Honors work involves independent study under the supervision of a faculty member in the student's major field. This independent study should be outstanding scholarly work appropriate to the academic standards of the student's major discipline, and should be completed in two 3-credit hour semesters or three 2-hour semesters. The results of the Honors work are summarized in a paper and presented orally before an examining committee. Generally, students do their work in departmental honors in their last two semesters. However, a student may begin in the junior year. In fact, students should be encouraged to begin their Honors work as soon as possible. Two semesters is not enough time for some projects.

The specific project and its content and methods are the choice of the faculty supervisor and student. Research projects are appropriate in all disciplines. Other types of scholarly activity, such as artistic performances or exhibitions, creative writing, or applications of research, may satisfy the requirements of the project in some disciplines. In all cases, an oral exam and a written record, such as a research paper or project description, are required.

Students with at least 74 semester hours credit who have a quality point average of 3.2 or better on all college work attempted (including transfer hours), who have completed [will complete] at least 30 semester hours of work with a 3.2 or better quality point average at UNCW, and who are recommended by the major Department Chair are eligible to enter the Departmental Honors Program. Academic departments of schools may require a higher grade point average for eligibility for Departmental Honors in their discipline. Students determined ineligible to enroll may appeal the decision to the Honors Advisory Council through the director of the Honors Scholars Program.

1. In the semester(s) before departmental honors work may begin, students considering departmental honors work should discuss project ideas with faculty members in the major department. A faculty supervisor and a topic for the project should be selected in advance of the student's formal application.

2. The student obtains Honors Program Application Form (DH-1) from the Honors Scholars Program Office and submits the completed form to the Honors Scholars Program Office. The director of the honors program notifies the student of his or her eligibility. In cases of a determination of ineligibility, the director advises the student of the possibility of appeal to the Honors Faculty Advisory Council.

3. Upon the determination of eligibility to enroll, the Honors Scholars Program sends a copy of the Application Form (DH-1) and a Permission to Enroll in Departmental Honors Form (DH-2) to the student's faculty honors supervisor for completion. Form DH-2 is a description of the project topic and the membership of the examination committee.

4. The student and faculty supervisor select an examination committee. It will consist of four faculty members including the faculty supervisor, two other faculty members from the student's major discipline and one faculty member from a discipline other than the major. The faculty supervisor completes form DH-2, obtains the signatures of the members of the examining committee and the department chair. The faculty supervisor then forwards DH-2 to the appropriate Dean for signature.  Committee members must be members of the UNCW Faculty as defined in the Faculty Handbook. However, at the recommendation of the faculty supervisor and the department chair of the student’s major department, Honors may approve one non-tenured (or non-tenure track) faculty or staff member who has particular expertise in the subject area for full membership on the committee.  Signatures on the DH-2 form by the chair and the faculty supervisor indicate recommendation.  The faculty supervisor must be a tenured (or tenure-track) faculty member in the student’s major area.

5. Upon approval, the Dean forwards DH-2 to the director of the Honors Scholars Program, who informs the Registrar to enroll the student in honors work. The Registrar records the enrollment and returns the completed DH-2 to the Honors Program. The Honors office sends a copy of the Permission to Enroll in Departmental Honors Form DH-2 to the student, the faculty supervisor, and the department chair.

6. The Honors Scholars Program director assigns an Honors Council member to the project to assist the process in its formal aspects.

7. After the first semester of 499, the Registrar automatically enrolls the students in subsequent 499 semesters. No additional paperwork is needed. Registration for 499 is not done through SEALINE.

Ultimately, the honors project is the student's responsibility. The scholarly work and written thesis are to be carried out by the student in consultation with the faculty supervisor. Please see the guidelines for the form of the thesis below. Though the faculty sponsor, the Honors Council representative and the Director of the Honors Scholars Program are available to assist the student at any point, it is the responsibility of the student to know and meet all appropriate deadlines.

The supervisor is responsible for guiding the student in the selection of a worthwhile and feasible project that can be completed in the time available. To ensure successful completion of a project, the supervisor should arrange for regular meetings, perhaps once a week, to discuss the student's progress. The supervisor should address failure to make satisfactory progress promptly. The faculty supervisor is responsible for setting the date of the oral examination and for determining the grade, but may consider the advice of the oral examining committee. If the committee members should change, the faculty supervisor should notify the Honors Office.

The examining committee is responsible for: (1) reading the paper, (2) making constructive comments on the paper, and (3) providing a challenging experience at the oral examination.

The faculty representative from the Honors Faculty Advisory Council serves as a consultant for both the faculty supervisor and the student during all stages of the Honors project. The representative is responsible for ensuring that all formal requirements of the Departmental Honors Program are met and in particular that the final copies of the honors paper meet described requirements. The faculty representative from the Honors Council should attend the examination, but is not normally an active participant in the examination unless he or she is also appointed as one of the four members of the Examining Committee on Form DH-2.

When the student has completed the scholarly work and written the paper to the satisfaction of the faculty supervisor, he or she will provide a preliminary draft to the examining committee 16 days prior to the examination date. This gives the committee members the opportunity to read the paper and make comments. The committee members will forward their comments to the student no later than ten days before the examination date. The final draft of the paper should be provided to the committee members no later than two days before the examination date. The oral examination should be held no later than the last day of classes in the semester that the student is to receive a grade for the honors project. The student may bring 3 copies of the title page (on 100% cotton fiber paper) to the oral exam for signatures.

A completed title page signifies completion of a successful oral exam. Three copies of the title page (one for each copy of the thesis, one for the Honors Office), each signed by the faculty supervisor and the members of the examining committee, as well as the Honors Council representative, are required.

Upon receipt of the two copies of the completed final paper and the title pages signed by the committee, the Honors Council representative acknowledges by his or her signature that the proper format has been followed. After the Honors Council representative approves the final bound copies of the thesis and signs the title pages, the student turns the copies in to the director of the Honors Scholars Program. The director acknowledges their receipt by signing the title pages and forwarding a memo to the Registrar indicating that all requirements for departmental honors have been successfully completed. One copy of the thesis is held in the Randall Library General Collection while the other remains in the Randall Library Archives.

The bound copies are due in the Honors Office by noon on the last day of exams. The student should schedule a brief exit interview with the director at this time.

The faculty supervisor assigns the grade for 499 work in the same manner as all other grades, through a grade sheet submitted to the Registrar. However, a grade for all six credits of 499 work is submitted one time only at the end of the last semester in which the student is enrolled in the Departmental Honors Program and only upon completion of all the requirements and requisite Departmental Honors forms. No grade is recorded prior to that time. In the first semester(s) of 499, a grade of IP (in progress) will appear on the student's transcript.

If the grade is B (3.0) or better, the Registrar records six semester hours of 499 honors work in the area of concentration with that grade. If not, the work will not count as honors; a student receiving a grade of B- or lower will be given no more than three hours of 491 credit and will not graduate with honors. Credit hours received for honors work are used in the calculation of the student's quality point average and the hours are counted towards the 124 required for graduation.

1. The paper must be typewritten, double-spaced, on one side only of 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. The left margin, including the title page, must be 1 1/2 inch; the others must be at least 1 inch.

In order to graduate with departmental honors, a student must successfully complete the Departmental Honors Program and have a 3.2 quality point average over all college work at the time of graduation. A student who does not retain an overall average of 3.2, however, will still receive credit for the honors project, but will not graduate with honors.

If the student will be unable to complete the project as indicated on Form DH-2, the faculty supervisor should inform the faculty representative of the Honors Council and the director of the Honors Scholars Program as soon as possible and assign a grade of incomplete. Please inform the Registrar and faculty representative from the Honors Council and the director of the Honors Scholars Program as soon as actual completion date is known.

If a student is doing satisfactory work but has to withdraw, the faculty supervisor may assign the student a letter grade (A, B, C, etc.) and credit for an appropriate number of hours (0 to 3) of 491 Directed Individual Study. The faculty supervisor will state in writing to the Registrar the reason for the change, and notify the director of the Honors Scholars Program.

Departmental Honors is earned in the student's major area, e.g., the student graduates with departmental (or University) honors in psychology. If a student is double majoring, honors can be earned in either or both majors. To earn honors in both majors, the student must complete two honors projects.

Sometimes a student is majoring in one discipline and conducting research in a related area. An honor's project may be co-chaired by faculty supervisors in both areas (e.g., history and English). If the student is majoring in history, the student will graduate with honors in history. Thus, the history professor must be noted as the student's primary chair (e.g., the person who receives the 499 grade sheet). If the English professor is playing a key role in supervising the research, then both professors should be noted as co-chairs on the DH-2 form and on the title page of the honors paper. (Chairs from both departments should sign the DH-2 form). Because the student is earning honors in history, there should be three history professors on the committee (counting the co-chair) and the English professor serves as the co-chair and outside major department committee member. The student may elect to have an additional committee member(s) from English (or another discipline).

If the faculty supervisor changes after the student is already registered for 499, the chair of the department should notify the director of the Honors Program in writing.