How are designations decided?
There are several different steps to deciding the level of Honors (if any) a candidate will receive. The first step, of course, is maintaining a good GPA (generally 3.3 or better). The second step is writing a quality Honors thesis and doing an oral defense of your thesis. While you may turn in a final copy of your thesis, with corrections, to the Honors Program office after you defend, the copy of the thesis that the committee sees on your defense day is the copy on which they will base their recommendation. After you have done your oral defense, your committee makes its recommendation to the Honors Council. The Honors Council then considers each candidate individually (strongly considering the recommendation of the defense committee, although they may grant a different designation). The Honors Council, which is made up of representatives from each department that participates in the Honors Program (in other words, all departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, plus the School o
