Honors Thesis Guidelines

Students who want course credit for the honors thesis may register for the Honors Thesis course in the department of their major. The course number is 499 (following the department designator, e.g., BI, MH, AC, etc.), carries three hours of academic credit, and can be taken during either semester of the final year depending on the student’s work and/or credit load. Such registration is not mandatory. If the student signs up for Honors Thesis in the fall semester, he/she receives an Incomplete at the end of the semester, and the “I” is changed to a letter grade by the advisor at the completion of the thesis in the spring semester.

The thesis advisor assigns the grade for Honors Thesis credit. The grade for an approved thesis must be either A or B. The University Honors Committee does not assign or review any grades.

In the event that a thesis is not completed or approved, the registration for Honors Thesis must be canceled and may be replaced by an Independent Study in the same department. If a student is registered for Honors Thesis but decides not to complete the thesis, the student should notify the Honors office. The advisor is responsible for the procedure necessary to drop or withdraw the student from the course and to convert the hours to independent study if desired.

Written drafts should be prepared as early as possible. For example, an introductory literature review can be written even before the research is completed. Advisors and students should decide on deadlines for drafts of chapters and sections of the thesis and observe them. Failure of students to meet such deadlines is grounds for abandoning the thesis. A complete first draft should be finished four to six weeks before the submission draft is due (see below).

The penultimate draft is the completed thesis bearing the thesis advisor’s approval. It should be submitted to the second reader (with the Honors Office copied) roughly a month before you graduate. If the student has multiple thesis advisors, all must approve the submission draft. An advisor’s signature on the certification page indicates that the advisor is satisfied the thesis is the best it can be. We encourage students to submit the penultimate draft electronically to their second reader (copying the Assistant Director of the University Honors Program, Jason Lantzer, on the submission at jlantzer@butler.edu).

The reader: The penultimate draft is read by one faculty member decided upon in advance by the student and the student’s advisor. If the reader approves the thesis, they may still ask for revisions of the thesis, including mechanical errors (typos, punctuation, grammar, etc.) and minor substantive problems (organization, refinement of terminology, etc.). In such cases, the reader will sign their approval of the thesis and it will be returned to the student for correction.

The reader may postpone approving the thesis until they see substantive revisions such as major reorganization or to remedy insufficient content, errors of interpretation, etc. In such a case, the Honors Director should be notified, and the thesis will be returned to the student and advisor to discuss the needed changes. If there is a dispute, another reader may be assigned. The thesis must be acceptable to all readers before it is approved.

The reader returns the penultimate draft along with the mandated revisions to the student in either hard copy or electronically. They should also notify the Honors Office as well. The student then prepares the final version of the thesis according to technical specifications for binding, including the signed cover sheet (signed by their advisor, second reader, and the Honors Director).

Since 2016, students will be uploading their completed thesis to the library, rather than submitting paper copies. They may purchase additional copies to be bound and will also be asked if they wish to make their thesis available on the Digital Commons. This final version is due at least a week before graduation. If more time is needed, either the thesis author or their advisor should contact Dr. Lantzer.

Honors Program students are required to make an oral/public presentation of their thesis project. Please inform the Honors Office of the date of your presentation. Each thesis writer is required to give an oral presentation of the thesis project. The presentation may be made in any of several different settings:

• Undergraduate Research Conference
• A setting arranged by your department, such as a lecture/recital, performance, or departmental seminar
• A regional or national conference in your discipline. Learn more about travel-to-present grants for students.
• An alternative venue. Contact the Honors Program Office to seek approval for an alternative to the settings outlined above. For example, business majors have made presentations at their internship sites.