Thesis and Capstone
To earn distinction as an Honors Program Graduate, students must complete a minimum of 21 credits, maintain a 3.2 GPA, and complete and defend either an Honors Capstone, Honors Thesis, or Alternative Project (approved by both the Dean and Campus Director).
These culminating projects encourage students to extend their classroom knowledge into individually devised and sustained experiences that also include an element of dissemination.
The Honors thesis invites students to create an independent research or creative project as the culminating celebration of their academic work at 辛尤里女优. With the support of faculty mentors, students are invited to develop and delve deeply into a topic of their choice to demonstrate their mastery of their subject. Regardless of major area, an Honors thesis involves choosing a question or an issue to explore more deeply. In many fields, this will be a research project with data collection. In others, it might be a case study or an examination of primary documents/texts. Creative approaches may research other artistic forms and/or conduct surveys.
Although this is to be a student-generated project, students will work under the guidance of a faculty mentor, with the project based on an idea the student had a significant role in developing. The thesis advisor, or chair, will serve as the student’s guide in this process. The thesis advisor and other committee members will help the student understand the appropriate research parameters for his or her field.
The Honors thesis thus celebrates our Honors students’ intellectual curiosity by giving students an opportunity to develop a sustained, evidenced-based argument that provides an insightful contribution to his/her critical, scholarly, or scientific field. On the whole, Honors students at schools throughout the U.S. engage in this process and overwhelmingly report it as a rewarding experience.
The first step in the Thesis process is completing your Thesis Contract. Once completed, submit it to your Honors Director. If you would like to make use of Docusign to collect signatures, your Honors Director can help you with this.
Thesis Timeline
Undergraduate research can be delightfully unpredictable, often requiring more time than first thought. For that reason, we highly suggest beginning your thesis two or even three semesters prior to graduation. You can begin by first identifying a broad research question and a thesis mentor who may help you narrow it down. We also encourage you to make use of the Honors Research Methods course to further develop your product. Note that students must submit their Thesis Contract within the first two weeks of the THS 3999 course. We encourage you to consider finalizing/submitting it even before you begin this course. If you are not enrolling in the THS 3999 course, we encourage you to submit the Thesis Contract the semester before you plan to defend your thesis.
All defenses must be scheduled prior to the last two weeks of class to allow for ample time to provide any necessary revisions to your committee. To give your committee ample time to read/review your thesis, we also advise sending it to them two weeks prior to your defense. Please copy your Honors Director on this email so they also have a copy. This means your thesis should be completed roughly one month prior to your graduation date.
Defense information
The Thesis Defense is the culmination of the Thesis project, where the student presents their research to their committee, Honors director, and other interested participants. This is the final step of the Honors program and allows students to showcase their expertise in their chosen subject. Each student will have approximately 20-30 minutes to give an overview of their research project, including research questions, methodology, results, etc. At the end of the presentation, your committee members and audience will have a chance to ask questions about your project and offer feedback.
Once all questions are satisfied, the Thesis committee will ask all audience members to leave the room while they discuss the qualities of your defense, talk through any suggestions or revisions they would like to see, etc. They will also decide if the thesis and defense merit Honors Program distinction. They will then call the student and audience back in to share the outcome of their discussion, including any suggested or required revisions for the thesis.
Because all defenses must be scheduled prior to the last two weeks of class to allow for ample time to provide any necessary revisions to your committee, we encourage you to set your final defense date and time by midterm of the semester you plan to defend. Contact Honors@ung.edu to begin the process of scheduling a room for your Capstone or Thesis defense. Note that your Honors director, assistant director, or the Dean must be present for your defense, in addition to your committee.
Presentation & Final Products
The length and scope of Honors Thesis papers vary widely by discipline, but they share a common characteristic in seeking to explore ideas and problems in creative and original ways. A successful thesis paper commonly runs 15 - 25 pages in length (not including the bibliography), but students should not feel restricted by this guideline. The length that is appropriate depends on the question, the norms for the discipline, and the requirements of the thesis advisor. In most cases, the appropriate length will approximate the number of words in a typical journal article in the field.
Formatting the final product depends largely on your discipline. We encourage you to follow the conventions in your field for citations, type, etc. The Works Cited page should be complete and in alignment with your chosen citation style. Outside of these field-specific conventions, we do request that all typefaces are at least 12-point font for easy readability and that you include page numbers on each of your pages. Finally, all submitted Honors theses should have a cover page that includes the following:
- Paper Title
- A section with the following text filling in your degree information - 'A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of North Georgia In Partial Fullfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Science/Art in (major) With Honors
- Your name and semester of the semester submitted
- Example - John Smith, Spring 2027
Insitutional Review Board Approval
Proposed research that uses human subjects must be submitted to the Institutional Review Board for approval.
The thesis chair should provide the student with assistance in navigating the process for seeking IRB approval. Students are advised to submit their proposal to the IRB at least seven or eight months before the projected thesis completion date.
HNRS 3000: Honors Research Methods
One helpful way to navigate the thesis requirement is to enroll in HNRS 3000: Honors Research Methods at least one semester before completing the thesis. In HNRS 3000, the instructor will guide students through the process of determining a topic, finding a thesis chair, researching, and writing the project proposal.
The Honors Capstone option aligns students’ academic and professional skills with their community and service passions. With support from both a community partner and a 辛尤里女优 faculty committee, students will work closely with a local entity to identify a challenge, provide solutions, and develop a project that enacts these solutions. Like the thesis, the Honors Capstone is student-generated in consultation with a local community partner. Students will work closely with the community partner to analyze policies, procedures, and challenges to see where the student’s skill set may be helpful. Together with their faculty advisors and the community partner, the student will propose and execute the project. Though the Honors Capstone is a much more hands-on project, it will also require some outside research to ensure the project meets the standards of the industry, business, non-profit, etc.
Capstone Timeline
Given that the capstone requires working with entities outside 辛尤里女优, we strongly encourage students to begin working toward the capstone at least two if not three semesters prior to graduation. Students should begin first by identifying and contacting a community partner and identifying an appropriate mentor. Students should then begin working with the partner to discuss potential projects. Note that students must submit the Capstone Proposal Contract within the first two weeks of the Capstone Course (HNRS 3200). We encourage you to consider finalizing/submitting your Capstone Proposal Contract even before you begin this course. If you are not enrolling in the HNRS 3200 course, we encourage you to submit the Capstone Contract the semester before you plan to defend your Capstone.
Community Partner
Identifying a community partner and contact is a crucial step in the capstone process. Students may work with a vast array of organizations including local businesses, non-profits, etc. The best community partners are often groups the student has already had sustained involvement with. Students should begin researching and made contact with potential partners well before their capstone semester.
辛尤里女优’s Academic Engagement offices offers a handy service-learning guide that may help in thinking through how to identify and develop a community partnership.
Students should work hand in hand with the local community partner to better understand the organization’s unique positionality, challenges, history, etc. From there, the student should collaborate with the organization to identify potential challenges they may be facing and what solutions the student might be able to assist with. After the student has research the challenge and offered solutions, he/she/they will take feedback form the community partner to decide upon the best course of action, which in turn becomes the Capstone. The student should be prepared to meet frequently with the community partner to discuss progress.
Presentation and Final Products
The final products for a capstone can vary widely by discipline and by organization type. At base, the final product should support the organization’s mission and/or move their work forward. The capstone could be the development of a new work process flow, the creation of publicity, and/or a business analysis. Strong capstone products both (1) draw on a student’s academic major and skills and (2) supports the work of the community partner. Students will also be expected to provide a 6-10 page summary of their Capstone experience.
To finalize the Capstone project, students must engage in a Capstone defense. The defense will include a 20 - 30 minute presentation that gives an overview of the student’s capstone including the development of the project, defense of the solution, final products, and outcomes. The student’s committee members (mentors, community partners, and honors administration will then be allowed to ask questions for up to 30 minutes. Please see “Defense Information” for more on scheduling your defense and grading.
Institutional Review Board Approval
Note: Proposed research that uses human subjects must be submitted to the Institutional Review Board for approval.
The thesis chair should provide the student with assistance in navigating the process for seeking IRB approval. Students are advised to submit their proposal to the IRB at least seven or eight months before the projected thesis completion date.
Defense Information
All defenses must be scheduled prior to the last two weeks of class to allow for ample time to provide any necessary revisions to your committee. We encourage you to set your final defense date and time by midterm of the semester you plan to defend. Please contact Honors@ung.edu to begin the process of scheduling a room for your Capstone or Thesis defense. Note that your Honors director, assistant director, or the Dean must be present for your defense, in addition to your committee.
HNRS 3500: Research and Innovation Practicum:
To support the development of your Capstone project, we encourage students to enroll in HNRS 3500 a semester prior to completing the Capstone. This course supports students in identifying a community partner, making connections, identifying questions, and writing proposals.
Students should seek a faculty mentor with whom they can work productively to complete the proposed project. The faculty mentor serves as the chair of the student’s Capstone and/or Thesis committee. The mentor also serves as an outside advisor who can offer a different perspective as the student works alongside a community partner. The student should meet frequently with their mentor to offer updates and receive feedback.
The best mentors are typically professors that the student has had a course with in his/her major, and who explored topics of interest to the student. Students should consult with their mentors to develop a reasonable timeline that accommodates the necessary work and which allows faculty mentors enough time to read and respond to drafts and project update. Note that a detailed timeline is a mandatory part of both the Thesis and Capstone Proposal Contracts.
Thesis/Capstone Chair Role
The Thesis and/or Capstone chair plays a crucial role in helping guide a student through the process of completing their culminating project. This mentor should begin by helping the student refine the project’s topic. For the thesis, this involves the selection of a research question that is interesting and weighty but that can be grappled with in the time frame available. For the capstone, this involves ensuring the student has worked with a community member to identify a project that is not only significant, but also doable and useful to the community partner.
It is okay to start with a broad issue; the goal is to choose an aspect of that broad theme that will be the focus of the project. After the question for the project is clearly defined, the thesis/capstone chair will help the student learn how to find out about previous work on the topic and appropriate approaches to the question.
The thesis/capstone chair should meet regularly with the student to discuss the project as it is unfolding, helping the student through hiccups and stumbling blocks to keep progress on schedule. The chair may feel free to communicate any concerns along the way directly to the campus Honors director. We ask students to turn in the final draft of their thesis or capstone two weeks prior to the defense so that any and all final issues may be worked out prior to the defense. Please copy your Honors Director on this email. At the defense, the thesis and/or capstone committee, in consultation with the Honors director, will decide whether or not the product and defense merits a passing grade, hence allowing the student to graduate with Honors Program Distinction.
In addition to the Capstone and Thesis options for Honors Program graduation, students may also complete these requirements via Capstone/Thesis Alternatives as approved by the Honors Program Dean and Director. Capstone/Thesis Alternatives must mirror closely the aims and objectives of the Thesis and/or Capstone project and must align with the student’s discipline. They must also not count as credit toward graduation in your major (one cannot “double dip”). Capstone/Thesis Alternatives should also incorporate a formal presentation component, much like the defense.
Previously approved Thesis Alternatives include:
If you have an opportunity that you think may qualify as an alternative thesis, please make an appointment to speak with your Honors Program Director and Dean for approval prior to embarking on the opportunity. Students with approved Capstone/Thesis Alternatives do not need to take THS 3999 or HNRS 3200.