Honors Guidelines for Linguistics Majors
Honors: A student who has a GPA of 3.5 or higher in upper division courses will automatically graduate with honors (cum laude) and this will be reflected on the student’s transcript and diploma. Post-baccalaureate students are not eligible to receive honors recognition.
High and Highest Honors: Students who wish to graduate with high honors (magna cum laude) or highest honors (summa cum laude) must, in addition,
- have a major GPA of 3.5 or higher
- enroll in LIN4905 Individual Study during at least one semester, and
- complete LIN4970 Senior Thesis, in a following semester
The senior thesis must be submitted and approved prior to graduation
Is a Senior Thesis Appropriate for You?
A senior thesis is appropriate if a student is interested in learning more about a particular subject, wishes to gain research experience, and has at least a full year before graduation. For more information about whether a senior thesis is right for you, consult the UF Honors Program website. Another helpful website to check out if you are having difficulty coming up with research ideas is the ‘Do You Want to Do Research?’ page on our UF Department of Linguistics website (https://lin.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/102/researchopportunities.pdf).
Timing
Work culminating in an honors thesis generally requires two or more semesters. The student would ideally start planning for the thesis in his/her junior year by identifying an area of interest to him/her and selecting a faculty member who is willing to mentor the student on the project. A general guideline (given a Spring graduation) is that students conduct research during the summer between their junior/senior year, and during the first semester of their senior year. During the summer and the fall semester, the student registers for LIN 4905. The following semester (spring), the student registers for LIN 4970. This final semester will be dedicated to writing the thesis and having it approved.
Funding
Students should consider applying for the University Scholar Program, which provides funds for summer research (http://www.scholars.ufl.edu – deadline typically mid-February).
Paperwork and Due Dates
Registration
A thesis project is a two or three semester project. In the first semester (in the case of a two semester project), or first two semesters (in the case of a three-semester project), students are required to sign up for LIN 4905. To sign up, complete the LIN 4905 (Request for Individual Study) form and e-mail it to the Linguistics undergraduate coordinator before the end of drop/add of the semester in question.
In the final semester, students must sign up for LIN 4970. To sign up, complete the LIN 4970 (Request for Honors Thesis) form and e-mail it to the Linguistics undergraduate coordinator before the end of drop/add of this semester.
Thesis Deadlines
Final copies of the thesis are due to the faculty advisor approximately one month before classes end (beginning of April for Spring term graduation, beginning of November for Fall graduation) to allow for approval and evaluation (by the advisor and a second reader) in time for graduation.
The graded thesis, complete with any revisions required by the advisor and second reader, is due on or before the last day of classes. In addition, the following tasks should also be completed by the end of the semester:
- The advisor should notify the Linguistics undergraduate coordinator with the final thesis designation (honors, high honors, or highest honors) at least two days before the last day of classes.
- The student must complete the Honors Thesis submission form, have it signed by their Honors Thesis advisor, and submit it to the Linguistics undergraduate coordinator at least two days before the last day of classes.
- The student must submit the final graded PDF copy of their thesis to the Linguistics undergraduate coordinator at least two days before the end of exam week.
- The student must submit a copy of their completed Senior Thesis to the UF Library. Information about how to submit the thesis can be found here (https://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/c.php?g=966329&p=7028773).
Mechanics
Style: The thesis is to be written in a style appropriate for the discipline, for example LSA, APA, or Chicago Manual of Style recommendations. It should be consistent throughout. Organization and content are to be determined in conjunction with the advisor. There is no specific length requirement but a recommendation is 30 pages.
Content: The thesis must be work that is original to the student and that is written specifically for the senior thesis requirement.
Evaluation Guidelines
Students who successfully complete a senior thesis are eligible for high and highest honors. The following criteria are used in evaluating the thesis:
- mastery of the relevant academic literature
- originality of the research
- contribution of the thesis to the field
- inherent quality of the work
Highest honors will generally only be given for theses that make a significant contribution to the field; the writing and research must be uniformly excellent and the results should be of near-publishable quality.
The faculty advisor has the primary responsibility for evaluating the thesis and determining if high/highest honors are appropriate. S/he will appoint a second person who will serve as a reader for the thesis. The advisor will determine the thesis grade in consultation with the reader. It is possible that students may complete a thesis and not obtain high or highest honors.
More Information
For more information, please see the ‘Honors’ section under the ‘Undergraduate Program’ page on the UF Linguistics website: http://www.lin.ufl.edu/maior.html#honors or email the Linguistics undergraduate coordinator.