Faculty Advisors
Thank you for agreeing to be a thesis advisor for a student in the Honors College. Please access the links on this page to learn more about the proposal, the paper, the presentation, and the final grade. Each student is required to submit the Pre-Proposal Signature Page after meeting with you to identify a topic and research question or hypothesis. By clicking on the Pre-Proposal Signature Page, you will download this form and an abbreviated discussion of thesis advisor information entitled "Guidelines for Mentoring Students for the Thesis Requirement." After reading this material, please fill out this form and send it to the Honors Program in MMC 102.
If, at any point, you have questions about the Honors Thesis or the process we have established, please do not hesitate to call Karen Diller at (360) 546-9246 (diller@vancouver.wsu.edu). We appreciate the time and effort you are willing to spend with our students.
When a student approaches you about serving as his or her thesis advisor, the student should already have a thesis topic in mind. This topic may be examined in the context of regular library or bench research, a community service or internship project, a study abroad experience, or a team project. We suggest that you and your student develop 4-5 questions when discussing the proposed topic in order to generate a good discussion of possible facets of the proposed topic and approaches to examining it. Feel free to ask your student to complete further research before you sign off on the final draft of the proposal.
Research Question: Students are expected to develop a cogent statement of their topic. An hypothesis or research question should always be the focus of their project. An explanation of data to be collected and methods and materials to be used should be included, if appropriate. Projects that involve the creative arts should discuss the theme of the project and some bibliographic references to related work. In all cases, the student's proposal and subsequent paper must include published scholarship which relates to the question or hypothesis identified.
Bibliography: We are asking that students submit an annotated bibliography of at least 5-6 sources with their proposal. This step will ensure that sources exist which are clearly related to the proposed topic. Please check for the validity and applicability of the sources chosen by the student. As an expert in your field, you are in a much better position than the student to judge the usefulness of the sources identified by your student.
Proposal Application Form: Once the proposal is ready to be submitted to the Honors College, you will be asked to sign the Thesis Proposal Form. Included on this form are a series of questions related to the bibliography, whether or not the student will work independently, whether the project makes a contribution to the field, and whether three credits of work are reflected in the project. After answering these questions, please sign the form and have the student staple it to the top of his or her proposal. Thesis proposals are reviewed three times during the year. You will be notified when your student's proposal has been reviewed and accepted by the Thesis Review Committee.
The Thesis Advisor as Mentor
You may be approached to serve as thesis advisor for a student you have never met before, or, alternatively, you may be asked by a student you already know from a class you've taught or a project you have supervised. Each student will have different needs during this process. A good rule of thumb is to set up a regular meeting schedule that includes at least semi-monthly meetings to discuss the progress of the research. These regular interactions are key to the completion of a strong paper and intellectual growth on the part of the student.
Although it is certainly not ideal, you may also be approached by a student who has not allowed enough time to permit a careful examination of a research question. Students who have applied for internship opportunities, for instance, often are notified that they have been selected during the last few weeks of the semester. This situation requires that a proposal be quickly developed, including the research question to be examined. It has been our experience that students are often very anxious about the possibility of developing a research question when this scenario unfolds. We ask for your patience if you find yourself in this situation. Any assistance you can provide a student regarding appropriate scholarship to include in the bibliography and direction for the research will be greatly appreciated.
On the other hand, you may serve as thesis advisor for a student who will not be in Pullman for the duration of the Honors project. This would be the case for students who are studying abroad or who have an internship off campus. Establishing a schedule for regular email contact with your student is the best way of maintaining communication in this case.
Students who are faithful in communicating with their advisors have proven to be the most successful in completing projects and papers that reflect a true Honors experience. You are encouraged to establish such a schedule early on in this process.
The Written Thesis
Students are expected to write at least 20 pages, in addition to an appendix, if required. Students who complete an internship, community service project, or teaching project must keep a journal which appears in the appendix of their papers. Suggestions for the organization of the paper are available to the students in the Guidlines for Writing the Thesis. In all cases, the student's research should be placed in a larger context of the field in which he or she worked. For the traditional thesis, this context will be very obvious. For students completing an internship, community service project, or teaching project, the larger context will include scholarship related to the broader question being asked or the pedagogy that was utilized. We ask students to discuss what they found, discovered, learned, or uncovered.
A Title Page which clearly includes the student's name, title of paper, the semester the work is presented, your name, and your department is required. Following the Title Page will be the Advisor Signature Page . This form indicates that you have read the paper and find it satisfactory.
A Table of Contents with page designations for the important components of the paper is also required. A List of Figures and Tables is suggested for papers that include more than two diagrams. The main body of the paper should be at least 20 pages. If your student is preparing a scientific paper for possible publication, the paper may be of shorter length. All papers must be written in English. Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical correctness are very important. Careful proofreading on your part will ensure that your student's paper will receive favorable comments from the reviewers.
An appendix is optional unless the student's paper involves an internship, community service, or the teaching option. A student who has completed a paper which falls into one of these categories should type up journal entries and insert them into the appendix.
All papers must be bound with a spiral. Four final copies are due in the Honors College at the beginning of the week before the oral presentation. Honors College Faculty will be selected to read your student's paper and evaluate it using the Thesis Evaluation Rubric.
The Oral Presentation
Oral presentations of students' papers are held during the last week(s) of the semester. In the spring term, honors students must present their work as part of the WSU Vancouver Research Fair. This means that all papers must be near completion and in the final editing phase at least two weeks before the end of the semester. Students must submit the Oral Presentation Form one month prior to the date they intend to present. Please help your student plan ahead in order to reduce stress during the presentation time.
Two Honors faculty members are asked to read each paper before the presentations are held. We distribute the papers beginning on Monday of the week before the presentations begin, thus all papers are due then. The reviewers will be given the Thesis Evaluation Rubric to complete with space for comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the paper and the presentation. These comments will be sent to the student with a copy for the permanent file.
Many students will need coaching with their oral presentation. As you know, 15-minutes passes very quickly. They are encouraged to use visuals of some type and to practice their presentation numerous times before the final delivery. The 15 minute limit is firm, as there are numerous presentations scheduled each day. The presentation will be scheduled in a room with any requested AV equipment. Please make arrangements for a "trial run" of your student's presentation. Regardless ofthe topic of the paper, the presentation should be understandable by a general audience.
Students are made aware that their advisors must be in attendance at their presentations. In most cases, it is possible to find a time that does not conflict with your teaching schedule and other obligations. Students are free to invite friends, family, and other guests to their presentations. The presentations are open to the public.
Final Grade for the Honors Thesis
The Honors Thesis is a three-credit requirement which is graded Pass/Fail. It is our hope that every student will complete a paper and give a presentation that is a credit to the Honors College. You have the final word on the grade to be given to the student. No grades are entered until the Thesis Advisor is satisfied as to the quality of the final product.
You will be given a Final Grade Form at the beginning of your student's Thesis Presentation. You may, at that point, complete the form and return it to the Honors College. You may also take the form with you and submit it at a later point. If you wish your student to make further editing changes in the paper, simply do not return the Grade Form until these changes have been made to your satisfaction.
Students who have completed this requirement, including submitting four bound copies of the final paper and completing the oral presentation, will receive a letter from the Honors College explaining that the requirement has been satisfied.
Two faculty from the Honors College will be selected to read your student's paper and attend the oral presentation. These faculty will probably not be from your discipline. Therefore, every effort should be made by your student to make certain that both the paper and presentation can be understood by a general audience, unless the paper is intended for publication in a scientific journal. Their comments will be recorded on the Thesis Evaluation Rubric.
"PASS WITH DISTINCTION"
Each semester, a few students receive the designation "Pass with Distinction" on their papers. These are the papers that reflect scholarly writing, include the relevant literature, are analytical, well argued, well written, and exhibit potential for publication.
If you wish to nominate your student, you must prepare a typed statement which addresses the points made above. You may also wish to include information on the length of time spent on the project and other pertinent information. If the two Honors College faculty members who evaluate your student's paper and the presentation agree that the paper merits Distinction, it will be submitted to the Honors Council for review.
Members of the Honors Council represent a diverse cross section of the faculty on campus. They read the papers very carefully, using the Pass with Distinction Rubric, looking for substantive content, excellent writing, and potential for publication.The full Council meets in a special session to discuss the papers. Final determination of the Pass with Distinction Awards is made at that time. Students so recognized have a notation made on their permanent university transcript and are recognized at the Honors College Commencement Ceremony.
Previous winners of this award have agreed to have their papers made available through this web site. You can download representative samples in a PDF file.
The Thesis Evaluation Rubric is available as a Word document here. Thesis Evaluation Rubric.