All departments and programs with honors have two courses titled “Senior Thesis” or “Senior Research.” Students must register for these two courses beginning the first semester of their senior year. Students may start the thesis in the second semester of the junior year only if they receive permission from the Student Affairs Committee.
Candidates for honors must normally have and maintain cumulative (grade point) averages of 3.00 and averages of 3.20 in the honors department and must fulfill such other requirements as may be established by the department with the approval of the Student Affairs Committee.
If a faculty member believes a student to be capable of pursuing an honors designation but the student’s GPA falls below the college or departmental required minimum GPA, he/she may submit two letters of recommendation supporting the project to be approved by the Student Affairs Committee by April 1st of the student’s junior year. One of those letters must be from the proposed thesis adviser and the other from the Department Head/Program Chair. Smaller programs may ask their advisory committee members to write a letter on a student’s behalf. Students should make this request by submitting to the Student Affairs Committee a General Petition and accompanying letters of support.
After the first semester, a student who has earned an “A” in the thesis or research course may be nominated by his or her supervisor for departmental honors. Nominations must be submitted to the Student Affairs Committee before the end of the third full week of classes in the second semester of work.
Each thesis or research report must be judged by a committee of at least three members including the adviser, another member of the honors department, and a member from an outside department. Honor candidate advisers will electronically submit the final thesis report directly to the Office of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs.
Note: Students wishing to do honors in a department different than their major or on an interdisciplinary topic spanning two departments should consult with their adviser or the registrar for additional information about requirements and special permission.
Forms can be accessed on the MyLafayette portal under “Manage My Courses" and should be submitted by the faculty supervisor directly to the Office of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs (Scott Hall or heageled@lafayette.edu).