Honors

The Honors Thesis Application for Fall 2024 will be due on Friday, April 5th! 

Eligibility*

Junior Global Studies majors with a minimum GPA in the major of 3.5 and cumulative GPA of 3.3 are eligible to apply.

*Note Regarding Eligibility

Students with cumulative GPAs below 3.3 but for whom it is mathematically possible to achieve a 3.3 by the end of the first semester of the honors seminar may be allowed to provisionally enroll in GLBL 691H. These students must petition the Assistant Dean for Honors, Dr. Gabriela Valdivia, for permission to enroll in the seminar. If a student’s cumulative GPA drops below 3.3 or if a provisional student fails to meet the 3.3 standard at the close of the semester in which GLBL 691H is taken, that student will not be allowed to enroll in GLBL 692H and will not be eligible to graduate with honors. This is a university-wide rule, and there are no exceptions. Such students will receive course credit for the work completed, and may be allowed to continue their projects as independent study, with the approval of the Global Studies Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Time Commitment

An honors thesis is a substantial piece of original research. Students are engaged in creating their own academic scholarship. The intent of the thesis is to pose and answer a unique research question, or to shed new light on a topic that has previously received scholarly attention. It requires excellent time management skills and discipline, as it is a very self-directed process.

Most theses run 60-100+ pages and cite 20-50+ sources, so on top of the writing, there is a substantial amount of background research that goes into the thesis.

The thesis process may also involve travel, interviews, or other data collection and analysis, depending on a student’s topic and methodology.

Writing an honors thesis is something students need to be 100 percent committed to doing.

Prospective honors students are encouraged to look at theses from past years to get an idea of what the final product encompasses. Past theses are housed in the suite of the curriculum in Global Studies and are also available at the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library. Abstracts of recent theses are available via the Honors Program’s archive.

Steps to Receiving Honors

1. Identify a Thesis Topic and Potential Advisors

The first task for a prospective honors student is to identify a thesis topic . Students are encouraged to consider integrating a study abroad into honors work, as it provides an excellent opportunity for research that can be used for an honors thesis.

Once a topic has been chosen, the next step is to identify a potential thesis adviser. Any member of the UNC-Chapel Hill faculty is eligible to serve as a thesis adviser, as are retired faculty and post-doctoral fellows. Graduate students cannot serve as advisers . While the thesis adviser may come from any department at UNC, the adviser’s area of expertise should be consistent with the topic of the student’s thesis.

After identifying potential advisors, the prospective honors student must submit a two-to-three page prospectus in the spring of junior year (Note: Potential faculty advisors do not need to have agreed to serve as advisers by this point.)

2. Write a Prospectus:

• A brief description of the general theme or topic about which you wish to write. Please indicate both a geographical/country focus, as well as a substantive one. Consider the question that you are trying to answer or puzzle you are trying to solve in your answer.
• A brief discussion of the genesis of your interest in the topic. Was it a course you took? A study abroad experience? Some combination?
• If possible, comment briefly on the kinds of sources you intend to rely upon and whether you want to interview people relevant to the subject matter.
• Identify two faculty members (including your thesis adviser) who you know work on issues related to your thesis topic. Neither of the faculty members need to have agreed yet to serve as readers before you submit your prospectus. If you have not already taken courses with a professor whose expertise meshes with your area of interest, consider exploring the websites of other departments, which often include lists of faculty members and their research interests.