Requirements and Admissions

• junior or senior standing;
• a cumulative total GPA of at least 3.25 and 3.5 in Communication;
• completed the Communication core courses (COM 230, 240 and 250).

Interested students are encouraged to attend the information session held in the fall semester, as well as speak with the Program Director, Dr. Daniel DeJoy, regarding admission.  Ideally, students should be considering application to the program in the fall semester of their junior year.  Interested and eligible students should submit a letter to the Department Honors Committee stating their desire to enroll and briefly outlining one or two potential topics for their thesis research.   Letters of application are due by September 15.  The Committee will review applications and inform students of decisions by October 15.  Students may petition to take the Honors Seminar and independent study for thesis research concurrently, though such requests will only be granted in cases of unique merit.

Participants, working with a faculty honors adviser, will develop a plan of study which leads to the completion of nine credit hours of honors course work and a final research paper (25 pages minimum of acceptable quality).  Students must earn a "B" (3.0) or better in each honors course completed for the course to be accepted as part of the Honors Program, and the cumulative GPA of 3.25 and 3.50 in Communication must be maintained through graduation.

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Honors Research Seminar and Research Paper

Students will enroll in the Honors Research Seminar during the spring semester prior to their year of graduation (i.e., as second-semester juniors for those planning on a May graduation or as first-semester seniors for those planning on December graduation).  The seminar examines research methods and epistemology, as well as giving students an opportunity to work closely with others in developing their project.  Students will develop a detailed research plan and complete one draft chapter by the end of the semester.

Students will write their honors research paper under the guidance of a faculty advisor whom they choose as part of the honors research seminar.  Students take an independent study course (3 credit hours) with the faculty advisor during the following (fall) semester for completion of the research paper.  While students and advisors decide the timeline for research and drafts within the final semester independently, complete drafts are due two weeks before the final due date to allow for revisions.  The final research paper due date for all honors students is the first day of final exam period.  The research paper must be read and approved by the advisor and one other faculty member selected jointly by the honors advisor and student.  The grade on the research paper will constitute the grade for the independent study course.  The research paper is defended in an oral presentation to a panel of faculty members in the first week of the final exam period in the fall semester of the senior year.

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Cognate Course

Students must select a class to complement the Honors Research Seminar.  This course should help to deepen their understanding of their research topic and enhance their ability to carry out sophisticated, rigorous research.  For example, a student whose project involves interpersonal communication might take a course in psychology, or a student doing research on media and political campaigns might take a political science class or an advanced seminar in communication.  The faculty recommends that this course be taken during the same semester as the honors research seminar.  Students select their cognate course in consultation with the Honors Director and faculty advisor.

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Recognition

Successful completion of the Honors Program will be noted on the student's official transcript and in the commencement and Honors Convocation programs.  Honors students will also obtain priority registration privileges once accepted to the program.

For more information, contact Dr. Daniel DeJoy, Honors Program Director, 227 Winston Hall.

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Honors Program Timeline

An Honors Research Project runs over the course of two semesters. In the first semester of the program (typically the spring of the junior year), the student selects an advisor with which to work and participates in the honors seminar.  Students should also take the cognate class at this time.  During the second semester (fall of the senior year), the student enrolls in an independent study course with their honors advisor and completes the research paper.  Although the faculty advisor officially supervises the student only during the second semester, the advisor should also be involved in the early formative stages of the project, during the time the student is taking the honors research seminar.

The following is a rough timeline for the completion of the program:

Spring Semester, Sophomore Year:

• Faculty begin to identify potential honors students and encourage them to consider the program.  Some initial brainstorming of topic ideas, discussions about extending work done in a course, etc. is helpful at this stage.
• Informational session will be held for all prospective Honors Program students.
• Interested students contact Honors Program Director regarding admission and eligibility.

Fall Semester, Junior Year:

• Interested and eligible students apply for admission to the program to the Honors Committee.
• Admitted students register for the Honors Research Seminar and a cognate course.

Spring Semester, Junior Year:

• Students take the Honors Research Seminar and their designated cognate course.
• The following are handled through the Honors Seminar, though faculty advisors are encouraged to meet with their students periodically to maintain their involvement in the progress of the project:
   
  • First month: 2-3 page topic paper with brief list of sources.
  • First month: Faculty advisors finalized.  Advisors should work closely with the student, scheduling meetings to aid in development of the research plan (prospectus).
  • Ninth week: Draft prospectus completed.
  • Twelfth week: Final prospectus completed.
  • Fourteenth week: Any necessary Institutional Review Board approval secured (if research involves human subjects).
  • End of semester: Draft chapter completed and submitted for final course grade.
    

Fall Semester, Senior Year:

• Students register for independent study with their faculty advisor.
• If cognate course not yet completed, must be taken now.
• Timeline for completing research and drafts worked out between advisor and student.
• Potential reader selected by student and advisor and contacted for availability.  Reader may be any tenure-track faculty member at NCSU acceptable to the advisor (not necessarily from the Department of Communication).
• Complete draft submitted to faculty advisor two weeks before final due date (first day of final exams).  Final research paper read and graded by the advisor and one other faculty member.  The advisor has final say on the research paper grade.
• When possible, a final meeting between the student and readers to discuss the work is encouraged.
• The research paper is presented to a panel of faculty members during the first week of final exams.