Honors Independent Research Proposal

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What is Honors Independent Research?

Honors Independent Research allows students to engage in research, creative activities or in-depth study of a specialized topic under the direction of a faculty sponsor. It is very important that the Honors Independent Research course provides an Honors academic experience that does not easily fit with traditional course work or goes beyond it in some significant way.

Honors Independent Research may be taken as a lower-level (HON 203) or upper-level (HON 303), depending on the needs and experience of the student and sophistication of the research. Honors Independent Research may also be taken for 1 to 3 credit hours, based on similar considerations.

Honors Independent Research may be used to prepare for the CE/T, but it cannot count as CE/T hours. Honors Independent Study will count as a lower or upper-division Honors elective.

 

How do I create and enroll in an Honors Independent Research class?

As Honors Independent Research will only count as elective Honors hours and will not count towards your major or minor, you need to be sure that you have the right academic needs for structured independent research. If you believe that you do, you should discuss these needs with a faculty member in your area of interest to gauge the potential benefit of this research/activity for your overall academic/career goals.

If you move forward with your project, then this faculty member will likely become your Faculty Director for the Honors Independent Research course. You will need to develop with your Faculty Director the specific topic, project, goals, method of evaluation and other information that will be part of your syllabus. Please see the Honors Independent Research Application for the specific information required.

You should also meet with the Honors College Academic Adviser to discuss how Honors Independent Research hours affect your plan for completing the Honors College curriculum. As you meet with your Faculty Director and Honors College Academic Adviser, discuss whether you should enroll for one, two, or three hours. These choices will be determined by the complexity of the proposed project and by the time you are planning to devote to the project.

 

When is the deadline to submit the Honors Independent Research Application?

Students should contact the Honors College's Academics Director during the priority registration period to begin the application process to enroll in an Honors Independent Research course for the following semester. The application form with all required information and signatures must be submitted to the Honors College one week prior to the last day to enroll in a course in the given semester you would like to enroll in the Honors Independent Research course. This deadline for each semester will be on the Honors College website and will be sent to all students via their campus email.

 

Submit the Independent Research Online Application

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