The Process of Conducting a Senior Project

The basic steps in the process of completing a senior project are as follow:

1. Develop the idea/topic and identify the major professor.
2. Register for 4510 Senior Honors Thesis in major department.
3. Make an appointment with the University Writing Center.
4. Prepare Project Proposal.
5. Gain approval of proposal and conduct the project.
6. Submit final project report to major professor.
7. Schedule presentation of completed project.
8. Final approved copies of project to major professor and COB Honors Program Director.

Getting Started

For some students the hardest part of the process is determining what to do and with whom to do it. If you have a clear idea you believe represents an interesting and useful topic your task is to identify a faculty member who agrees that your intended project has merit, and who is willing to serve as your major professor. If you are at a loss for a topic, talk with professors in your department, or in the college, both for ideas and to gauge their potential interest in directing your project. In some cases you will find that faculty members have specific project topics in mind which may interest you.

If you cannot think of anyone on the faculty whom you might approach, seek the assistance of the COB Honors Program Director. The University Writing Center and the Office of Student Research also provide assistance on developing research ideas and on research methodology.

Project Proposal

Once you and your major professor have agreed on a general idea, the next step is to develop the topic and scope of your project in a formal proposal. This proposal should include:

1. justification of the significance of and need for the proposed project;
2. a clear statement of the problem to be addressed (and hypotheses to be tested, if appropriate);
3. a description of the methods and procedures to be used;
4. supporting bibliography.

The proposal should be submitted to the major professor as soon as possible after the student and professor have agreed on a topic. Once the proposal is approved by the major professor, it becomes the contract between student and professor concerning requirements for project completion. It should be noted that completion of the project does not assure the student an "A". The actual grade will reflect the major professor's assessment of the completed project's overall quality.

Some Suggestions on Timetable

As noted above, the senior project earns 3 semester hours credit. However, students are strongly encouraged to begin development of and work on their senior project as soon as possible during their senior year, or even at the end of your junior year. The actual time required for project completion will vary according to the specific project, but in general students should not wait until the start of their final semester to begin the senior project. Sufficient time must be allocated for satisfactory completion of the project. In addition, sufficient time must exist between acceptance of the final project by the major professor and the student's graduation for the student to schedule a formal presentation of the project in an honors program seminar.

Formal Presentation

At the end of the semester in which the project is completed the student will coordinate with the director of the honors program to set a time for formal presentation of the project to interested honors faculty and students. The presentation, approximately 20-30 minutes in length, should be sufficiently developed to provide the audience with a clear picture of the study's purpose, significance, methods, results and conclusions.

Students Pursuing University Honors

Students working toward graduation with university honors are required to have a faculty member from outside their department serve as a second reader on the senior project.

Title Pages and copies

SAMPLE THESIS COVER PAGE [PDF}

The title page for the honors thesis is required in a specific format. The major professor and COB Honors Program Director (and second reader and University Honors Coordinator if appropriate) sign the title page, indicating satisfactory completion of the project.

A minimum of three copies is required, one for the major professor and one for the COB Honors Program Director. Two copies should be unbound and free of stapling or punched holes. A bound copy will be placed permanently in the Appalachian State University library.

Belk Library retains one copy of each undergraduate honors thesis. The Library does not retain other types of undergraduate papers such as independent studies or directed projects. Before an honors thesis is accepted for binding, the paper must be cleared by either the University Honors Program or the College or Department where the student is receiving honors credit.

The paper must conform to certain minimum standards in order to be accepted for binding. These standards include:

• The title page must be arranged in the prescribed manner with all the pertinent information included. See sample (pdf) . Theses with incomplete title pages will not be accepted for binding. It is the department's responsibility to be sure each thesis has a complete title page before it is released and conforms to all formatting requirements. (See checklist for Departments).
• The copy of the thesis sent to the library for binding should be on good quality paper. ASU watermark paper is recommended and may be purchased at the Campus Bookstore or is available from the Honors Office by the sheet.
• All copies of the thesis must be printed by the student. It is recommended that the student bring one copy to the honors office for approval before printing the final copy or multiple copies.
• The thesis should have at least a one inch margin on the left side in order to be bound properly. Charts, graphs, photographs or other illustrations should also have adequate margins. If materials such as maps, diskettes or audio tapes need inclusion, arrangements can be made to have special enclosures made for these items.
• The student or his/her designee must call and make an appointment to deliver the thesis to the University Honors Programs Office, which is located in East Hall.
• The copy delivered to the University Honors Programs Office for binding must be loose pages, correctly collated in a box, manila envelope or other protective enclosure. Do not use rubber bands, paper clips, grommets or spiral binders or any method that requires punching holes in the paper.
• The Library copy of the thesis is bound in brown with gold lettering. The charge for binding this copy is paid by the Library. Additional copies will be bound identically to the library copy unless the student wishes a different color binding. This must be indicated ahead of time. The Honors Office will have color samples available. Personal copies will be paid by the student at the University Cashiers Office in the John Thomas Building. A receipt from the Cashier's Office will be presented to the Honors Office as proof of payment for personal copies. If extra copies are to be mailed off campus and/or delivered to departments, a complete name, address, and phone number is to be provided at the time the thesis is delivered to the Honors Office.
• Academic departments or colleges desiring extra copies of a student's thesis may pay for these copies using their departmental budget code. Please have this budget code available for the Honors Office when the theses are delivered to the Honors Office.

Completed theses are delivered by the Honors Office to the Belk Library for binding. Binding shipments are every three weeks. The student will be notified when personal copies are ready. Personal copies will be picked up at the Honors Office. Belk Library will mail copies that need mailing and will send Departmental copies via campus mail.

Additional questions may be referred to:
Heltzer Honors Program Office
828-262-2083