Honors Thesis

All Education Honors students write an original thesis as part of their Honors work. The thesis is developed in conjunction with an thesis advisor. The Honors courses during the fall and spring semester of the junior year thoroughly prepare students for thesis work. Honors students work with a thesis advisor to collect and present original data on a education topic that is of interest to the Honors students. Education professors are available to assist with data analysis. The thesis experience is meant to be a collaborative research experience.

 

An education thesis general consists of five chapters:

• An introduction to the problem being researched (Why is this topic important to study?),
• A review of literature related to the problem being studied (What do we already know about this problem?),
• Methods that include procedures, measurement instruments, and description of participants (This is what I did to investigate the problem.),
• Results (This is what I learned about the problem [or solved the problem] using the data I collected.), and
• Discussion (These are the implications of what I learned, how they agree or differ from what others found, and what implications they have for future research.).

Each year the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) provides funding and support for undergraduates conducting research and their faculty research advisors. Undergraduate students can apply for several types of OUR grants. Many Honors students apply for OUR Supply Grants, which can cover any consumable or expense associate with the student’s research.  OUR Research Travel grants are also available to support travel expenses associated with collecting data, and OUR Conference Presentation Awards support students in traveling to professional conferences to share their research.  Each of these grants is worth a maximum of $500.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Please visit www.our.uconn.edu for more information on student eligibility for this grant program as well as other programs, such as the SURF grant program and Frontiers in Undergraduate Research, sponsored by the OUR.  You may also contact the OUR staff by emailing our@uconn.edu.

Students may also wish to present their research at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (http://www.cur.org/conferences_and_events/student_events/ncur/). UConn has some funds to support research projects as well as to support travel to conferences (see http://ugradresearch.uconn.edu/funding-opportunities/).

Descriptions of Previous Honors Theses

Each year, the Neag School of Education Honors Program holds a social event and meeting for all junior and senior Honors students in the School.  Juniors in the program are in the process of deciding on the specific directions for their Honors thesis work, while seniors are in the thick of data collection and preparing for a busy spring semester of student teaching.  During the social, students in both groups share their research topics, and seniors share tips from their own experiences in the program with the juniors.  Beyond the advice-giving from seniors and information-sharing from faculty, the event is a relaxing break to celebrate the end of the semester and everyone’s thesis progress.

 

Updated 3/5/24