Department of Physics and Astronomy: Undergraduate Program

The Honors Program requires a high level of accomplishment in a rigorous program of course work and culminates in research work which is presented as a senior thesis. Note particularly the requirements of independent study or thesis credit hours and the grade point average for a) all course work, b) course work in the major, and c) course work taken while a candidate for honors. Preparation during the junior year for the thesis project is strongly encouraged, but actual application for candidacy in the honors program usually is done promptly at the start of the senior year.

Last year we began saving physics and astronomy honors theses in the e-archive of the university library at: http://e-archive.vanderbilt.edu/community-list
and page down to heading Undergraduate Honors Research and then to subheading Physics and Astronomy Department Honors Program, and look at the list down the right margin, recent submissions, to find the theses.
Hard copies of a number of recent theses are also available on the shelves of SC 6333.

Application

Please discuss your plan with the chair of the Departmental Honors and Independent Study Committee, Med Webster, as you prepare the application. The formal application for admission to candidacy consists of:

In collaboration with your honors adviser compose a title and a plan outlining the work to be done for the honors thesis. The plan is typically only a single paragraph. The plan should include a sentence stating whether the honors candidacy is in physics or in astronomy and a statement of how the requirement for time and effort dedicated to the honors project will be fulfilled. The provision for the time and effort commitment is usually fulfilled by ten credit hours of Honors Research or Independent Study, but some upper level courses and research in previous years of summers may be used to satisfy part of this requirement. Keep a copy of this paragraph. It will also be used in step 4 below and you will need it again in January when you register for research hours in the spring semester.

This title and plan must be endorsed by the adviser and is then submitted to the chair of the Departmental Honors and Independent Study Committee (Med Webster, SC 6901).

The Student should obtain the Honors Program Application Form from Ms. Peggy Lucas-McGowan in the Physics & Astronomy Main office, 6301 Stevenson Center or from Med Webster (SC 6901). The completed form, including the signatures of your major adviser and your honors thesis adviser, should then be returned to Ms. Lucas-McGowan.

The Student should obtain a copy of the Contract for Registration in Independent/Directed Study Courses. These forms are available on line or from Ms. Lucas-McGowan. Return the completed form, which requires the signatures of your honors thesis adviser and of either the Department Chair or the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Prof. Weintraub), to Ms. Lucas-McGowan who will register you for the course. The paragraph written for step 1) above is appropriate for this form.

The candidates for honors are reported to the physics faculty for admission to the honors program. Those approved by the faculty are reported to the Dean at the time the tenth day enrollments are submitted.

The Process

The research, interpretation, and summary in the thesis proceed during the academic year. The only formality is registration for research credit hours for the spring semester. Early in the spring semester those honors students who wish to participate will have an opportunity to meet as a group with the program adviser to look at previous honors thesis and to make a practice presentation of their own work.

Wrapping It Up

The thesis and oral examination are the final steps in the honors program. The examination is given by the Committee of Independent Examiner which is nominated by the candidate and adviser and appointed by the Chair of the Department Honors Committee. The thesis must be completed sufficiently before the end of the spring semester so that:

The Committee of Independent Examiners reads the thesis.

The candidate schedules the oral examination.

The committee makes its recommendation to the adviser.

The adviser presents the appropriate motion for award of honors to the physics faculty at a faculty meeting.

The Department chair (or chair of the Honors Committee) reports the decision to the College Registrar in time for it to be included in the commencement bulletin and printed on the diploma. This last step, reporting to the registrar, must occur two weeks before Commencement.

In order to provide time for this tightly constrained sequence of events, the deadline for the oral is the first day of exams, as stated in Section IV, B,3 of the formal rules. Questions about the Honors program should be directed to Professor Med Webster, Chair of the Departmental Honors and Independent Study Committee (SC 6901, med.webster@vanderbilt.edu or phone 615-322-2842).

The Formal Rules of the Honors Program approved by the Department can be found here:

Honors Rules.pdf

For more information, please contact Dept of Physics and Astronomy.
2007 Vanderbilt University