Environmental Science Honors

Honors Program

Who is eligible:

Students who, by the end of the sophomore year, have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in the major and 3.25 overall, and who have a demonstrated research background to undertake the independent honors research, are eligible to apply for the honors program.

What the Honors Thesis entails:

Honors students must successfully complete a two-semester independent research project conducted under the supervision of a faculty advisor and one additional faculty member (either from the same or different department) who together constitute the student’s Honors Committee. The project should make an original contribution to a body of knowledge. The product of the research will be a written thesis, the size and format of which to be decided jointly by the student and his/her faculty advisor. In addition to writing a thesis, the student will prepare and present a poster at Academic Spree Day in the spring of their senior year.

How to apply:

• In the spring of the junior year the student presents a short letter of intent, approximately one page in length, to the Director of the ES Major. The letter should state the student’s intention to pursue the honors thesis; report the overall and major-specific GPA; specify the research topic; and name the members of the Honors Committee. Additionally, the letter should briefly describe the research question or hypothesis, and the general methodological approach to the research (for example: laboratory measurement, field measurements, survey, computer modeling, analysis of case studies, policy analysis, technology assessment, economic analysis, and so on).
• In addition to the letter of intent, the principal faculty advisor should write a support letter to Director of ES. The advisor should state his/her opinion on the student’s readiness to conduct the proposed research, approve the project as conceived, and express willingness to supervise the work.

Admission to honors research:

• Deadline for the applications is April 1.
• The Faculty Steering Committee for the Environmental Science Major will review student applications and faculty support letters, and will notify the applicants of their admission to the honors program by May 1.

How to graduate with honors:

In order to graduate with honors the student must successfully conclude her/his research and have his/her thesis accepted by the Honors Committee. Deadline for submitting completed Thesis is Wednesday of the first week in April. The student must additionally present the research results at Academic Spree Day. He/she must also maintain a GPA of 3.25 overall and 3.5 in the major until the end of their senior year.