Departmental Thesis Requirements

Theses can take several forms. They can involve the analysis of qualitative or quantitative data. They can be theoretical or analyses of the literature. They can also be creative projects that do not follow a traditional research paper model. We encourage you to speak to your faculty mentor about how long you can expect your project to take, based on the type of project that you are doing. Every thesis must involve a written component. For some some suggested structures for thesis of the different types please see our department's thesis guidelines.

Each academic department submits the specific requirements that must be met for a successful Honors thesis in its respective major. If you are seeking more information on your department’s thesis requirements, please contact your Departmental Honors Liaison and/or the Honors Thesis Team in the Honors College.

Faculty Thesis Mentors

Career-line and tenure-line faculty are eligible to serve as faculty thesis mentors. If the faculty mentor leaves before the thesis is complete, either the student can find another faculty mentor or, if that is not possible, the Departmental Honors Liaison can step in as their faculty mentor to finish up their thesis.

Collaborative Theses

The Department of Sociology does not allow collaborative theses for Sociology or Criminology as a matter of course, but a student can seek an exception for individual circumstances. Please contact either the Sociology or Criminology Departmental Honors Liaison.

Joint Thesis

Many students have multiple majors, and we support students who desire to have their thesis “count” for two majors, assuming the topic connects to both majors. Other majors may have more stringent or more lenient expectations regarding thesis rigor and length that the student may need to meet as well. Theses in Sociology and Criminology have to fulfill our guidelines, regardless of the other major's requirement. The specific details of how the process will work will be different each time, depending on the students' majors and mentor(s). The student who wishes to use the same thesis for two majors will need to be proactive in working with the advisors and mentors. Please see our guidelines.

How does the Honors Thesis relate to other aspects of the major, like a Capstone Project?

There is no senior/capstone in sociology or criminology, but the thesis could relate to work a student has done in many substanstative courses in the department as determined by the student and their faculty mentor. Additionally, if applicable and desired students can take research course hours in addition to required SOC 4999 or CRIM 4999. This will be determined by the student and their faculty mentor.

Departmental coursework supporting Thesis

The potential options are: SOC 4998, SOC 3950, CRIM 3950.

Additional information for students

Please see a copy of the Department of Sociology's thesis guidelines for Sociology and Criminology majors.