Overview of the Process

Honors Proposal

1. Student registers for HONR 300 “Honors Proposal” anytime after completing HONR 100.
2. Student secures agreement from faculty mentor (and other group members, if applicable).
3. Student and faculty mentor decide on an appropriate topic and research question for the project.
4. Student works with faculty mentor to develop a complete proposal including:
   • Institutional Review Board approval, if necessary.
   • Funding request and estimated costs of materials, if desired.
   • Completed proposal form and document to be submitted in hard copy and electronically to the Honors program director.

Honors Research

1. Student enrolls in HONR 350. Faculty mentor prepares a syllabus for the class and submits it to honors program director.
2. Student completes regular progress report forms, secures faculty mentor’s signature, and submits them to the program director.
3. Student and faculty mentor prepare report of research or project findings to be submitted to the program director.

Honors Capstone

1. Student registers for HONR 498 and completes recommended revisions.
2. Student prepares oral presentation with faculty mentor’s assistance.
3. Honors committee reviews final reports and presentations.
4. Honors program director informs student and faculty mentor of committee’s decision.
5. Honors Program Director notifies Registrar of program completion for transcript designation.

Research Project Guidelines

The Honors program at BVU is designed to encourage you to develop your academic talents beyond the regular curriculum and to discover what your are capable of. One way this is accomplished is through the honors research project. In this project, you engage in challenging research and creative activity under the direction of a faculty mentor. This section sets out guidelines to assist you and your faculty mentor as you design, propose, conduct, evaluate, and present an original scholarly or creative project.

Basic Guidelines for Honors Research Projects

An honors project is more than a big course paper. It is an original undertaking sustained over the course of several semesters. The project begins as a proposal in HONR 300 (Honors Proposal), is conducted for HONR 350 (Honors Research), and is finally completed when you present your findings in HONR 498 (Honors Capstone). Projects must be designed and executed especially for the program and cannot be mere revisions of an earlier study. However, it is acceptable for your honors project to serve as a substantial extension of previous work, provided the honors project itself requires considerable additional research, testing, analysis, interpretation, or implementation. An honors project must comprise a relatively self-contained component of the larger body of work of which it is a part. If you wish to build on previous efforts, you should discuss your ideas with your faculty mentor and with the program director. You must demonstrate the cohesiveness and completeness of your honors project in the proposal document. The final decision whether a project meets requirements lies with the honors program director.

Honors projects can be individual endeavors in which you work with a single faculty mentor to complete the project. Likewise, a project can be a collaborative effort including several students and/or faculty mentors in various combinations. Team projects provide an opportunity for a highly motivated group to complete a much more complex or involved project than would be possible for an individual.

In addition to the routine components of an honors proposal, students wishing to engage in collaborative projects must specify 1) the specific rationale behind the decision to collaborate on this particular project, 2) the unique intellectual or creative contribution each member brings to the project, 3) how work is to be distributed equally among team members, and 4) a procedure for enforcing individual accountability to group tasks. Collaborative projects involving students from multiple disciplines and schools are also encouraged. Students wishing to work on team projects should consult with the honors program director before beginning the proposal process.

Student Responsibilities

You should expect to:

• Adhere to ethical standards regarding the treatment of human subjects, plagiarism, patents and copyright including the correct and consistent employment of a citation style appropriate to your discipline.
• Respect and observe all safety precautions when engaging in laboratory and field research and artistic performances.
• Conduct yourself in a manner that reflects favorably upon the honors program and the University.
• Maintain primary responsibility for the completion of the project.
• Provide the initiative behind the project.
• Keep your faculty mentor and the honors program director informed of your progress.
• Prepare professional quality documents (proposal, research report) and oral presentations.
• Adhere to all program, school, and university policies.

Student Support

Your faculty mentor will provide you with significant intellectual guidance and personalized mentoring to assist you in the design, execution, and assessment of your project. You should talk to the honors program director if you are worried about your grades.