Thesis Responsibilities: Student, Advisor, Committee

 Responsibilities of committee members:

a) give students some feedback on the tangible evidence of progress report students submit at the end of their first semester of thesis work (report should be submitted by students the week before finals; feedback should be returned by the end of the first week of the subsequent semester);

b) participate in the student’s thesis defense at the end of the second semester of work after reading the student’s submitted thesis (thesis should be submitted by students to all the members of the committee at least a week before the defense);

c) evaluate the student’s thesis using a rubric provided by the Honors Director following the defense.

Responsibilities of thesis advisors:

a) all of the committee members responsibilities listed above;

b) monitor student’s progress using proposed timeline to completion provided in approved proposal;

c) update the Honors Director of any significant changes to the plans outlined in the proposal (such as a significant change in the number of pages in the final thesis or a change in the scope of the student’s research, for example);

d) attend the Honors Thesis Launch with your student on the 2nd Wednesday of the semester;

e) hold regular, substantive meetings with student throughout the semester to discuss tangible evidence of work produced by the student;

f) provide the Honors Director with mid-term and final grades for HNRS 4993-01 Honors Thesis I and II based on tangible evidence of work provided by the student;

g) advise the Honors Director by the end of the semester whether the student is on track to finish their thesis in the subsequent semester;

h)  attend the Honors Showcase that will be held two weeks before finals week in the second semester and rehearse a 7-minute PowerPoint presentation with the student and the Honors Program Director no later than the Friday previous to Showcase;

Student Responsibilities

a) follow your proposed timeline to completion;

b) update the Honors Director of any significant changes to the plans outlined in your proposal (such as a significant change in the number of pages in the final thesis or a change in the scope of your research, for example);

c) enroll in HNRS 4993-01 Honors Thesis I for the first semester (the Honors Director will be the instructor of record for that course and will clear you to enroll, but your thesis advisor will be the actual instructor working with you and assigning you a grade for the course);

d) attend the Honors Thesis Launch with your thesis advisor on the second Wednesday of the fall semester;

e) produce tangible evidence of work throughout the semester and have regular substantive meetings with your advisor to discuss that work;

f) email the Thesis Director and all the members of your Honors Committee(including the Honors Director) tangible evidence of the work you’ve completed by Friday of the week before finals updating us on the progress you have made with respect to your proposed timeline (paste your proposed timeline into the email and provide commentary);

f) enroll in a second semester of thesis study ONLY if you plan to finish your thesis that semester;

g)  attend the Honors Showcase planning meeting that will be held two weeks before the Showcase when you will present (date TBD);

h)  plan to present your Thesis at the Honors Showcase that will be held one week (Fall) or  two weeks (spring) before finals week and rehearse a 7-minute PowerPoint presentation with your faculty sponsor and the Honors Program Director no later than the Tuesday (fall) or Friday (spring) previous to Showcase;

i)  if you plan to graduate at the end of the semester when you finish your thesis, schedule a thesis defense that all of your committee members can attend by the end of the week when the Showcase planning meeting is held; if you plan to graduate after the semester in which you finish your thesis, plan to schedule your defense during finals week of that semester;

j)  submit a digital copy of your thesis to the members of your thesis committee so that they have at least 7 days to review it before your scheduled thesis defense.