HONORS

Director for 2011-12, Nancy Whittier

The honors program allows a student with a strong academic background to devote a substantial portion of their senior year's course work to an independent and original research project that will result in a thesis. Eligible students should apply in the spring of their junior year. (January graduates are on a different schedule.) Honors is a year-long course (430D for 8 credits) taken over both semesters of the senior year.

Honors Application Form for 2012

Eligibility Requirements

At least a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) through the junior year in all courses in the major
At least a 3.3 grade point average (GPA) through the junior year in all courses outside the major
At least one course related to the area of the thesis
Completion of 250 and either 202 or 203 is strongly recommended
Approval of the sociology department

Procedure for Applying

A prospective applicant meeting the qualifications for the honors program should consult no later than the second semester of her junior year with a faculty member in the sociology department who is willing to serve as her thesis adviser. The job of the thesis adviser is to supervise the planning, research, writing, and evaluation of the thesis. The thesis adviser must be a member of the Smith faculty in sociology. Because the adviser and candidate will work closely together throughout the duration of the program, a student must make sure that her adviser will not be on leave or on sabbatical during the relevant semesters. The thesis topic should be related to the area of expertise of the thesis adviser. Normally, any sociology faculty member may only direct one honors thesis per year. The student should also choose a second reader, who may be either a member of the sociology faculty, a faculty member at one of the other Five College institutions, or a faculty member in another department at Smith. The applicant must also meet with Nancy Whittier, the director of honors for the sociology department, to review procedures for applying to the honors program.

The thesis proposal and IRB proposal, where relevant, should be submitted to the Department of Sociology by May 1 of the student's junior year. This date is effective for honors theses to be written in 2009/2010. Most sociology honors theses require data collection, which in many cases must occur during the junior year or the summer before the senior year. Therefore, final approval of admission to the sociology honors program is contingent on successful achievement of any summer plans related to the thesis.

The application process consists of six steps on the student's part:

Request via e-mail to honors@smith.edu a "Calculation of GPA Requirements Form" to be sent to the campus box. Please include your ID number and campus box number with the request.
Calculate, with the thesis adviser, the separate grade point averages (GPAs) inside and outside the major for all courses on the form. Instructions on how to calculate will be sent together with the calculation form.
Submit to the director of honors in the sociology department (and subsequently to the Subcommittee on Honors and Independent Programs) a thesis proposal consisting of approximately four to five pages containing:

A description of the scholarly issue to be investigated and a brief review of the relevant scholarly literature
The specific research questions
An explanation of the proposed theoretical framework and methodology and evidence of experience with this methodology
Documentation of relevant background, preparation, special facility or skills necessary to undertake the proposed thesis (e.g., previous course work related to the thesis topic, quantitative skills, foreign language ability, etc.)
A working bibliography of all significant sources

Obtain the signature of the thesis adviser on the application
Apply for approval from the Smith IRB, if applicable
Submit the completed application and "Calculation of GPA Requirements Form" plus any request for funding from the Nancy Kershaw Tomlinson

Requirements of Students Admitted to the Honors Program

Students will work closely with her adviser in collecting data and writing the thesis. Normally, a draft of the full thesis should be submitted to the adviser and second reader no later than March 1.

Following submission of the final thesis, students will present their work in a public presentation attended by members of the sociology faculty and students. This presentation should cover the theoretical arguments and empirical findings of the thesis. Following the presentation, the student will address questions from the audience. Members of the sociology faculty may also ask questions of the student in an extended period after the presentation.