Academic Honors

Honors in the Major

Honors in the Major Field provides for independent research during the senior year under the supervision of a three-member committee. To be eligible for Honors in the Major Field, students must:

• achieve a minimum overall GPA of 'C+' (2.33) for all courses at Rollins,
• achieve a minimum overall GPA of 'B+' (3.33) for all courses taken in the major at Rollins, and
• receive endorsement of the committee for participation in the program.
  
  Satisfactory performance on an approved thesis or individual project, an oral examination, and maintenance of the above averages qualifies a student for Honors in the Major Field, which is shown on the student’s official academic transcript.
  
  I. Committee
  
  Your committee must consist of at least three members, including your honors project sponsor and two additional readers. Your sponsor and at least one reader must be tenured or tenure-track members of the Social Entrepreneurship Department. Projects may include a tenured or tenure-track faculty member outside the department, subject to approval by your project sponsor.  
  
  II. Course Registration
  
  Candidates for honors in the major will typically enroll in two semesters of research independent study, SE 498 and SE 499 for at least four hours per semester. Students must complete the second semester of honors research in their senior year. Students will be assigned a grade for each semester (see expectations described below).  
  
  III. The First Semester
  
  The first semester of work should be spent defining the scope of the project, reviewing literature, and developing your research methodology. This process will take place under the direction of your project sponsor, but your committee will review your progress at the end of the semester. Be sure to establish a clearly understood set of expectations with all members of your committee.
  
  By the end of the first semester, students developing a research thesis must submit to their sponsor a 10-15 page written proposal of their research project, a reference list (of approximately 30 sources), and a preliminary outline detailing the planned sections of the research paper.
  
  Students who fail to submit these materials to their sponsor will not continue with the project in the second semester. During the first semester, we also encourage students to make written progress toward their chapters, including outlines and drafts. Additional assignments should be discussed with the faculty sponsor.
  
  IV. The Second Semester
  
  By the end of the second semester, students working on a research thesis should produce approximately 60-70 pages, organized into chapters with section/subsection headings. While the pages listed above are guidelines, your committee should agree upon specific expectations for the length of your project. 
  
  V. Project Submission and Oral Examination
  
  Research projects require an oral examination.  Students should schedule their oral examination, or “defense,” with the committee no later than the second to last week of regularly scheduled classes. You should submit your completed final project to your committee at least one week before the scheduled date of your defense.  
  
  Defense meetings will typically last one hour and will include a brief presentation by the candidate, a question and answer period, private discussion among the committee during which the candidate will be asked to leave the room, and a final discussion on the committee’s decision once the candidate returns. The award of “Honors in the Major Field” requires satisfactory completion of the oral examination. Often, the committee will require further revisions to be undertaken after the defense, for evaluation by the sponsor and/or the entire committee.
  
  In addition to copies for the committee, students should submit a bound copy of the thesis to the Department of Social Entrepreneurship.