Honors Project Timeline
Before Semester 1
Candidates are expected to do substantial background work before Semester 1 begins and to verify that all of the resources needed to complete their projects successfully are available. Among other things, laboratory instruments should be checked and all necessary materials ordered.
Research Involving Human Subjects
All research involving human subjects must comply with the Policy for the Protection of Human Research Subjects and will need the approval of the 91¿´Æ¬ Human Subjects Institutional Review Board (HSIRB). If you are planning to conduct research with human participants, you are required to have a conference with the chair of the HSIRB prior to starting your Honors project to ensure that it is ethically feasible, with the paperwork submitted to your liaison at your first conference. Once an Honors project is approved, any student working with human participants will need to submit a proposal to the HSIRB (form found on that website). The turn-around time for HSIRB approval will take 2-4 weeks.
Research Involving Laboratory Animals
If you are planning to conduct research with animal subjects, you are required to have a conference with the chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) prior to starting your Honors project to ensure that it is ethically feasible, with the paperwork submitted to your liaison at your first conference. Once an Honors project is approved, any student working with research animals will need to submit the appropriate IACUC research forms. The turn-around time for IACUC approval may take up to two weeks.
Semester 1
At the beginning of each semester, the Honors Committee hosts a meeting for Semester 1 Honors candidates. These meetings provide an opportunity for students to meet one another and the members of the Committee and to discuss issues related to the program. Attendance at these meetings is mandatory.
Early in Semester 1, the Honors Committee reviews the applications and assigns a liaison for each candidate. The liaison is the link between the Committee and the candidate and his or her project advisor. Candidates are encouraged to contact their liaisons at any time with questions, concerns, or problems. Issues that cannot be resolved by a liaison may be brought before the full Honors Committee for discussion.
During Semester 1, candidates and their advisors are invited to a conference with the liaison. The conference lasts no longer than 30 minutes. Candidates are asked to give a brief (five to ten minute) oral presentation on their projects and their progress, and may use any audio-visual aids deemed necessary for this presentation. The candidate's presentation is followed by a brief question-and-answer period. The objective is to get substantive feedback from the candidate and advisor regarding their individual and collective perspective on the candidate's progress to date. After the conference, the liaison files a Conference Evaluation reporting to the Honors Committee about the status of the candidate’s project.
Semester 2
During the first weeks of Semester 2, candidates attend a second Honors conference with their advisor and liaison. At this meeting, candidates will submit their Final Oral Examination Panel Nominations. See the definition of the examination panel for details.
Candidates completing Honors during the Spring semester will prepare a poster summarizing their project for the college community. (See the section of this page entitled Honors Poster Presentations.) Candidates will appear with their posters to answer questions about their work. Candidates who complete Honors during the Fall term are encouraged, but not required, to participate in the Spring poster presentation.
Oral Examinations
The Final Oral Examinations are scheduled by the project liaison approximately two weeks after the thesis has been sent to the panel. The oral examination panel evaluates the candidate's completed project and assigns the single grade which carries double course credit for the two terms of Honors work. In addition to the candidate and the panel, other members of the University community (faculty, staff, and students) may attend the examination with the permission of the candidate, advisor, and liaison. Such guests may only participate in the examination at the invitation of the liaison, and are excused during the panel's deliberations.
Successful candidates are told what changes need to be made (if any). The final corrected copy of the thesis must be sent to the Honors chair as pdf by the deadline stated in the Honors Calendar.