The Honors Research Scholars and Honors Creative Scholars Programs offers students a two-semester independent research/creative experience that includes publicly presenting your work and culminates in an undergraduate thesis, refereed publication, exhibit, performance or other scholarly product. The project must consist of work not required for the undergraduate degree. It is a prestigious research/creative opportunity available to undergraduates at Southeastern Louisiana University and provides participants with opportunities customarily extended only to students pursuing graduate degrees.
Upon completion of the Honors Research Scholars or Honors Creative Scholars Program, scholars are recognized on their transcript and at graduation as an Honors Research Scholar or Honors Creative Scholar.
Students should apply to the Honors Office no later than the end of the second week of the semester they intend to begin their research/creative experience. Proposals will not be accepted for research projects that have been largely completed prior to application.
The application will consist of
Applications will be reviewed by the Honors Scholars Committee. Students accepted into the program will be notified no later than the end of the fourth week of the semester.
The Honors Scholars Committee will consist of at least one faculty member from each college who is actively engaged in research/creative activity. The goal of the committee is to ensure that the proposed research/creative projects are of sufficient depth and rigor to warrant Honors distinction.
Upon completion of the research/creative experience,
The student will publicly present their results to the campus community at a department forum or public symposium such as the annual College Honors Convocations.
The student will submit their scholarly product together with a project cover sheet signed by their faculty mentor (in the case of an undergraduate thesis a second faculty reader is required), to the Honors Office. The product will be reviewed by the Honors Scholars Committee.
Acceptable scholarly products include an undergraduate thesis, publication in a refereed scholarly journal, presentation at a national or international conference, or other product approved in advance by the faculty mentor and Honors Scholars Committee.
Upon successful completion of all requirements, the distinction “Honors Research Scholar” or “Honors Creative Scholar” will be included on the student’s official university transcript.
The application consists of three parts: the application form, the project proposal, and the timeline.
The Application page asks for general information about the proposed project, about you as a prospective scholar, and about your faculty mentor. The cover sheet must bear the signatures of the student applicant and faculty mentor, and the names of the department head of the student’s academic major and department head of the faculty mentor. This page MUST be typed or it will not be accepted.
Mentor’s Signature: Your mentor must sign, acknowledging that he/she has read and approves of your proposal and agrees to serve as your Faculty Mentor. Her/His signature will indicate that this proposal is of scholarly quality.
The research/creative proposal is a description of the project that the student intends to undertake and that will be reported in a detailed, comprehensive fashion in the completed thesis, publication, portfolio, or other scholarly product. Scholars proposals will be evaluated and approved by the Honors Scholars Committee. The proposal must therefore convince others of your ability to pursue the proposed project to a successful conclusion. The research/creative proposal, double-spaced, should not exceed four pages. In preparing a proposal, you should keep in mind that the Scholars experience is to be devoted to research/creativity, not just study.
Provide a detailed timeline for the project. The timeline should span at least two semesters. Be sure to define what your final scholarly/creative product outlet will be (e.g., thesis submission to Honors, article submission to a journal, conference submission) and state how you will incorporate the campus presentation requirement into your research timeline.
