Overview

A Senior Honors Thesis, in an experimentation-based discipline, typically arises from close collaboration with a faculty member on an existing research project. Ideally, you will identify a significant aspect of that research and craft a smaller project representing your own work. The thesis should include an introduction explaining the relevance of your work to the broader field of study, a brief literature review, pertinent explanations of all technical innovations and processes, and an appropriate representation of results achieved. On average, the thesis will be between 30-60 pages.

Please note, an NSM thesis committee must include two faculty members from the student's major department.

A Senior Honors Thesis Must Demonstrate:

• Substantial research-based argumentation (with all the accompanying effective incorporation, analysis, and synthesis and citation of sources)
• Quality organization and prose
• Professional formatting

Working with Human Subjects: If your research proposal includes working with human subjects, please discuss with your faculty mentor if your research will require approval from the University's Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to initiating your research.

Deadlines and Procedures

Please review the NSM Senior Honors Thesis Guidelines webpage for pertinent information on commitee requirements and formatting the manuscript.

Committee Formation and NSM Thesis Course Enrollment

• The thesis committee for an NSM thesis must include a thesis director in the discipline of the student’s major, at least one reader outside the student’s major, and at least one reader approved by the Honors College to serve as the Honors Reader.  Contact Dr. Bettinger in OURMA to receive the list of potential Honors Readers.
• After the student has an approved Verification of Eligibility form, the student develops their prospectus. In a change from previous years, the NSM student is responsible for securing all three readers for their committee prior to course enrollment. Students will work with the Honors College to identify an Honors Reader for their committee. Students will need to secure all three readers, including their signatures on the Prospectus Approval Form, before they will be officially registered in the thesis course. Directions are provided on the Prospectus Approval Form.

NSM-Specific Thesis Defense Deadlines and College Approval Information

• NSM students are required to follow the formatting guidelines for their manuscript as provided on the NSM Senior Honors Thesis Guidelines page.
• Defense deadline: Two weeks before the last day of class in the semester.
• After their successful defense, NSM students will make revisions to their thesis as indicated by their thesis committee and submit their Final Defense and Evaluation form to Dr. Bettinger.
• NSM students are no longer required to submit their thesis to the NSM Dean's Office for review.
• Once the thesis revisions are approved by their thesis director, NSM students will submit the final thesis pdf to the Senior Honors Thesis Electronic Submission Form by the last day of the term.

Please visit the Defense and Graduation page for additional reminders and a checklist. There are no bound copies of the thesis required for the Honors College. However, all students who complete the senior honors thesis are welcome to submit a bound copy to the Honors College for display in the Estess Library.

Thesis Representatives

Dr. Rikki Bettinger
Senior Honors Thesis Director
rrbettin@central.uh.edu