Guidelines for Contracting a Senior Honors Research Essay
- A student may negotiate a contract with a faculty member to complete a senior research project in an honors seminar or a regular course. The faculty member alone determines whether or not he or she wishes to be a party to this contract.
- The contract must describe in detail the research project the student plans to undertake.
- The student must explain how the planned project is related to the course content, and the faculty member alone determines the relevance of the project to the course.
- The student must explain how the project extends beyond the regular writing assignments of the course.
- The student must submit the contract to the A&S Honors Coordinator by the end of week four of the term. If the contract is not approved, the student will have two more weeks to revise the contract.
- The student must complete a research essay with an explicit thesis, evidence, analysis, citations, and bibliography. The essay must involve 15–25 pages beyond the writing assignments of this course.
- The final draft of this research project must be submitted to the A&S Honors Coordinator two weeks before the last day of classes (this due date supercedes the course deadline).
- The research project must be approved by both the course professor and an A&S Honors Committee member (or a designated expert).
- The student must receive a final grade of B or better in the course.
- At the end of the semester, the professor should report the completion of the contract to the A&S Honors Coordinator.