors transcript and GPA. Call 262-2083 to schedule this appointment.
2. The HCT takes whatever form best suits the subject. It can be a traditional research paper or it
might resemble a scientific research article. A creative project, composition, work of art,
recital, or dramatic production is entirely acceptable, but must include a written component
describing the performance/creative process and product. The scope and length of the work
will fall somewhere between a typical semester paper and a master’s thesis. The style is
appropriate to the format and is agreed upon between the student and the thesis committee.
3.
The HCT must be a minimum of three hours credit in an area of the student’s choosing, but
more credits may be required in some departments and may be arranged if appropriate. At
least two professors mentor the HHT: a first reader, or director, and a second reader. The two
professors must come from different departments to foster interdisciplinarity, and the director
must be a tenured/tenure-track ASU faculty member. The second reader must come from a
different department than the director and should at least comment on a draft version of the
HCT so that the student can benefit from more than one professor’s observations and
corrections.
4. While most students will register for the HCT during the senior year, junior standing does not
preclude one from signing up for the HCT. Students are encouraged to spread credit over two
semesters to ensure adequate time for research, writing, and revision.
5. Binding and title page format information is provided to the student at the time of application.
Belk Library catalogs and archives all HCTs; the Honors office does not keep copies. The
thesis must be on thesis-quality, cotton-bond paper, which is available at the University
Bookstore. The final copy of the thesis must be submitted to the Honors office by the first day
of exams along with a digital copy.
6. Students sign up for the HCT as HON 4010 if they are only doing University Honors, or DEPT
4510 (or other 45xx number in some departments) for Departmental Honors only or
Departmental plus University Honors. The Honors College office provides the Special Course
Form to complete and take to the Registrar’s Office if it is HON 4010, otherwise the student
must submit this form through their department and college. Departments may have additional
forms that students will need to submit to the departmental Honors director.
7. It is possible to use the same HCT to satisfy departmental/ college, and University Honors
Program graduation requirements, so long as the Second Reader is from a different department
than the director and all programs’ requirements are met.*
8. The title page must be complete, including all signatures, before the thesis is considered
completed. Upon completion of the HCT for University Honors, and provided all other
requirements are met, the designation A University Honors Graduate is entered on the
student’s final transcript. All students completing University Honors and their families will be
invited to a special ceremony prior to graduation to recognize their accomplishments.
*Contact individual departments/colleges for guidelines for department/college theses.*