Interdepartmental Research Honors
Individualized interdepartmental programs offers a research honors program. A degree with research honors acknowledges the achievements of truly outstanding students in each year’s graduating class.
Eligible students must apply to the individualized interdepartmental research honors program and receive an offer of acceptance from CIIP.
The staff and faculty involved in the interdepartmental programs can assist students in the planning process, but students are responsible for knowing the requirements of the interdepartmental research honors program and adhering to all program deadlines. Students are expected to have regular contact with their supervising faculty advisor, and to be proactive in alerting their faculty advisor to anticipated problems or concerns.
Honors Coursework
If accepted into the research honors program, students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours beyond the interdepartmental major requirements. Honors students must complete:
- Four-credit independent study course in fall of senior year devoted to honors research (CASC 389H: Advanced IPA Senior Honors Research)
- Four-credit independent study course in spring of senior year devoted to thesis writing (CASC 393H: Advanced IPA Senior Honors Thesis)
- Four-credit, advanced-level course or seminar that is related to the honors project*
*This course is intended to provide a broader and deeper understanding of the area of the honors project, and is selected in consultation with their honors faculty advisor. This course should be taken senior year, preferably in the fall of senior year.
Honors Faculty Advisor
The role of the faculty advisor is to assist the student in the development and fulfillment of their proposed research honors project.
The faculty advisor is selected by the student and must be approved by CIIP during the application process.
The honors faculty advisor is the main advisor and retains lead responsibility for supervising research and the thesis. The faculty advisor must:
- Hold the rank of assistant professor or higher
- Have a connection to the proposed research honors project
- Be listed as the course instructor for both CASC 389H and CASC 393H
The faculty advisor, in consultation with the second reader, will determine if research honors should be awarded.
Honors Thesis Second Reader
The second reader is selected by both the student and the honors faculty advisor, and must be approved by CIIP.
The second reader is another resource and support for the student. The general role of the second reader is to read the thesis for appropriate content, theory, and methodology.
The second reader must be a member of the full-time teaching faculty.
The faculty thesis advisor and the secondary reader may work together to develop expectations for how the second reader will be involved. These arrangements may vary.
Application Deadlines
The Research Honors Application - Part I is due August 11, 2025.
The CIIP will evaluate the applications for Research Honors and may approve them, disapprove them, or approve them subject to specific modifications ad recommendations.
Once the application has been reviewed and approved by CIIP, students will receive written notification (via email) of their acceptance into the IPA Research Honors program.
The Research Honors Application - Part II is due November 1, 2025. This information will be reviewed by CIIP.
Senior Thesis
The senior thesis is a focused and sustained scholarly project that offers a substantial critical analysis of a corpus of original research. Student can use research that they started during their coursework, but it will be significantly enriched in breadth and depth during the first semester of independent study.
The thesis should offer an original perspective, both critical and theoretical, on a well-defined topic. Researchers will begin with a hypothesis about the material, research it exhaustively, and write up their findings in a thesis that, ideally, could be publishable.
To graduate with research honors, a student must write a thesis that is original, critical, and analytical. The thesis must engage with existing research in the field and must be carefully argued and well written. Because writing a thesis involves incorporating advisors’ comments along the way, students will be in continued contact with their faculty advisor and carefully consider and integrate their suggestions.
Each thesis is presented in a format that is appropriate for the discipline. Most honors theses are about 50 pages in length.
The final thesis must be submitted to the faculty advisor and the second reader no later than four Fridays before commencement. For 2026, the final thesis deadline is April 3, 2026.
Research Honors Report
The Research Honors Report Form must be submitted to Amy Fisher by May 1, 2026. Students are responsible for providing the form to their faculty advisor who should submit this form directly to the Amy at afish21@UR.Rochester.edu.