Requirements for pursuing Honors Work (as stated in the University General Catalog):
 

· Honors Work may be pursued by any student who is a degree candidate in the College of Arts and Sciences whose major or program is administered by a department or an administrative committee within the College.
 

· A student who has completed at least 80 credit hours, but has not yet entered upon the work of the last two semesters, and who has a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 and a grade point average in the major of 3.50 may apply through the major department or program committee for admission to Honors Work.
 

Your personal goals for pursuing Honors Work will be varied. Most students consider Honors Work to be excellent preparation for graduate school and as an additional way of making graduate school applications more competitive. If you are interested in pursuing departmental Honors Work, consult the departmental guidelines for Honors Work if they are available. The following outline will help you.
 

Spring Semester - Junior Year:
 

· As soon as possible, meet with your academic advisor and department chair who will be able to help you clarify your plans, identify your area of interest and help to identify an Honors Project Mentor from your department who will ultimately supervise your Honors Work. A mentor must be a full-time VU faculty member within your department or program who will agree to serve as a Project Mentor.
 

· Working with your Honors Project Mentor, decide on a research idea, a topic which will be challenging and original and appropriate to an existing departmental discipline, specialty, or interest. Some departments keep copies of Honors Work from former students and the Dean's Office has developed a file of previous completed Honors Projects for review.
 

· Pick up an Honors Work Application from the Dean's Office or at the Lumina Futures presentation in the Spring Semester (date varies).
 

· Complete the proposal form with your Honors Project Mentor. Be sure to include the projected expenses request.
 

· The prospective Honors student will need to prepare a projected schedule of work including any literature review or preparations to be carried out over the summer.
 

· The student will submit to the Scholarship and Advising Committee a plan of studies for the Fall and Spring of his/her senior year. It will include no more than 12 credits each semester in addition to the 3-credit courses Honors 497 Fall and 498 Spring, bringing the total credits to no more than 15 each semester.
 

· Return the completed application to the Dean's Office no later than 12:00 p.m. on the third Monday of April.
 

· A committee of three members of the College of Arts and Sciences Committee on Scholarship and Advising will read the proposal and meet together in order to prepare a summary page of comments and suggestions. One member of the committee will meet with the student and his/her Honors Project Mentor in order to discuss the summary contents. This member of the Committee on Scholarship and Advising will continue as a member of the student's Honors Committee.
 

Before the student leaves Valparaiso University in May of the junior year, all of the following must be submitted and approved:
 

1. Honors Application/Proposal.
 

2. Plan of studies for senior year, including summer plans.
 

3. Modifications in proposal, if suggested.
 

4. The chair of the department will have named the Honors Committee consisting of the Honors Project Mentor, the department chair, an additional member of the department or a faculty member knowledgeable about the project and the member of the Committee on Scholarship and Advising who is not a member of the student's major department.
 

If the proposed project is approved, the student shall be enrolled by the Dean's Office in the first semester of the senior year in course number 497.
 

Summer between Junior and Senior Year:
 

During the summer vacation period, consider the following Honors Project related activities:
 

1. Reading-related research and background information.
 

2. Correspondence and/or interviews with subjects or persons with information which will support your future work as well as staying in contact with your Honors Project Mentor.
 

3. Research experiences which have been planned as part of your project.
 

4. Summer course work which will support and increase your knowledge of your project and/or reduce the number of credits required during your senior year.
 

Fall Semester - Senior Year:
 

When the student returns in the fall of his/her senior year, the department chair will call a brief meeting of the committee in order to review the student's plans and progress completed over the summer. If the proposed project is approved, the student shall be enrolled by the Dean's Office in the first semester of the senior year in course number 497. The student will register (or will have registered during Advance Registration) for 12 credits, bringing the total credits for the fall semester to no more than 15.
 

The student will then proceed with the planned work during the semester and must present four copies of a preliminary draft of the project to the chair of the major department (or program) 10 class days before the beginning of the final examination period of the student's first semester of the senior year. With prior approval, the student may substitute for the completed draft a status report demonstrating substantial progress. In the case of a status report, the student should describe the work accomplished during the semester and the plans for continued work during the spring semester.
 

The committee will read the material submitted and the chair will call the committee together to meet with the student and discuss the student's progress to date. Subsequently, the committee will agree on a grade for the work completed, and the chair will then communicate the grade to the student. If the project committee affirms the likelihood that the student will be able to conclude an exceptional piece of scholarship by the end of the following semester, the student will be admitted to Candidacy for Honors. A grade of 'A' or 'A-' will be given to the student for the work undertaken in the Fall semester. This grade will be turned in to the Registrar by the department chair.
 

If the project has not progressed as has been expected, the student will be given a grade for Independent Study and denied admission to Candidacy for Honors.
 
 
 

Spring Semester - Senior Year:
 

If admitted to Candidacy for Honors, the student shall be registered by the Dean's Office during the second semester of the senior year in course numbered 498. The student will have registered for the remaining 12 credits during Advance Registration during the Fall semester. The student will have no more than 15 credits for the final semester of his/her senior year. The student will complete the Honors Project begun in the previous semester, addressing suggestions by the project committee.
 

Fifteen class days before the start of final exams the student will deliver four copies of the completed project report to the chair of the major department or program. The department chair will schedule the project committee for an oral examination of the Honors Candidate. The committee will assess the knowledge of material covered in the independent Honors Project and any other closely related matters deemed appropriate by the committee. The Honors Candidate shall be notified four days beforehand of the related matters to be included in the examination. A student enrolled in Candidacy for Honors is excused from all regular final examinations during the last semester of the senior year. The Dean's Office will notify all professors that the Honors Work student will not be required to take final examinations.
 

If, in the opinion of the committee, the candidate is worthy of Honors, the chair of the department or program will recommend to the Dean that the student be awarded 3 credit hours with a grade of 'A' or 'A-' for the course numbered 498 and be graduated "with Honors in (the major field)." This grade will be turned in by the department chair to the Registrar. If the candidate is not deemed worthy of Honors, the project committee will recommend to the Dean's Office that the student receive 3 credit hours of Independent Study with a grade determined by the project committee.
 

The student who graduates with Departmental Honors will have his/her name listed in a special section of the graduation bulletin and will be introduced specifically because of the completion of the Major Honors Project.
 

Two copies of the final project will be given to the Dean's Office for archival purposes.
 

Important Reminders and Considerations:
 

1. There is a limitation of 12 credit hours for the Fall and Spring semesters of the senior year with 3 credit hours Fall and Spring semesters honors work. NO MORE THAN 15 CREDIT HOURS ALLOWED.
 

2. In unusual circumstances where research is pursued off campus (in the summer between the junior and senior year), the student must follow the early steps in preparation for research and committee meeting in the spring semester of the junior year. AT NO TIME WILL HONORS CANDIDACY BE CONSIDERED FOR WORK ALREADY COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE SPRING SEMESTER OF THE JUNIOR YEAR.
 

3. Students whose major requires completion of a senior project or who are preparing a major independent study in Christ College may pursue Honors Work in lieu of the departmental senior project course after securing permission from the department chair or Dean.
 

4. Please Consult Departmental Guidelines for Honors Work, if available.