Once you have decided to begin an Honors in the Major project, you may begin work on selecting your faculty committee. You will work under the guidance of a Thesis Director from your major area of study plus two additional faculty members, one of whom must be from your department, and one from outside your department. Your third committee member cannot be from your major department, nor does he or she have to be an expert on the topic of your project. You also have the option of choosing a fourth committee member from any academic department.

** Note for Music majors—your third committee member may be from another area within the School of Music or from another School or College in the University.

** Note for interdisciplinary majors—Your Thesis Director and one other committee member must come from departments which contribute courses to your interdisciplinary major. Your third committee member may come from any department. However, at least two different departments must be represented on your committee.

Most often, the thesis director and members of the supervisory committee are tenured or tenure-track faculty members. This includes Assistant, Associate, and full Professors. However, a non-tenure track faculty member or other permanent member of the university's instructional or research staff can be designated thesis director or member of the supervisory committee with the approval of the Director of the University Honors Office. Two members of the supervisory committee must be tenured or tenure-track faculty members. One member of the supervisory committee must have a home academic department different from that of the thesis director. A "visiting scholar" who is not an employee of The Florida State University can be included on the supervisory committee with the approval of the Director of the University Honors Office. The supervisory committee must be approved by the chair or director of the academic department or program in which the student is majoring. Academic departments and programs may elect to have more specific criteria for the thesis director and supervisory committee.

The duties of the Thesis Director include:

• Directing the student's research, study and writing
• Helping the student structure the basic conception of the thesis project
• Helping the student clarify the objectives of the thesis project
• Working with the student to discover an appropriate research or creative strategy for achieving these objectives
• Monitoring the progress of the student
• Providing specific guidance to the student regarding formal deadlines
• Scheduling the defense
• Signing the forms required by the University Honors Office
• Serving as instructor of record for the Honors in the Major course credit

The duties of the other members of the Supervisory Committee include:

• Providing additional viewpoints on all phases of the thesis project—conception, creation and completion
• Contributing input on the project itself and the evaluation of the project
• Participating in the thesis defense

With these things in mind, you now have the framework on which to base the construction of your committee. But who might you want to serve in these roles? How do you find qualified faculty?

If you have no idea, don't despair. There are several avenues you can explore to help you choose:

Once you have narrowed down your choices (at least for Thesis Director), there are some things you will likely want to consider before finalizing your decision: