The traditional honors thesis was based on the assumption that students would find a research project in their major and work under the supervision of a faculty member in that department. Since college work in the United States typically moves from gen- eral education courses to specialized requirements and electives in a major field, thesis work in a student’s final year fits this academic
trajectory. In their last two years of study, undergraduates are highly focused on courses, topics, and research projects in their major; this major is often connected to students’ expectations for their adult life and work after graduation. Moreover, thesis work on a special- ized project in their major field is essentially a further manifestation of disciplinary specialization. Often the topics that students select for their honors theses are those that engaged them in one of their upper-division courses, and the faculty member who taught this course emerges as the logical choice to be the thesis advisor.
This departmental orientation of the thesis usually func- tions well: students have a clear understanding of the disciplinary approaches and assumptions in their major field, they have com- pleted specialized coursework in their specific area of research and related areas, and the faculty advisor’s knowledge of the stu- dent’s abilities and the student’s knowledge of the faculty member’s expectations provide a promising start for a sound mentoring rela- tionship. Moreover, these activities generate few costs and some obvious benefits. As a part of their departmental responsibilities, individual faculty members can teach their thesis students on a tutorial basis outside of normal course scheduling, other depart- mental support is readily available, and the awarding of an honors designation for the thesis provides a departmental imprimatur for the student’s achievement.
Consequently, from its beginnings, honors thesis work fit easily under the control of the individual departments that offered this option. The thesis option and/or program of honors study could be limited to those students departmental faculty believed were qualified for independent research projects in their discipline. The departments conferred honors distinctions at graduation. Students graduated with honors in Art History or Chemistry or English, often decades before institutional honors programs developed at their colleges or universities. When college- or university-wide honors programs developed in the twentieth century, they almost always began by embracing the scattered islands of departmental honors and thesis programs on their campus, often allowing them to continue as relatively autonomous departmental programs.
Most institutions accepted the model of the department-based honors thesis as their standard practice. Departmental faculty tra- ditionally had and continue to have the responsibility for defining the scope and nature of an honors thesis, as well as for determin- ing the number of credits to be assigned for an individual thesis project. And without question, the departmental faculty still accept primary responsibility for the students doing an honors thesis in their disciplines. They direct student research, advise students when difficulties arise, evaluate the quality of the thesis (even whether or not it qualifies for “honors”), and assign it a grade. Departmental honors programs sometimes operate with almost complete auton- omy, selecting and recruiting their outstanding majors for honors thesis work, whether they have taken any other honors coursework or not. Conversely, a departmental program may decide that a suc- cessful student in the institution’s honors program or college is not qualified for the departmental honors thesis program.
Today, departmental expectations and control continue to be major factors in defining honors thesis work. Although some honors thesis courses may be registered through a college or university honors program, most thesis courses are registered as departmen- tal courses, following historical precedent and student preferences for thesis projects in their major. Departmental programs may also specifically define the preparation that students need for thesis work in their discipline. Because departmental faculty understand the demands and potential problems of thesis projects in their areas, they sometimes require other coursework, seminars, or tutorials in conjunction with the thesis project. A department may establish specific prerequisites, such as additional research courses, previous research work, required fieldwork, language immersion, or volun- teer/internship experience, for students who wish to do a thesis in their discipline.
These departmental requirements suggest that faculty strongly believe that some additional preparation for students embark- ing on a thesis will help them to produce higher quality theses at higher completion rates. An English department may decide to spread thesis work over two terms, with the first term consisting
of a seminar devoted to the development of research plans and a rough draft of the first chapter, and the second term focused on independent research, meetings with the thesis advisor, and writing and rewriting of the thesis. A history department may have a thesis prep course focused on working with primary sources, a sociology department may require an advanced research methods course, and an art department may require a seminar on best practices for designing an art exhibition. Additionally, departments may bring their students together for research seminars, group discussions, or online interactions through classroom management programs or social media in conjunction with a thesis course to address common problems and to build a sense of community among thesis students.