1st semester Junior Year:

You should begin thinking of a topic and exploring who you would want for a Senior Thesis/Project Director.  This is the time to begin thinking about areas in which you are interested in doing advanced study and looking for people on campus to help you with your research.

2nd semester Junior Year:

By fall break/spring break, depending on which semester you plan to enroll in SCCC 390Z, you will need to have submitted a signed SCCC 390Z Pre-Enrollment form to the Honors College.  By the end of the second 8-weeks, you will have refined the Senior Thesis/Project topic, written a proposal, and named a second reader.

Senior Year:

Students normally enroll in SCCC 499 in the beginning of their senior year, ensuring two semesters to work on their Theses/Projects.  No matter when you plan to enroll in SCCC 499, you will need to turn in the Senior Thesis Contract Form to the Director of Student Services by the end of the first week of classes to ensure that you are enrolled in the course on time. Specific deadlines are posted on the SCHC website.

Senior Thesis/Project Defense:

You should plan to defend their Senior Thesis/Project in early April or early November to ensure you have enough time to correct any problems with your paper. You must submit one copy of the pre-defense draft, complete with scholarly apparatus (e.g., appendices, graphs, maps, etc.), to the director, one copy to the second reader, and one copy (along with the completed Defense Confirmation Form) to the Director of Student Services in the SCHC office at least two weeks prior to the defense.

After the Defense:

You will need to turn in a final hard copy of the Senior Thesis/Project to the Director of Student Services for binding and certification of graduation “with Honors from the South Carolina Honors College”. Refer to the calendar located on the SCHC website for any deadlines. In addition, you are required to submit a CD-ROM containing the final copy of your thesis. These files will be used for the future creation of an online thesis database. More information on the process after the defense is included below.

The South Carolina Honors College has created a course--SCCC 390Z: Thesis/ Project Planning--carrying one (1) credit and graded "Pass/Fail." You will enroll in SCCC 390Z during the semester preceding the semester in which you intend to take SCCC 499: Senior Thesis/Project or an equivalent departmental course.  This course is required of all those who wish to earn "Honors from the South Carolina Honors College".  If you study abroad or participate in National Student Exchange during your junior year , you may be exempted from this requirement with your SCHC advisor’s permission. Successful completion of SCCC 390Z: Thesis/Project Planning will facilitate the subsequent completion of the Senior Thesis/Project by:

1. Encouraging early identification of the topic;
2. Expanding the period of time devoted to refinement and revision; and
3. Creating opportunities to become involved in related research.

With earlier planning, the senior year should be freed for the actual work of the thesis/project.

The course is listed in the second eight-week session of the fall and spring semesters. You must identify a research topic and a director and submit a completed and signed SCCC 390Z Pre-Enrollment Form to the SCHC office to enroll in the planning course. Once the Pre-Enrollment Form has been submitted, SCHC will register you for a section of SCCC 390Z assigned to that director. In order to complete SCCC 390Z successfully, you must meet with the director during the eight-week session and submit a two- to six-page typed, double-spaced proposal by the end of the semester for the director's approval. The proposal must be written according to the protocol of the discipline in which you will write your thesis/project paper. In the case of an interdisciplinary thesis/project, the proposal will be written according to the protocol of the director's discipline. After receiving the completed proposal, the director will award a passing grade and one credit to you for SCCC 390Z. Failure to meet the requirements for SCCC 390Z by the end of the eight-week period will result in a grade of "F" (Fail) unless the director has agreed to give you an "I" (Incomplete).

In addition to these minimal requirements and deadlines, individual departments may require or recommend other activities associated with Senior Thesis/Project planning.

Possibilities include:
* Concurrent enrollment in a 399: Independent Study course
* A short course or session on how to develop a proposal (perhaps a single afternoon session)
* Running junior majors through a research orientation experience designed for first-year graduate students
* Arranging for students to do apprentice work in a laboratory during the junior year

We expect that departments would inform the Honors College of any additional requirements or recommendations to assist our advisement process.

As stated earlier, the parameters for the thesis/project are nearly limitless. Consequently, you may have trouble even deciding whether to do a thesis or a project.

What is the difference between a thesis and a project? A thesis involves extensive research resulting in an extended term paper or a brief Master's thesis. Some students choose to do a senior project instead of a thesis. Projects generally involve a performance, an exhibit, equipment design and construction, or other "hands-on" activities. A few examples of projects include a musical composition and performance; an art exhibit; writing a collection of short stories or an anthology of poetry; creating an advertising, public relations or marketing campaign; writing and directing a play; building a small car, dam, robot, or computer; illustrating and/or designing a book; developing and programming a computer game; etc. Moreover, the written portion of the project (i.e., the paper) usually is considerably shorter than a thesis. The Director of Student Services must be notified of any performance or exhibit dates, and, as is true for the title page of your thesis or paper, any programs or signage must indicate that the work is done "in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with Honors from the South Carolina Honors College."

You may be required to complete a senior design project or thesis as part of your major requirements. The Honors College considers such courses to be equivalent to SCCC 499. For example, a history major may be required to enroll in HIST 499 rather than SCCC 499, or a chemistry major may be required to enroll in CHEM 499. In such cases, you will receive credit in the appropriate department. Provided you submit a proposal and the Senior Thesis/Project Contract Form to the Director of Student Services and follow SCHC procedures as stated in the Senior Thesis/Project Handbook, the Honors College will count that thesis/project towards fulfilling the requirements to graduate "with honors from the South Carolina Honors College."

SCHC procedures must be followed in all cases if you wish to receive honors credit for your thesis or project. Please note, however, that other departments may have a different structure and timeline (i.e., format, final due date, etc.) from that of SCHC. If you are confused about this, please discuss it with the Director of Student Services and your major advisor. The guidelines in this handbook apply to all SCHC students, although some of them may be superseded by more rigorous departmental strictures. The course in which you ultimately enroll is up to you.

SCHC students may (in fact, we encourage you to) do an independent study before beginning the Senior Thesis/Project. This is perhaps the best way for you to gain valuable research skills, self-discipline, and experience working independently before you confront the greater task of completing the Senior Thesis/Project. Honors students majoring in the natural sciences especially will find that doing an independent study first will allow you to "work out all the kinks" before doing your thesis/project. This, in turn, will enable you to begin your Senior Thesis/Project without the delays that may be caused by your unfamiliarity with scientific research and laboratory procedures. Furthermore, you may opt to do either SCCC 399: Independent Study or a departmental independent study course (e.g., ENGL 399, CHEM 399, JOUR 547, etc.). It would be best to check with your major advisor first about which course to choose.

Make sure that your major advisor has approved the credits for the Senior Thesis/Project and be sure to clarify whether the credits will count for major, cognate or elective work. This point may not seem terribly important to you right now, but later, you will be glad that this was decided upon early in the process.

Your major advisor must sign the Senior Thesis/Project Contract Form and must indicate whether or not enrolling in the thesis/project would constitute an overload of hours for you during that semester.  If you will be taking more than the maximum allowable credit hours, you must go to your dean's office (not SCHC, except for BARSC majors) to get permission to carry an overload before you submit your Contract Form and proposal to us. If you do not do this first, then we will not be able to enroll you in SCCC 499 until you take care of this requirement.

A thesis/project director MUST be a full-time (i.e., no adjuncts) member of the USC-Columbia, USC School of Law, or USC School of Medicine faculty, and s/he should be someone with whom you feel comfortable. Frequently, students select a professor with whom they have taken a course. However, due to the increase in the size of the SCHC student body and problems our students have had finding directors, you may find yourself in the position of having to work with a director with whom you have never had a course or any prior contact.

It is important that your director be accessible to you. Your director should be available to help you, to provide guidance, to support and encourage you when the going gets rough. You should arrange regular meetings with him/her once a week or, at the very least, once every two weeks. Keep your appointments, especially if you are having difficulty. The greatest cause of thesis/project anguish is inadequate communication between students and directors.

Your director also can help you choose your second reader. This second individual need not be from the same department (or even be affiliated with USC) and should be selected to balance the virtues of your director. That is, if your director is highly creative but not much of a stickler for format, you may want a second reader who will make sure that your references are in order.  The only requirements for the second reader is that this person be available and accessible to you during the entire time that you are working on your thesis or project and that he or she participate in your defense.

Students often select a topic and then choose a director based on his/her expertise and interest in that topic. Yet it is sometimes difficult to find a faculty member willing to work with you on your proposed topic. If this problem persists during your search for a director, you MAY find it necessary to alter or completely change your topic.

It is possible for students to have more persons helping them with their theses or projects than the two readers who are officially listed on the Senior Thesis/Project Contract Form. These additional readers may be anyone and are often very helpful to students in providing them with other viewpoints and information. However, only the two official readers (i.e., the director and second reader) may sign the student's Senior Thesis/Project Contract Form and the student's title page in the thesis or project paper. Likewise, only the two official readers may be listed in the appropriate spaces on the title page. Any other readers are considered unofficial and may NOT sign or be listed on the required materials.

If you are uncertain about a topic, you can reasonably rely on your thesis/project director to help you find one. You may have a topic in mind, which will lead you to a particular faculty member as director. Conversely, you may be in the majority of students who find a thesis/project topic through discussion with a professor.

Many students will wish to write a traditional thesis, amounting to a very extended term paper or a brief Master's thesis. However, students should be aware that for a project, the range of creativity is quite open. Consider exercises in creative writing (e.g., an anthology of poetry, a collection of short stories, etc.), analytical studies, musical composition, experimentation and construction, multimedia production, art and photography exhibits, etc. The choice should conform to your goals and interests. Our requirement is that it be both creative and of high quality.

In selecting a topic, keep in mind the following regulations:

• If you use animals in your thesis/project, you must get approval from Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or be listed on an approved IACUC protocol.
• If you use human subjects or distribute surveys, you must get approval from the University Institutional Review Board (IRB) or be listed on an approved protocol.

Please understand that a project can present tremendous time constraints. Most students who have done honors projects have found themselves expending considerably more time and effort than their peers who are engaged in more traditional research for their theses.

Also, it is not necessary for you to choose a thesis/project topic in your major field (unless your major department—e.g., journalism, history, engineering, etc.—says differently; be sure to check), but you should have a firm grasp of the fundamentals of your area of research. In other words, the Senior Thesis/Project is neither the time to learn a new field, nor to write your very first publishable short story.

SCCC 499 can be taken for 3 to 15 credit hours; most students (except Baccalaureus candidates who MUST do at least a 9-credit thesis/project) do a 3-credit thesis/project. The number of credits is determined largely by the amount of time per week that you will devote to the thesis/project from the first day of the semester to the deadline. A 3-credit thesis/project assumes 9 hours of work per week, a 6-credit thesis/project assumes 18 hours of work per week, and so forth. If you are contemplating more than 3 credits, you should discuss this with your thesis/project director and the Director of Student Services.

The question is often raised as to how many pages a thesis should be. There is no definitive answer; the length is determined by the topic and your treatment of it. In practice, most 3-credit theses in the humanities and social sciences run from 45 to 60 pages; in the natural sciences and mathematics, the theses are often substantially shorter (perhaps 25 to 40 pages), but also denser. A project paper is often considerably shorter than a thesis.

It is normal for your topic to shift, to narrow, or occasionally even to expand. However, major mutations should be brought to the attention of the Director of Student Services. Likewise, students occasionally inquire about changing directors or second readers. This should happen only in extraordinary circumstances. If your thesis/project topic changes or if you change either the director or the second reader or both, you must submit a new Senior Thesis/Project Contract Form with all the necessary signatures to the Director of Student Services as soon as possible after making any of these changes. Remember that a change in topic also requires that a new proposal be attached to the new Contract Form.

The Honors College has a small fund available to support extraordinary expenses associated with a student’s senior thesis/project.  The SCHC will provide a maximum grant of $1,500.00 for students to purchase needed materials for their senior thesis/project.  Such items can include but are not limited to chemicals, rats, equipment, the rental of exhibit space, and travel expenses.  Items purchased through a senior thesis/project grant become property of the Honors College, and we request that a student purchase items covered by the senior thesis/project grant through the Honors College. 

The Honors College cannot pay for items already purchased; the typing or copying of a thesis or project paper; photo duplication; or purchasing books, periodicals, meals, or routine supplies (e.g., computer or printer ribbons, computer or typing paper, notebooks, etc.).

To apply for a senior thesis/project grant, you will need to submit an application form (available for download on the SCHC website) and an itemized budget proposal with a written proposal explaining the thesis or project you intend to pursue.  When writing the itemized budget, it is to your advantage to give a brief explanation of why you need the items in the budget.  It is also helpful to include an itemized account of what has already been spent for the thesis or project.

Application deadlines can be found on the college calendar.  You will be notified by mail if you receive a grant, and you will be instructed on how to receive reimbursement.

SPECIAL NOTE:

• If you are planning on doing a group thesis/project, you should carefully consider the group membership. If you submit an application for the Senior Thesis/Project Research Grant, only your portion (or other SCHC recipients of the thesis grant) of the thesis/project will be funded if the application(s) is approved.

• If you have received funding through the SCHC Senior Thesis/Project Research Grant during a previous semester, an explanation of why additional funding is needed will be required in order for subsequent requests to be considered. Regardless of how often you request funding, you may not receive more than the maximum amount that the Honors College awards for the SCHC Senior Thesis/Project Research Grant.

• Any work supported by the Senior Thesis/Project grant subsequently presented or published should cite the support as: “This work was supported in part by a South Carolina Honors College Senior Thesis/Project Grant (include initials of students).”

The following is the standard format for an honors thesis or project paper. While not every project paper will include the same sections and items as the typical honors thesis, all honors theses and project papers must be organized in the following manner:

Note: Each section and/or item in the thesis or project paper should be placed in the same order as given below. If a different organization of sections and items is given in the style manual being used, the differences should be discussed with the Director of Student Services before the final thesis/project paper is submitted. The thesis Summary, an Honors College requirement, is required for every thesis and project paper regardless of which style manual is used.

Title Page (click for a sample copy)
Table of Contents (Include the Thesis Summary)
Thesis Summary (About 2 pages appearing between the Table of Contents and the Abstract (if included) or between the Table of Contents and the Introduction, written in less formal and less technical terminology than the Abstract. Must be included in the Table of Contents (required regardless of major, topic, discipline, or whether a thesis or project paper)
Abstract (If appropriate)
Introduction (Required)
Main Body (Usually with three chapter divisions; required)
Conclusion (Required)
Endnotes, Works Cited or References (Required if sources are quoted. Footnotes are not used.)
Tables, Graphs, Photos, Maps, etc. (If appropriate)
Bibliography (Required if no Endnotes, Works Cited or References section is included)
Appendix(ces) (If appropriate)

Margins

Margins are to be one inch at the top, bottom and right and one and one-half inch on the left (on all pages) to permit binding. Margins less than one and one-half inch on the left result in the deletion of much of the text, graphs, photographs, tables, etc. along the left margin. Final copies submitted without these margins will not be accepted.

Pages

The pages must be numbered consecutively.

Paper Type

The final thesis/ project paper, including the title page, must be printed on standard, white (ivory and light beige are also acceptable) 25% cotton bond paper.

Ink Type

The final thesis/ project paper must be printed in black ink with the exception of photographs, maps, charts, graphs, figures, tables and similar items, which may be printed in colored inks.

Of course, there may be some modification to the above depending upon the nature of the thesis/paper. However, any changes should be approved IN ADVANCE by the thesis/project director and the Director of Student Services.

Two weeks prior to the defense, you will submit one copy of the pre-defense draft, complete with scholarly apparatus (e.g., appendices, graphs, maps, etc.), to the director, one copy to the second reader, and one copy (along with the completed Defense Confirmation Form) to the Director of Student Services in the SCHC office. This step gives everyone time to review the thesis and to prepare questions for the defense. Submitting this pre-defense copy of your thesis or project paper also gives the Director of Student Services the opportunity to examine it to ensure that it adheres to the specifications given in the Format section of this handbook. If something is missing or incorrect, the Director of Student Services will send you a checklist or phone you with the item(s) needing correction.

Since senior thesis/project defenses are considered to be public events, it is important to understand that any interested persons may also attend, though they may not actively participate in the defense. Therefore, advanced notice of the defense allows SCHC to publicize the event on the website. You may also post your own signs advertising your Senior Thesis/Project defense elsewhere on campus if you desire to do so. Although it is no longer a requirement that a representative of the Honors College attend every defense, the Dean, Associate Deans or the Director of Student Services will make every effort to attend and participate in the defense if at all possible. Naturally, the director, second reader, and you must attend and participate in the defense.

It is your responsibility (possibly with help from the director) to schedule the defense, find a location, and inform the SCHC office (via the Defense Confirmation Form) two weeks in advance of the date, time and place of the defense. Any scheduling difficulties should be brought to the attention of the Director of Student Services.

Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae defenses are attended by the Dean or the Dean's designate. The BARSC candidate needs to coordinate scheduling of the defense with the Dean to insure that the Dean can attend. The candidate must submit two pre-defense copies of the thesis or project paper and the required Defense Confirmation Form to the Director of Student Services in the SCHC office and, of course, one to each reader at least two weeks prior to the defense.

All grades for students enrolled in SCCC 499 (a two-semester course) must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office using VIP.  If you enroll during the Fall semester, grades are due by the end of the following Spring semester. Likewise, if you enroll in the Spring semester, grades are due by the end of the following Fall. Grades are assigned by your thesis/project director and can range from "A" to "F." The assignment of an Incomplete ("I") is also possible as long as all work is completed and a grade posted before you graduate from the University of South Carolina.  University policy forbids the retroactive awarding of any kind of honors (e.g., cum laude, SCHC, Dean's Honor List, President's Honor List, etc.) after a student has graduated, including the "graduation with honors from the South Carolina Honors College" distinction for honors students.

You are responsible for providing the University with a CD-ROM version of the senior thesis/project for the future creation of an online thesis database. Also, at least one hard copy of the revised (post-defense) thesis/project paper must be submitted to the Director of Student Services in the SCHC office. This copy must have the title page in the required format, must contain all required elements of the paper in the exact order as stated in the section of this handbook entitled “Format”, and must carry the signatures of both readers. SCHC will obtain the signature from the SCHC Dean; a line at the bottom of the title page should be left for this purpose. When you submit your copy(ies) of the thesis/project paper, you will be asked for a completed Binding Form and a check (made out to the SCHC Educational Foundation) in the amount of $10.00 to cover the expense of binding one copy of the thesis/project paper. Please note that this copy of the thesis/project paper is not for you; instead, it will be shelved in the Thomas Cooper Library. You may purchase one additional copy of the thesis/ project paper for $10.00. Additional bound copies beyond the first two are $15.00 per copy. It is customary for students to present their thesis/project directors with a bound copy of the thesis. Such thoughtfulness is seen as a professional courtesy. You must submit all copies you wish to have bound as the staff of the Honors College will not make copies for you. Only after the submission of the final copies and payment will the Director of Student Services clear you to graduate "with Honors from the South Carolina Honors College." When the theses are returned from the binder, they will be mailed to the forwarding address left on the binding form.

Dates and deadlines are to be considered definitive. Failure to comply may result in your inability to graduate "with Honors from the South Carolina Honors College" or a grade of "F" for your thesis/project. Our most serious difficulties arise from students not keeping up with the Senior Thesis/Project schedule. If you anticipate problems with any deadlines, you should contact the Director of Student Services immediately.

• If you have any questions or concerns regarding your Senior Thesis/Project in SCHC, they can be addressed by your director or the Director of Student Services, supervisor for Senior Thesis/Projects for the SCHC.

• We strongly urge you to keep a permanent backup copy of your thesis paper/project on a diskette in case of loss, theft or accidental erasure of the original diskette. These situations really do happen; be prepared.

SCCC 390Z form: http://schc.sc.edu/Downloads/PreEnrollmentForm.pdf

Defense Confirmation form: http://schc.sc.edu/Downloads/DefenseConfirmationForm.pdf

SCCC 499 form: http://schc.sc.edu/Downloads/Contractform.pdf

Thesis grant application: http://schc.sc.edu/Downloads/ThesisGrantForm.pdf

Pre-defense thesis checklist: http://schc.sc.edu/Downloads/Checklist.pdf