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Honors Thesis

Information for Thesis Directors

Overview

Students who pursue a senior honors thesis do so under the guidance and supervision of a UH faculty member in their discipline. The faculty member serves as Thesis Director on the student's committee and as Instructor of Record for the two-semester, six-credit-hour thesis coursework. Approval for enrollment in the program is required by the thesis director, the student's major department, and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards (OURMA).

Students start the process a full year before their graduation and in certain fields as much as two years in advance. We expect the students to be responsible for the majority of the paperwork associated with the process. Please also consult college-specific guidelines to ensure alignment with college procedures and expectations.

Information specific to UH faculty serving as a Thesis Director in the Senior Honors Thesis Program is included below. On behalf of OURMA, thank you for supporting undergraduate research!

Guidelines and Forms

Guidelines for Faculty Thesis Directors

  • This document provides an overview of the thesis process and outlines the expectations of the student and committee members.

Final Defense and Evaluation Form

  • After the student's defense and revisions, this form is signed by all three readers on the student's thesis committee to indicate successful completion of the thesis defense. The Guidelines for Faculty Thesis Directors discusses this step in detail on page 2. Students should review carefully the Defense and Graduation webpage for steps in completing and submitting their thesis.

Nominating a Student for a Thesis Award

Have you served as a faculty reader on an exceptional thesis project? The Honors College gives recognition to select students who have completed an outstanding Senior Honors Thesis. All majors are eligible for consideration. View past recipients of this award.

Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis Award

If you would like to nominate a student for the Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis Award, please send an email to Dr. Rikki Bettinger with a description of the creative project or research and its significance. In your nomination, please highlight the question or problem the thesis addresses, as well as its relative difficulty and its relative achievement. The language of the nomination should be in layman's terms insofar as possible. Should the thesis be selected, we will draw on your description when recognizing the students at the Honors College Medallion Ceremony. Please submit your nomination by the last day of classes in the spring semester.

Guenther Peace and Justice Award

Faculty mentors are invited to nominate undergraduate researchers for the Guenther Peace & Justice Award. This recognition goes to a student whose research offers new, perhaps radical, arguments and solutions to a longstanding critical issue. Eligible projects should have been completed during this academic year, and the undergraduate should have either successfully defended their senior honors thesis or have completed a research project with a written deliverable equivalent to two-semesters of rigorous study.

Nominated projects should delve into at least one of the following major concerns:

  • Human rights as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • International accountability, and justice for victims (the ICJ, ICC, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide)
  • Racial, religious, and/or ethnic equity

Fundamentally, the award is intended to encourage deep research into, and future careers that address, the paramount ethical issues facing our global community today. Without accountability and responsibility to counter impunity, without justice and equity accessible to all, without the right for human beings to exist in peace regardless of race, color, or creed, the human community will never reach its full potential.

The award is in the amount of $1,000. The Honors College and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards are grateful to Dr. Irene Guenther for establishing and supporting this award.

Senior honors thesis candidates interested in being nominated for the Guenther Peace & Justice Award should consult with their thesis committee about being formally nominated for this recognition; student researchers should consult with their faculty research mentor. Nominations should come from the research mentor or thesis director and include a brief discussion of the achievement, rigor, and scope of the research and its fit for the award. Nominations and a draft of the thesis or written research deliverable should be sent to Dr. Rikki Bettinger by the deadline of May 1.