To earn Departmental Honors, you must complete a research or creative project in your
major (or minor, with approval from the department chair or program director). This
is a collaborative partnership between academic departments – and their associated
colleges and schools – and the John V. Roach Honors College. The principal duties
of all partners in the Departmental Honors process are:
First steps
Talk to your Honors advisor about your Upper-Division Honors options: Departmental
Honors vs. University Honors
Declare your intent to pursue Departmental Honors (via the Honors College survey and
by telling your Honors advisor)
Find a professor in your major who is willing to supervise your project; or, if you
wish to pursue a project in your minor or area of emphasis, start by seeking permission
from the unit head (department chair or program director), then, if permission is
granted, find a professor in your minor or area of emphasis who is willing to supervise
your project
Talk to your supervising professor about the course requirements for Departmental
Honors in their department or program
Phase 1 (typically during junior year or first semester of senior year)
Enroll in the first required Departmental Honors course
Work with your supervising professor to identify 1-2 committee members (the required
number varies by unit)
Submit a Departmental Honors Registration Form to the Honors College
Complete the requirements for the first Departmental Honors course
Phase 2 (typically during second semester of senior year)
Complete the requirements for the second Departmental Honors course
Present your project in a public forum (in a venue and format determined by your college
or school)
Two weeks before final exam week, submit a complete working draft of your project
to the Honors College (via the Honors College online submission system) [Please note:
the purpose of this deadline is to guarantee that faculty committees and students
have at least two weeks to complete a final round of feedback and revision; however,
the Honors College strongly encourages supervising professors to set earlier deadlines,
to better facilitate the feedback/revision process.]
On the Monday of final exam week, submit your final document to the Honors College
(via the online submission system)
Help the student identify a meaningful and tractable topic, determine appropriate
methods of inquiry, identify 1-2 additional committee members (the required number
varies by unit), and develop a realistic timeline for completion
Assist the student as necessary in securing IRB/IACUC approval for projects involving
human/live animal subjects
Help the student understand/enact the iterative process of inquiry by setting appropriate
deadlines for completion of parts or drafts of the project and by providing timely
feedback at each stage–and by establishing clear expectations about when work is to
be shared with the full committee (vs. submitted only to the supervising professor)
Advise the student on formal details of the final product: organizational structure,
formatting conventions, and citation style (per the conventions of your discipline)
Attend the public presentation of the student’s project
Two weeks before the final submission deadline, after the student submits a full working
draft to the Honors College (via the online submission system), inspect the document
to verify that a full working draft has indeed been submitted, then communicate your
“yes” or “no” to the Honors College via the online system
Before the deadline for final submission to the Honors College, provide final feedback
on the student’s penultimate draft (in collaboration with the other member(s) of the
student’s committee), then review the final revised version of the student’s project
to make sure the student has made a credible effort to address all faculty feedback
During final exam week (no later than 5:00 pm Wednesday), after the student has submitted
his or her final project to the Honors College, indicate your summary assessment–either
to grant or deny approval–of the student’s Departmental Honors work via the online
system, along with any comments you wish to add
Determine the student’s course grade at the end of each semester’s work, in consultation
with the other member(s) of the student’s committee
Help the student understand/enact the iterative process of inquiry by providing formative
feedback at various stages of the project (per deadlines and expectations set by the
supervising professor)
Attend the public presentation of the student’s project
Two weeks before the final submission deadline, after the student submits a full working
draft to the Honors College (via the online submission system), inspect the document
to verify that a full working draft has indeed been submitted, then communicate your
“yes” or “no” to the Honors College via the online system
After the student submits the final project to the Honors College on the Monday of
final exam week, review the document and then submit your comments and summary assessment–either
to grant or deny approval of the student’s Departmental Honors work–via the online
system
Provide input to the supervising professor regarding the student’s course grade at
the end of each semester’s work
Make sure the required sequence of Departmental Honors courses is clearly understood
by students and faculty members in your unit
Sign off on students’ Departmental Honors Registration Forms, to ensure that the composition
of each student’s committee is consistent with departmental norms/guidelines and appropriate
faculty workloads
Maintain open communication with the Honors College, including suggestions of ways
that Honors might better support Departmental Honors students and faculty mentors
Provide a public forum for student presentations (in a format determined by each college
or school) during the spring semester but no later than the first week of April (in
advance of Honors Week)
Organize a process to determine which student(s) will represent the college or school
in the final round of the annual Boller Award competition during Honors Week (a campus-wide
competition for the best Departmental Honors presentation)*
Designate a faculty or staff liaison to communicate with the Honors College about
the public forum for Departmental Honors presentations in the college or school and
about the Boller Award process, including timely communication of the name(s) of the
college or school’s Boller Finalist(s)–no later than the Wednesday before Honors Week
Designate one faculty member to serve as a judge (and a second faculty member to serve
as an alternate judge) for the final round of the annual Boller Award competition
during Honors Week
* Each college/school is represented by at least one student in the Boller Finals;
additional slots are allocated – up to an overall limit of 12–based on the number
and composition of students completing Departmental Honors during that academic year.
Provides each department with updated lists of students who have declared an intent
to pursue Departmental Honors
Provides modest stipends to supervising professors
Communicates general goals and expectations for all Departmental Honors projects
Via the Honors College website, provides resources to assist students, faculty committees,
and department chairs (sample projects, answers to FAQ, instructions for scheduling
Departmental Honors courses, and other helpful documents)
Works with colleges and schools to coordinate public presentations of students’ work
Welcomes faculty and student feedback on how to enhance the Departmental Honors process
