Research

Research Opportunities

Participation in SAGES requires a Senior Honors Thesis—a valuable asset in job-seeking or to include in applications to graduate or professional school, and an important first step towards publishing your work. It is more than just learning the subject matter—it is a chance to be actively involved in one's discipline. Opportunities for off-campus research and presentations, such as attending and participating in academic conferences are also available.

For more information on University support of undergraduate research, please visit the Office of Research & Creative Scholarship’s student resources page here.
 

Research Requirements

To graduate as a J.N. Andrews Honors Scholar, the Honors student will complete the following steps culminating in the Senior Honors Thesis:

1.     Take HONS 398 Research Pro-Seminar (No later than fall of junior year).
2.     Connect with a faculty member (primary advisor) who will oversee the research/creative activity.
3.     Register for HONS 497 Senior Honor Thesis—a minimum of two credits.
4.     Prepare a proposal with the help of a primary advisor (and an optional secondary advisor).
5.     Obtain approval of the proposal by the Honors Council. Sign up for a proposal time in the Honors office. The student must make sure that his/her advisor can attend.
6.     Complete the Senior Honors Thesis no later than the final semester of the senior year.
7.     Present the project as a poster at the Honors Scholars and Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium no later than March of the senior year.
8.     Submit the final paper by the deadline appointed by the Honors office with the signatures of the primary and secondary advisors. Digital submission preferred.
9.     Present the project orally to an interdisciplinary audience at the Honors Thesis Symposium.

Forms and Links related to the Honors Thesis process here.
Deadlines can be found here.
For tips on all aspects of the Honors Thesis Experience and more details on requirements, please consult the Honors Thesis section of the Student Handbook here.

Honors Thesis Instructional Videos

1. Poster Session Tips here.
2. Final Thesis Session Tips here.

To Find Previous Theses at the Library

Login to the James White Library website (http://tvlk.syria-events.com/library)

Honors theses can be accessed online through the following:

1. Honors Thesis list: To view the list of Honors theses, select “Subject heading” on the first upper box . Enter “Honors thesis” on the second box.  Click “Search.” 
   Honors thesis lists will appear on the screen arranged by departments.  Clicking on any of these headings will lead you to the bibliographic records of the Honors thesis.   
2. Subject: Enter subject or topic using Library of Congress subject headings on the second box . From the generated list, select an area of interest.
3. Author: If you know the author of the Honors thesis, select “Author” on the first box and enter surname followed by first name of author, and click go.

Circulation Mode:
Honors theses can be checked out at the circulation desk for a period of three weeks.