Departmental Honors
In 1966, the faculty of Albion College established the Departmental
Honors thesis as a way for students to gain special academic recognition
from their major department. By action of the faculty in 1976, the
responsibility for Departmental Honors was assigned to the Honors
Director and the Honors Committee. Students who successfully complete a
Departmental Honors thesis graduate with "Departmental Honors." The
Honors Committee, with the approval of the Educational Policy Committee,
has established the following guidelines for Departmental Honors.
To get a printable copy of the Departmental Thesis Instructions and the
Registry Form click here
Albion College Directions
for the Preparation
and Submission of Departmental Honors Theses
A. Getting Started
1. To write a thesis for consideration
for Departmental Honors, students must
normally have an
academic average of 3.0 or higher in their major department.
Students whose academic
average is lower than 3.0, but whose work promises a thesis
of Honors quality may petition
the Honors Committee through their department for permission
to compete for Honors.
2. Students who decide to write a
Departmental Honors thesis must submit a
Thesis Registry
Form (see page 10) to the Honors Director no later than
September 12 of their senior year if
they plan to graduate either in May or August. For December
graduation the corresponding
deadline is February 28. On the form, students must indicate
the tentative title of their
thesis and obtain the signatures of each of their thesis
committee members.
3. Each Departmental Honors thesis
committee must consist of at least two
department
members: a primary thesis advisor and at least one additional
reader.
B. Department and Student Thesis
Responsibilities
1. Your thesis must be reviewed in
progress and in final form by your entire
thesis committee.
It is your responsibility to work with all members of
your thesis committee, not just your
thesis advisor, and to keep all committee members
informed of your progress by meeting
with and regularly submitting to them written drafts of
your work for comments and
suggestions.
2. Your individual department will
have the responsibility for supervising all
work potentially
leading to Departmental Honors.
3. Your department will establish the
criteria, special regulations, and
evaluation procedures
to be used for Departmental Honors work.
4. Your department will establish
the bibliographic form and the thesis
format.
5. The primary responsibility for
the evaluation of the Honors Thesis rests
with your
department (or your individually-designed major
committee.) For spring semester
graduation, its recommendation will be forward to the
Honors Committee for final approval
no later than April 1. If you have a disagreement with
the evaluation, this should be put in
writing and submitted to the Honors Director no later
than April 1.
6. If credit is given for work on
the thesis during the semester of
graduation, the grade will
represent an evaluation of the final product. A minimum
grade of 3.0 is required for the
thesis to be acceptable for Departmental Honors. If the
grade is lower than 3.0, the units
involved will be treated simply as units toward
graduation and you will not receive
Departmental Honors.
7. If no thesis credit is given
during the semester of graduation, the
departmental thesis
committee will forward its recommendation to the Honors
Director by April 1, in the form of
"acceptable" or "unacceptable" for Departmental Honors.
8. If thesis credit is given prior
to the graduation semester, evaluation may
be in the form of
either a numerical grade for the work accomplished during
that semester or a grade of P
(work in progress) if it is not possible to evaluate the
research project until its completion.
9. The only deadlines that the
Honors Committee is concerned with are for
the submission of
the finished thesis (see section C 1 below). Any other
deadlines necessary for evaluation of
your progress or for departmental approval are to be
established by the individual
department.
10. Departments are encouraged to find an
off-campus reviewer for each thesis. When
this is
done, the reviewer's comments will be only for
your personal benefit and will not be part
of
the "acceptance" aspect of the thesis.
C. Final Deadlines and Requirements
1. There are
two deadlines that students must observe in
submitting a finished Departmental
Honors thesis for spring graduation.
a. First,
by 5 p.m. on April 1 or the first working
day thereafter, you must submit to the
Honors Coordinator a copy of your Thesis
Approval Form (see page 8 below) with the
signatures of your committee members. The
Coordinator’s office is located on the
second floor of the Observatory.
b. Second,
by 5 p.m. on April 7 or the first working
day thereafter, you must submit at least
two final copies of the thesis to the
Honors Coordinator.
Failure to meet these deadlines will
result in the thesis not being accepted for
Honors for the impending commencement. It is
your responsibility to see that these
deadlines are met.
2. The thesis submitted to the Honors
Committee for final approval must be in
final form, free of
typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors. Any thesis
that does not meet these
standards will be returned, and, if the April 7 deadline has
passed, will be rejected.
3. You are strongly encouraged to present
the results of your thesis at Albion's
annual Elkin
Isaac Research Symposium.
D. Postponing Graduation to Complete a
Thesis
If you have enough units to graduate in
May (December) but are unable to meet the
April 1
(December 1) deadline for completion of your
Departmental Honors thesis, you may elect to
postpone your graduation for one semester in
order to complete your thesis, provided that
you:
1. obtain the written permission of your
thesis committee and submit it to the Honors
Director
in a timely manner. A form for this purpose is available from
the Honors Coordinator.
2. complete your thesis no later than the
following August (April), if you complete
all your other
graduation requirements in May (December). You will then
graduate with Departmental
Honors after the Summer (Spring) semester.
3. enroll for ½ units of thesis writing
credit for this final semester.
E. Thesis Writing Mechanics
Beyond the general guidelines above, you
must follow these additional instructions in
preparing two copies of your final draft for
submission to the Honors Committee.
1. Wordprocessing. The thesis must
be typed on a personal computer using word
processing
software so that the final draft can be printed on a laser
printer. Personal computers and
software that are adequate for this purpose are available in
all computer laboratories on
campus. The Instructional Technology office, in the basement
of Stockwell Library, provides
instruction for both beginners and advanced users on special
word processing features that
are particularly useful for writing a thesis.
2. Typeface. The text of the thesis
must be printed in a clearly readable
12-point typeface.
Exotic forms of type, such as “script,” are not acceptable.
3. Paper and Printing. The first
two copies of the thesis submitted to the
Honors Committee
must be laser printed on good quality acid-free paper. You
may obtain this paper from the
Honors Coordinator whose office is located on the second
floor of the Observatory. Any of
the high-speed laser printers located in the computer labs or
department offices on campus
is of sufficient quality for printing your final thesis
copies.
4. Color Printing. The
Instructional Technology (IT) office has a
color laser printer available in
the new 24-hour Computer Lab located in the basement of the
Ferguson Building. However
we strongly recommend that if you intend to include color
pages in your thesis that you
allow the IT office to assist you in printing these pages.
(Remember that each color page
you print will use up 6 units of your print quota.) To get
the assistance you need,
a. contact the IT office well ahead
of time to set up an appointment by
sending
an email message to
reservations@albion.edu).
b. work with an Instructional
Technologist to do the actual printing
(you can't just
drop off your thesis and leave--you will need to monitor the
printing yourself).
c. obtain the acid-free paper you will
need from the Honors Coordinator before
your printing appointment.
5. Figures and Graphs. Figures,
graphs, and illustrations may be created
using computer
drawing software and laser printed along with the rest of the
thesis or may be drawn directly
by hand on the same acid-free paper used in the rest of the
thesis. If figures are hand
drawn, photocopies of the original illustrations may be used
for the second thesis copy
submitted to the Honors Committee but the originals of all
figures, graphs and illustrations
must be included with the first copy. This original will be
bound at library expense and will
become a permanent part of the Albion College Library's
Collection. The second copy will
be bound at the expense of the Honors Institute and
permanently housed in the Honors
Center Library.
6. Binding Personal Thesis Copies.
You may have one or more additional copies
of your
thesis bound for your personal use. The first personal copy
submitted will be hard-bound
free of charge. Additional copies will be bound at cost (as
of this writing $3.50 for comb
binding and $10 for hardcover binding). All binding costs
must be paid in advance. If you
graduate in May and your personal thesis copies are submitted
by the April 7 deadline, they
will be back from the bindery and distributed to you before
graduation. If you submit your
personal copies for binding later than April 7 or for
December or August graduation, they will
be returned to you by mail.
7. Title and Thesis Approval Pages. You
must follow the required form for the title
page and
for the two approval sheets. Samples of these pages are
provided on pages 7-9.
8. Margins. Carefully observe all
margins: 1½ inches at the left, 1 inch on
the top, bottom and
right. A top margin of 1½ inches must be used for the first
page of the text, and for pages
beginning new sections or chapters. Make sure all graphs and
figures are drawn or reduced
by a photocopier so they fall within these same text margins.
9. Page Numbering
a. Begin separate sections or chapters
on a new page, unless your thesis
committee's directions are based on a system, such as for
submission for a
particular journal, where this is not done.
b. Assign a
number to each page, even though a number
might not appear on
that page, (e.g., in the case of a title page or a page
beginning a new chapter
or section.)
c. Use
lowercase roman numerals (e.g., ii or iv)
for all pages preceding the main
text. Pages preceding the main text are normally such items
as "Prefaces,"
"Tables of Content," "Acknowledgments," and the Title Page.
However, the
two Thesis Approval sheets are not considered a part of the
thesis and
therefore are not given a number.
d. Use
Arabic numbers for the main text.
10. Line Spacing. Double space the
text throughout except for long quotations,
or in the case
of tables and figures where a discipline's customary
writing style so allows.
11. Other Questions. Any other
technical questions concerning the
acceptability of the
production of the two final thesis copies
submitted to the Honors Committee should be
discussed in advance with the Honors Director.
12. Writing Guides. Finally,
remember that a high standard of accuracy
and clarity in written
expression is expected. When in doubt about style
or form, consult with your thesis
advisor and/or a standard manual of style such as
A Manual for Writers, Turabian;
Harbrace's College Handbook, or The MLA Style
Sheet.
F. Final Thesis Submission Procedures
1. Each of the thesis copies that you
submit for binding must be enclosed in a
separate
manila envelope. These envelopes may be picked up from the
Honors Coordinator.
2. On each thesis envelope, write your
name, copy number (#1, # 2, # 3, etc.), and
binding
instructions (hardcover or comb bound). Copy #1 is required.
It goes to the Library and must
be on acid free paper. Copy #2 is required. It goes to the
Honors Thesis library and must be
on acid free paper. Copies #1 and #2 will be hard bounded at
the college's own expense.
Copies #3 and beyond are optional and are for your own
purposes. They may be on any
kind of paper you wish. We will bind them for you and, when
they are ready, return them to
you or to whomever you designate on each envelope.
3. Get two rubber bands from the Honors
Coordinator and place one around your
personal
thesis copies and the other one around the copies the Library
and the Honors Institute.
4. Print two extra copies of your cover
page. Place one on the outside of your
rubber banded
personal copies group and the second on the outside of the
rubber banded Library/Honors
group. (Note that your title page must contain your first,
middle and last names.) The
original cover pages should be placed inside the envelopes.
5. The copies of your thesis for the
Library and for the Honors Institute must
contain the two
Thesis Approval forms.
a. Make sure that your committee
members have signed the first Thesis
Approval forms. Place these sheets under the title page
inside each envelope.
b. You do not need to gather the
signatures of the Academic Dean or the
Honors
Director on the second Thesis Approval forms. The Honors
Committee will
take responsibility for this. Instead, just place the
unsigned forms on top of
the appropriate envelopes.
6. You must pick up a Thesis Release Form
from the Honors Coordinator, fill it out,
and
include it on top of the Library packet under the extra cover
page. This form gives or denies
the Library permission to make copies, in part or in whole,
of your thesis for scholarly
purposes.
7. Be sure to double check each thesis to
make sure that all pages, including title,
approval,
diagram and text pages are in the correct order.
8. Remember to bring a check or exact
cash to pay for your personal thesis binding
costs at
the time you turn your thesis in to the Honors Coordinator.
[SAMPLE TITLE PAGE. The margins for
the title page must be as follows: left
margin 1½ inches, right margin 1 inch, top
margin 2½ inches. For the bottom margin, the
words “Albion College” must appear 3 inches
from the bottom of the page.]
CENTER TITLE IN CAPS
(If title has more than one line, double
space between lines.)
(4 spaces)
A Thesis submitted for Honors in
“Department”
(4 spaces)
Your Complete Name
April 1, 2003
(2 spaces)
Albion College
[SAMPLE APPROVAL SHEET NUMBER ONE.
The margins for this approval sheet must be
as follows: left margin 1½ inches, right
margin 1 inch, top margin 2½ inches.]
Doe, John. Thin-layered chromatographic
analysis of amino-acid derivatives.
(2 spaces)
This certifies that the thesis here
submitted to the Honors Committee has been
supervised and read critically by the
undersigned who recommend that the thesis be
accepted for Departmental Honors in
Chemistry.
(3 spaces)
___________________________________
Dr. Jane Smith, Thesis Advisor
Professor of XXXX
(3 spaces)
______________________________
Dr. Robert Jones, Committee Member
Professor of XXXX
(3 spaces)
___________________________________
Dr. Richard Roe, Committee Member
Associate Professor of XXXX
(3 spaces)
___________________________________
Dr. Margaret Reno, Committee Member
Assistant Professor of XXXX
(3 spaces)
___________________________________
Dr. Samuel Johnson, Outside Reader
Professor of XXXX
University of XXXXX
[SAMPLE APPROVAL SHEET NUMBER TWO.
The margins for this approval sheet must be
as follows: left margin 1½ inches, right
margin 1 inch, top margin 2½ inches.]
Doe, John. Thin-layered chromatographic
analysis of amino-acid derivatives.
(2 spaces)
This thesis, submitted by John Doe for
Departmental Honors in Chemistry, has been
approved by the Honors Committee.
(3 spaces)
__________________________________________
Dr. Larry Steinhauer, Honors Director
(3 spaces)
__________________________________________
Dr. Royal Ward,Vice President for Academic
Affairs
THESIS REGISTRY FORM: DEPARTMENTAL HONORS
Date_________________
Expected
Name___________________________________________Graduation
Date________________
Campus
Address__________________________________Campus
Phone_______________
Primary
Major_________________________Secondary
Major___________________________
Concentration(s)________________________________________________________________
Were you ever a member of the Albion
College Honors Institute? Yes___ No___
Tentative Title of Thesis (Please
Print):______________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Principal Thesis
Advisor__________________________________________________________
(Signature)
(Please Print Name)
Other Committee
Member________________________________________________________
(Signature)
(Please Print Name)
Other Committee
Member________________________________________________________
(Signature)
(Please Print Name)
List by semester the number of units you
have taken already or expect to receive
credit for work on the thesis.
Fall 20___ Units____ ; Spring 20___
Units___; Fall 20___ Units___; Spring 20___
Units___
If you are taking thesis credit this
semester, have you completed the required
blue Direct Study/Departmental Honors Form
for the Registrar's Office? Yes___ No___.
Academic
Advisor__________________________________________________________
Return this form to the Honors Coordinator,
Observatory 2nd floor, Extension 0614.
(Revised 8/00)
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