Senior Honors Project
Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Senior Honors Project?
It’s the capstone experience in the College Honors Program curriculum.

What are the options that I have in doing the Senior Honors Project?
There are three options available to meet the Senior Honors Project requirement:

• Senior Honors Seminar
• Departmental Honors or Department Project
• Senior Honors Project

What is involved in each of these options?
Senior Honors Seminar
This one semester, 3 credit course, is offered both in the fall and spring semesters. This is an interdisciplinary seminar with a thematic focus that changes depending on the professor who is teaching the course. The course involves reading, discussion, and a written research paper.

Department Honors or Department Project
Many departments–for example, Political Science, English, Philosophy, Chemistry, etc.–have major honors opportunities. These will fulfill the requirement for the Senior Honors Project without any additional work. Also, departmental projects, like the Senior Project required of Engineering majors, can be used to meet the Senior Honors Project.

Senior Honors Project
This is a two semester project that can take a variety of forms, including an interdisciplinary thesis, creative arts project, or service learning project. This option is designed for students who wish do something different– i.e., creative, unique.

How do I decide which option I should choose?
This is a personal decision that should be based on your interests as well as what fits best into your overall schedule of requirements for your chosen major. To use a couple of examples, if you are an English major it probably makes sense to choose the department honors option. If you are an education major it may make sense to choose the Senior Honors Seminar option or the Senior Honors Project option.

Can I start my Senior Honors Project during my Junior year?
Yes, you can begin the project during the second semester of your junior year. If you decide to take the Seminar, you can take the course during the spring of your junior year if that works best for your schedule.

If I choose to do the Senior Honors Project option what are the expectations for my project?
You will need to meet the general parameters for all Senior Honors Projects; namely:

• Your project must be of graduate level quality.
• Your project must reflect the methodological, theoretical and substantive expectations in the project area.
• Your project must be two semesters and total 4 to 6 credit hours.
• Your project must culminate with some type of public presentation– e.g., performance, a show, a presentation to students or faculty, etc.

What if I’m confused about project ideas, who should I talk to?
By all means, let me (Dean Curry) know and I’ll be happy to talk with you about your project.  Also, I would encourage you to talk to your academic advisor or to another faculty member that has interests that are similar to yours.

What is the procedure for getting my project off the ground?
The semester before you begin your project, you should speak with a professor about being your project advisor.  Once you have a project advisor, you need to fill out the Senior Honors Project Application form.  On the form you will indicate which option you intend to pursue:  major honors/department project option or the Senior Honors Project option, as well as attach a project proposal to your application.  (Your project advisor can guide you in preparing the proposal.)   This application must then be signed by your project advisor, your academic advisor, as well as the College Honors Program Director (Dean Curry) for their signatures.  Once your project has received these three approvals, you must register your credits with the Registrar's Office.

How do I schedule my public presentation?

Speak with your project advisor regarding the timing, location, and publicity of your presentation.  It is the responsibility of the student to contact Room Reservations to reserve a suitable space.

Where do I turn in my completed paper?

One copy of your Senior Honors Project must be submitted to the Honors Program as an email attachment sent to LHagenbuch@messiah.edu.  A second copy must be submitted in hard copy to the library, to the attention of Beth Transue (Librarian/Collection Development Coordinator).  If the hard copy requirement is a hardship, the library will also accept CDs in MSOffice format such as MSWord, with a label including name, major and full title of project.

What do I turn in if my Senior Honors Project does not involve a traditional research paper?

We have received some non-traditional projects such as a computer program (and accompanying report) on CDROM.  We would also accept non-traditional projects that were not too 'bulky' such as a DVD of a theater performance or a film.  As another example, we had an Art Honors Project where the student experimented with ceramics.  She then wrote a literature review and report along with digital photographs of her work.  We did not receive the actual ceramic work however.  For these non-traditional projects, archiving would be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on size.  Please contact Lili Hagenbuch or Beth Transue (Librarian/Collection Development Coordinator) for questions on archiving your non-traditional project.