Each department has the option to alter the requirements for Honors in the Major, as long as the stated minimums remain in effect.

Below, you will find the things you need to know about how Honors in the Major works in your department.

• Although the terms "thesis" and "project" are often used interchangeably in the Honors Program, a thesis is more precisely based on traditional library research and critical analysis and a project on primary research or creative activity such as that conducted by a scientist in a laboratory or an artist in a studio. An Honors student who engages in empirical research is not expected to write a thesis, but a "project report." The possible topics that students will select for the thesis or project are many and varied, depending on their interests. However, some are provided here for illustrative purposes:
  
  •   "Information Needs of Different Disabilities"
  •   "Assessing the Usability of Software as Used by Certain Students"
  •   "Role of Geographic Information Systems in Information Flows in State Government"
  •   "The Effect of Digital Networks on Child Development and Culture: Growing Up Digital"
  •   "How Digital Media Influences Public Policy"
  •   "How Digital Media Influences Traditional Media"
  •   "The Usability of the Web and How Usability Influences 'Surfing' Patterns"
    
    Typically, students will undertake a library-research-type thesis of around 50 pages, tables and appendices would typically comprise part of this total. Because this is a School of Information Studies, some students may elect to perform a research project which focuses on subject matter that would best appear in an alternate medium. This medium could be a CD-ROM, video recording, or only in digital form on a website. In such cases, the 50-page report might be used to describe the media and its contribution to the work. A report should show an awareness of other scholars' work in that area and should be written in standard English, as much as possible.
    
• The course you register for, for Honors Thesis credit, is LIS4970r, Honors.
• The typical thesis/project program will be six (6) hours or one full year of thesis/project work. Students may not take six hours of thesis in one term.
• All six hours are applicable toward major requirements.
• The thesis/project will remain unfinished for one term. The faculty will typically assign a letter grade for the first term, based on the progress of the student up to that point. Alternatively, it may be decided to assign an 'I' (Incomplete) for the first term. Then, upon completion of the two-term project, the same grade will be assigned for both terms.
• Students are encouraged to make plans for Honors in the Major work in Information Studies as early as possible. Students should meet with Professor Corinne L. Jorgensen to discuss the program at their earliest convenience.