Projects and Honors
Department Honors
This serves as a guide for both students and faculty who desire information about the process of standing for Honors in the Department of Sociology. If a student thinks he or she may be interested in pursuing Departmental Honors, certain decisions are necessary in designing both the Independent Study Project and the timetable associated with writing the final paper. If a student is potentially interested in standing for Honors, the student should consult with his/her Independent Study advisor (and perhaps other members of the department, too) to evaluate whether the type of project of interest to the student is viable as a potential honors project. What follows below is a list of commonly asked questions and the answers to those questions.
1. Are there any departmental requirements which must be met before a student can stand for Honors?
A student must have completed at least four courses in our department and have at least a 3.0 grade point average both overall and in sociology.
2. Are their special requirements that need to be met for an Independent Study project to have the potential for Honors?
The Independent Project should typically be a two-semester independent and must be in Sociology. The thesis must be grounded in sociological perspective, connect theory and data, and offer original insights to Sociology. Among other things, students must clearly articulate and define the relevant and important sociological variables and concepts. Two types of independent study projects are appropriate for Honors. One type of project involves data analysis. The project could involve collecting new data or using secondary data. Either quantitative data, qualitative data, or both could be used for the analysis. The data could be collected, for example, by conducting a survey or doing a content analysis. In any case, a project of this type would need to make an original contribution to Sociology. A second type of project could be a critical review of the literature. The review would involve an evaluative and interpretative analysis. The student would need to go beyond what is written; this review cannot be simply a summary of the literature. As with the data oriented project, the thesis must make an original contribution.
3. When must an entire draft of the paper be turned in?
A complete draft of the final paper for the independent must be turned into the advisor four weeks before the last day of classes. If the advisor believes that the paper is potentially Honors quality, the advisor will, in consultation with the student, then choose a second reader for the paper. The second reader then develops an informal opinion about the paper's potential for Honors.
4. How will I know if I should anticipate going forward for Honors?
The advisor and the second reader will then discuss the paper's potential for honors and decide whether the student should continue with the process. If the advisor and the second reader agree that the project has the potential to continue forward, then they will make recommendations for the revisions necessary to proceed. The second reader will provide written comments and, if possible, meet with the advisor and the student. The student can only go forward for Honors if the paper is revised along these lines. If the advisor and the second reader do not share the same opinion about going forward with the process, they may consult with the Chair or another member of the department. If the Chair is the independent study project advisor, or the second reader and there not a consensus about whether to move forward or not, the advisor and the second reader will seek the opinion of another member of the department.
5. Does the approval to progress to the Honors exam imply that the student will receive Honors?
Students should understand that the approval to stand for Honors is just that and no more. The approval to stand for Honors carries with it no guarantee of Honors and the Honors Examination Committee has no obligation to grant Honors. The approval to move forward means only that there appears to be potential for Honors.
6. On what basis will Honors be determined?
The Honors Examination Committee determines Honors primarily on the quality of the Independent Study paper (see answer to Question 2 above for the relevant criteria), but also on the quality of responses during the oral Honors Examination.
7. Who is on the Honors Examination Committee?
The Honors Examination Committee will be composed of three members, at least two of which will typically be from within the Sociology Department. One of these two will be the second reader from the previous phase of this process. The committee members will be selected by the Honors candidate and his/her Independent Study project advisor. The third member of the committee should have expertise in the substantive area of inquiry. (Although faculty members on sabbatical leave or a leave of absence, if asked, may be will to serve as second readers or on the Honors committee, there is no obligation for nor expectation that they will do so.) The advisor to the Honors candidate is not a member of the Honors Examination Committee.
8. Who actually makes the decision about whether a student receives Honors or not?
The three members of the Honors Examination Committee. Since the majority (2-1) rules, the decision of the committee need not be unanimous. The student's advisor for the independent study project does not vote on the Honors decision.
9. When does the Honors exam take place?
Franklin & Marshall College has a specifically scheduled time within which the exam must be scheduled. Typically, the exam can be scheduled sometime during the last week of classes and the early part of the final exam period. Two hours is usually reserved for the Honors exam. The two hour time slot is selected to accommodate the schedules of the three members of the Honors Examination Committee as well as the student's Independent Study advisor and the student.
10. What happens during the Honors Examination?
The Honors Examination is open to all members of the F&M community. The three member committee will convene at the appointed time in the appointed place along with the candidate for Honors and the candidate's advisor for the Independent Study project. At the beginning of the Honors exam it is expected that the Honors candidate will make a ten minute presentation of his/her research. When the presentation is complete, the members of the Honors Committee will ask the Honors candidate questions for at least an hour. The questions can range from being very specifically focused on a particular aspect of the research that was conducted to very broad in terms of implications for one or more areas of sociology. Depending on the nature of the research, examiners may pursue the policy implications of the findings. During the Honors exam, the advisor is expected to refrain from asking and answering questions. When the members of the committee have completed their questioning, the Honors candidate will be asked to leave the room. At that time, members of the committee may solicit information from the advisor. Since the advisor is not a voting member of the committee, the advisor will be asked to leave the room when the committee is ready to deliberate and reach a decision regarding honors.
Once the Honors Examination Committee has reached a decision, the committee will report its decision and the reasons for the decision either to the student and the advisor, or to the advisor who will then communicate with the student. The student will decide which form of communication is preferred.
11. If the student receives Honors, is there any additional work for the student to do?
Yes, there may be some additional work to do because the members of the Honors Committee may have corrections or stylistic suggestions that will need to be incorporated into the final draft of the Honors thesis which is submitted to the archives of the library.
12. How is a student who receives Honors recognized?
The student's name and the title of his/her independent study project appears in the program handed out at graduation. In addition, there is a notation indicating Honors which is added to the student's permanent transcript.
Independent Study Projects
Independent Study Projects awarded Departmental Honors in recent years include:
"Structural Barriers and Gendered Differences: Obstacles to the Retention to Women in Engineering."
"Athletics, Media, College Life and Eating Disorders: A Literature Review."
"The Organizational Processes Leading to Successful Juvenile Detention Reform: Arizona Juvenile Corrections 1986-1999"
"Portrayals of Gender and Reflections of Social Change in the Advertising of Ladies Home Journal from 1954 through the Present"
"Symbolic Racism: Past, Present, and Future A New Perspective"
"The Impact of Hate Crime Legislation on the Ku Klux Klan"
"Improving the Educational Attainment of African American Students"
"Programming the Computer Age: Discourse and Advertising"
"Tourism on the Marae: A Sociological Examination of the Design and Organization of the Physical and Emotional Space in the Development of the Host/Guest Relationship"
Recent Achievements in Sociology by Alumni
Loreen Wolfer '91 - 2000 President-Elect - The Pennsylvania Sociological Society.
Kim Shuey '90 - 2000 American Sociological Association - Aging and the Life Course section - Graduate Student Paper Competition Award Winner for "Intergenerational Patterns of Assistance Among a Cohort of American Couples".
Michelle Manasse '99 - 1999 American Sociological Association - Sociology of Law section - Undergraduate Student Paper Competition Award Winner for "The Organizational Processes Leading to Successful Juvenile Detention Reform: Arizona Juvenile Corrections 1986-1999".
Kristen Purcell '92 - 1998 American Sociological Association - Sociology of Culture section - Paper Competition Award Winner for "On a Level Playing Field: Mental Leveling and the Creation of Social Comparability."
