Objectives:
To allow qualified students to spend two semesters in independent study under the guidance of a thesis advisor
To research, write and defend an independent thesis.
Honors Qualifications:
- Students must be Religious Studies majors
- Students must have an overall GPA of 3.2 or higher
- Students should have an overall GPA in religious studies coursework of 3.5 or higher
- Please note: Students interested in pursuing honors in RS but requiring exceptions to the above criteria should contact the honors advisor and their requests will be considered on an individual basis.
- The honors program in Religious Studies is separate from the University Honors Program
Procedure:
1. During the junior year of study, the student should submit an email request to undertake an honors thesis to the honors program advisor, broadly indicating their proposed area of study. They may also indicate any professors with whom they propose to develop the honors thesis, or the honors advisor will make recommendations in this regard.
2. If admitted to the honors program, the student should sign up for two consecutive semesters of Religion 497, Independent Study under the Honors Advisor. This is usually done in the last two semesters of the senior year but can be begun in the last semester of the junior year with permission of the advisor.
3. Early in the first semester of the honors program, the student and advisor will formulate the thesis topic and identify a primary and secondary reader with expertise in the thesis area.
4. By the end of the first semester of honors work, the student must submit a two-page outline/prospectus of the writing plan for the thesis and a bibliography of readings completed during the semester.
5. The student should submit a full initial draft of the thesis to the primary advisor by the UNM Spring Break (for students graduating at end of Spring semester) or UNM Fall Break (for students graduating at end of Fall semester). Primary advisor will provide counsel regarding revisions to be made for the final thesis, to be submitted to the secondary advisor and to the Honors advisor.
6. Three weeks prior to the end of the second semester of honors work, the student must submit a final draft of the paper to all three advisors (or two, if Honors advisor is also one of the two readers).
7. Student will generally defend the thesis before both readers before or during the penultimate week of the concluding semester.
8. Should students elect or be unable to complete the honors progression, they may receive credit for 497 as an independent study at the honors advisors discretion.
9. If the student successfully completes an acceptable paper and defense, the honors advisor (in consultation with the primary reader, if a different person) will recommend to the Director of Religious Studies that the student receive honors in Religious Studies. The final decision is the director's.
Advisement:
1. The Honors Advisor is currently the Associate Director of Religious Studies, Dr. Cynthia Geppert. Dr. Geppert has broad training in religious studies and associated fields such as history and philosophy and will generally be able to function as the first reader and primary advisor for students.
2. In the event that Dr. Geppert does not feel competent in the area proposed, she may be able to identify potential faculty candidates for a given topic, but it is the ultimate responsibility of the student to identify a suitable advisor willing to serve. The advisor and student should communicate at least every two weeks during the first semester of honors and weekly during the second semester. Communication may take the form of e-mail, phone or in person discussions of the student's progress.
3. The student should consult and follow a standard publication manual in preparing the thesis; the final thesis must be in a form acceptable to the Honors Advisor.
For more information, please contact Dr. Cynthia Geppert, Associate Director of Religious Studies at ethicdoc@comcast.net
[revised January 2006]
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