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: 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. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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