Application Guidelines

BSS students may earn departmental honors through University College .  Departmental honors will be noted in the commencement program and on the student's diploma.  Students must earn a 3.6 accumulative GPA within the top 20% of BSS students (approximately 3.6) to earn the departmental honors.  An honors thesis is required.  The thesis must combine the disciplines from the student's area of concentration and use appropriate research methodologies for the disciplines concerned.  Students with the appropriate GPA who are considering graduate study are encouraged to pursue the departmental honors. Students interested in earning departmental honors must:

• begin the departmental honors process prior to their final four quarters;

• have an accumulative GPA within the top 20% of BSS students to begin the process and at the time of graduation;

• meet with University College’s departmental honors coordinator to initiate the process;

• develop a thesis project that combines the disciplines in the student’s area of concentration. The thesis must use appropriate research methodologies for the disciplines concerned. (Special consideration may be given to thesis projects that are artistic or creative endeavors.) Based on independent inquiry into a particular problem or question, the thesis will be carried out in a rigorous and scholarly fashion according to the norms of the disciplines underlying the research problem.

• Students should include a research-based course(s) in their area of concentration. This course may be added to the AOC subsequent to admission into the BSS degree program. The thesis advisor should be consulted about the appropriate research courses;

• enlist two faculty members to serve as advisors to the thesis project, one of whom will be designated the primary advisor and will direct the student’s research. The advisors must be from different departments in the student’s area of concentration. The second advisor will serve as a reader of the thesis. Each advisor must give approval of the thesis.

• complete the application and honors agreement for BSS departmental honors;

• All work on the thesis must be completed by the last day of classes of the quarter in which the student plans to graduate.

Note: Students may earn up to 15 hours of thesis credit (SPST 499) for work done to complete the thesis. These hours may be part of the AOC.
 

BSS Departmental Honors Application

The required BSS Departmental Honors application may be downloaded by selecting one of the formats below and saving to a disk. Please complete the application on-screen, save, and print out.

BSS Departmental Honors Application.doc

If you experience difficulty downloading, you may bring in an IBM-formatted disk when meeting with your advisor. Traditional printed materials are also available, but all students will need to word process the final proposal (except for the cover page).
 

Guidelines for Faculty Advisors of 
BSS Departmental Honors Students

1. The Bachelor of Specialized Studies (BSS) affords undergraduate students at Ohio University the opportunity to design an area of concentration of at least 45 credit hours, which stands as the equivalent of an established major. The program permits students to combine available curricula to create a unique field of study. The student requesting to work with you should provide you a copy of his/her BSS program proposal.
2. Since a student’s area of concentration must contain courses from at least two departments and be interdisciplinary in nature, the honors thesis also must be interdisciplinary.
3. University College has no teaching faculty. Consequently, BSS students must solicit the assistance of faculty from the departments represented in their areas of concentration for their honors thesis.
4. Students must have an accumulative GPA within the top 20% of BSS students to be eligible for BSS departmental honors.
5. BSS departmental honors require that the honors thesis reflect the research methodologies of the disciplines represented. (Exceptions may be made for those theses which are creative projects, e.g., in dance, theater, or film.)

a. Honors thesis faculty advisors are requested to suggest an appropriate research course for the student, or to provide through independent study, background in the methodology to be employed in the thesis.

6. The faculty member supervising should work closely with the student in:

a. developing and critiquing the thesis proposal;
b. overseeing collection and analysis of data;
c. reading and critiquing drafts of the thesis; and
d. helping the student identify a forum such as a statewide or regional professional meeting to share the results of the research.

7. The thesis must be written and presented in thesis style, e.g., MLA, APA. The advisor may suggest which style is most suitable for the topic and research methods used. The student should have the handout, Format for the Preparation of the Thesis, which addresses style and presentation matters.
8. Students may earn up to 15 undergraduate credit hours in thesis credit (SPST 499) while working on the honors thesis. In some departments, e.g., psychology or biology, it may be helpful to engage students in the faculty advisors’ research.
9. Although the University College departmental honors program does not require an oral presentation of the thesis, the faculty advisors may add that requirement.
10. All work on the thesis must be completed by the last day of classes of the quarter in which the student plans to graduate.
11. Any questions may be directed to the BSS departmental honors coordinator, 593-1935.
 

Undergraduate Honors Theses Guidelines

As a BSS departmental honors student. you are required to write and present a thesis demonstrating your independent research and thinking. Additionally, your faculty advisors may require an oral presentation of your thesis.

Attached is a graduation "checklist" and instructions governing the preparation of theses for departmental honors requirements in University College. The format has been designed to standardize the undergraduate honors theses, which become part of the permanent collection in the Alden Library.

The deadline for submitting a thesis is the last day of classes of the quarter in which the candidate expects to graduate. The original and sufficient copies must reach the UNC departmental honors coordinator by that day, all submissions bearing the signature of the student’s thesis advisors.

To be approved, an honors thesis must be signed by both thesis advisors and the Dean of University College. The University reserves the right to revoke approval, if false information or significant errors are subsequently found.
 

Format for the Preparation of the Undergraduate Honors Theses

The required Format for the Preparation of the Undergraduate Honors Theses may be downloaded by selecting one of the formats below and saving to a disk. 

If you experience difficulty downloading, you may bring in an IBM-formatted disk when meeting with your advisor. Traditional printed materials are also available, but all students will need to word process the final proposal (except for the cover page).