Sociology Honors Program

The honors program for majors in Sociology offers an opportunity for motivated and capable students to engage in more extensive interaction with faculty and to complete challenging individual research projects that will further their personal professional goals.
Application to the program: To be accepted to the program, students must have both a cumulative and major/program grade point average of 3.5 and must have completed SOCL 302 and SOCL 402. Interested students should apply in Spring quarter of the junior year or Fall quarter of the senior year.

Completion of the program: During Senior year, sociology honors students will take the sociology honors sequence (SOCL 477 for 3 credits in Fall quarter, SOCL 478 for 3 credits in Winter quarter, and SOCL 479 for 4 credits in Spring quarter). Students in the sociology honors program complete 10 credits of course work above the norm for sociology majors (for a total of sixty-five credits in sociology), and also complete a substantial thesis under the direction of a faculty member. The thesis will be subject to approval by department faculty and will be presented in an oral defense. In order to complete the requirements for sociology honors and receive a notation to that effect on the transcripts, students must also maintain a cumulative and major/program grade point average of 3.5. In addition, the grade received for SOCL 479 Sociology Honors Thesis Supervision must be an A or A-.

Procedures:

1. An interested student who meets the minimum qualifications for departmental honors should consult with the director of Sociology Honors during the month of April. In consultation with the Honors director and the faculty, a department member will be selected to be the thesis supervisor. The advisor does not have to be the student's academic advisor.

2. By the end of junior year or first quarter of senior year, in conjunction with the supervisor, the student will prepare a research proposal for the student's senior year. The "Honors director is responsible for approving the proposal, in conjunction with the student's advisor and at least one other member of the department." Students who are denied admission to departmental Honors may appeal that decision to the department chair.

3. The advisor will supervise the student's research, including the preparation of the research paper. A complete draft should be received no later than March 31st of the senior year. At this time, the advisor and student will select two (2) readers. One must be a department faculty member. The third reader may be another member of the department, from another department at Seattle University, or a professional working in the subject area of the thesis.

4. If satisfied with the final draft of the thesis, the supervisor will present the thesis to the readers by April 15th with a recommendation of approval for honors. Approximately two (2) weeks after the presentation of the thesis to the readers, the student will give an oral defense of the thesis paper before the supervisor, the readers, other interested faculty and students.

5. The committee will then either recommend that the thesis be awarded Honors or recommend that the thesis be awarded an appropriate grade as an ordinary senior thesis.