Senior Honors Thesis

Senior honors thesis students will spend their senior year engaged in original research on a topic of their choice with the guidance of a faculty advisor. In the fall, they’ll take a research and writing seminar (ASIA 691H), and in the spring they’ll be enrolled in thesis credit hours (ASIA 692H) and work independently and with their advisor. They’ll write a substantial paper, defend it before their thesis committee, present their research at our senior colloquium, and graduate with honors in Asian Studies.

To find out more about the senior honors thesis process:

• Attend the info session we organize every February. Students at all levels are welcome; it’s never too early to start thinking about this.
• Come to our senior colloquium in April, and see this year’s senior honors students present their research.
• Contact the departmental honors advisor, Dr. Jon Kief.
• Refer to the general information about senior honors thesis on the Honors Carolina website.

If you’re a junior and want to write a senior honors thesis next year, you will need:

• A GPA of at least 3.3
• A faculty advisor either in the Department of Asian Studies or among our affiliate faculty
• An interesting topic that you’d like to explore (preferably related to previous coursework)

The deadline to apply is April 15.

To apply, go to https://olcm.oasis.unc.edu/. This is the same online system used for independent study proposals, and you can refer to these step-by-step general instructions, but should also follow the instructions here that are specific to senior honors thesis.

• Select ASIA 691H as the course, for 3 credit hours
• Choose the “upload supplemental syllabus” checkbox. However, what you should upload is not a syllabus, but a document containing the following information:
  • Description of your thesis topic (< 1 page).
  • Summer work plan. This should include a description of the written output your advisor expects you to complete before the start of fall semester (e.g. reading notes, summaries or annotated bibliography of specific titles, collation of data, etc.). You may also attach copies of questionnaires or surveys you plan to use during your summer research. If you are planning to conduct research involving human subjects, please indicate your plans to obtain IRB training and approval, or explain why that won’t be necessary.

Your thesis application will route for approval to your thesis advisor, and then to the Associate Chair of Asian Studies. After it has been approved, you’ll be enrolled by the department in ASIA 691H for fall. Meanwhile, make sure you keep the time slot for that class (and 3 credit hours) free in your schedule.

For substantive questions about honors thesis, please contact the departmental honors advisor listed above. For administrative or technical questions about the application or enrollment process, please contact Lori Harris.