Honors Program

PURPOSE

The Honors Program in the Department of Communication Studies aims to identify, encourage, and recognize students with the potential for exceptional analytical, creative and communicative skills. The program involves completion of an elective course in the Honors College (HONORS 3700), in addition to an independent study course to develop a research proposal (COMM 3890), and the development of a research-based project (COMM 3891). The research proposal and project are self-directed under the supervision of a faculty advisor and Honors Committee.

HONORS RECOGNITION

Upon the recommendation of the Department Honors Committee and upon certification by the University Honors Council, the Honors candidate shall be graduated with Honors in Communication Studies. Recognition of this distinction shall be annotated on the student’s permanent record.

ELIGIBILITY AND ADMISSION

Petition for admission to the Honors Program may be initiated by the student or by a full-time faculty member of the Department of Communication Studies on behalf of the student. Minimum eligibility criteria are listed below:

  • An overall GPA of 3.3 or higher; this standard must be maintained throughout the period of participation in the Honors Program;
  • A GPA of 3.3 or higher in all Communication Studies and Journalism courses; this standard must be maintained throughout the period of participation in the Honors Program;
  • Completion of at least 30 (at UNC Charlotte) but not more than 90 credit hours at the time participation in the Honors Program will begin (determined by the start date of the student’s first Honors Program regularly scheduled course or independent study);
  • Achievement of a preferably an A or possibly a B in COMM 2100: Introduction to Communication Theory
  • Completion and submission of the Honors Program application form by April 15 for spring semester applicants or November 15 for fall semester applicants;
  • One page statement of interest, emailed to the Honors Program director, Dr. Tiffany Gallicano (Tiffany.Gallicano@charlotte.edu), by April 15 for spring semester applicants or November 15 for fall semester applicants. The statement should include a summary of the applicant’s general research area of interest and what the applicant wants to achieve from the experience. Applicants should also include how they intend their research project to contribute value to the academic community and either the professional community or the public sphere. Applicants can change their research topic later if desired. The statement should be single-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font, with a line of space between paragraphs and no paragraph indentations. It can be in a Word document, PDF, or a Google Doc.

CURRICULUM

Successful Honors Program candidates will complete at least nine credit hours of Honors courses, which count toward the 120 hours required for graduation and toward the Related Coursework requirement for all Communication Studies tracks.

Specific requirements are listed below:

  • Completion at least one three-credit academic Honors course (not including experiential or project-based courses) offered through the University Honors Program (HONR 3700);
  • Completion of COMM 3890, a three-credit Honors independent study under the supervision of the student’s Honors advisor and reviewed by the student’s Honors committee. The student will develop an original research proposal for this course that is situated within scholarly work in communication studies and represents a systematic investigation into a problem, issue, topic, or idea related to the communication studies discipline. The research proposal should be driven by research questions and/or hypotheses and be aligned with theory. The proposed methods must be grounded in best inquiry practices, including ethical practices. In addition, the research proposal will describe the community that would be interested in the work and be accompanied by a layperson summary. By Reading Day of the semester before graduation, the student must submit the Part One Form via DocuSign, following the directions on the Honors College website. The student must earn an A in COMM 3890.
  • Completion of COMM 3891 a three-credit Honors course based on the research proposal approved by the student’s Honors Committee. The research project must provide provisional answers to the inquiry presented in the proposal (minor changes are permitted by committee approval) in a written, oral, visual, aural, or experiential format. Examples include a written thesis, which can be ideal as a writing sample for a graduate program; a product  (e.g., an AI program or app that serves a discipline-related purpose); a formal training (e.g., workshop, panel, or presentation); exhibition of visual creative work; performance; guided community gathering, portfolio-based project or journal; or other product approved by the department’s Honors Program director. If a written thesis is chosen (see the example here), it must be between 35-75 pages, be double-spaced, use 12-point font, adopt one-inch margins, and use an appropriate scholarly writing style (e.g., APA or MLA style). Completion of COMM 3891 also includes the requirement to share the insights generated by the inquiry process and the resulting product with relevant stakeholders and the target audience. At minimum, the sharing requirement includes the submission of the product to Niner Commons and the presentation of the product to the student’s Honors Committee. The research product could possibly be shared in other ways, such as a thesis repository, oral presentation at a stakeholder meeting or conference; digital sharing (e.g., website or social media); journal article, scheduled viewing or exhibition of work (e.g., screening of a documentary); or another method approved by the Honors Program director. By Reading Day of the semester of graduation, the student must submit the Part Two form via DocuSign, following the directions on the Honors College website. The student must earn an A in COMM 3891

DEPARTMENT HONORS COMMITTEE

A Standing Honors Committee, led by the Honors Program Coordinator, will review Honors Programs applications and approve or decline those applications. The Standing Honors Committee will comprise:

  • The Honors Program Coordinator
  • The Department Chair
  • The Associate Department Chair (if one is designated)
  • The Undergraduate Coordinator (if one is designated)
  • The Department Adviser (if one is designated)
  • The Department Graduate Coordinator

STUDENT’S HONORS PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Each Honors student must obtain the participation of three full-time Communication Studies faculty members to shepherd him/her through the Honors Program. Members of this committee will advise the student on course selection, evaluate the student’s thesis proposal, and evaluate the completed thesis. One faculty member will serve as committee chair and primary contact for the student. At least one of the three members must be tenured/tenure-track. When appropriate, based on the student’s academic interest, one of the three faculty members may be selected from an outside department. The student is responsible for scheduling and coordinating all meetings with the committee as a whole or with individual members; this includes the thesis defense.

TIMELINE

Applications for beginning the Honors Program with the summer sessions or in the fall semester must be submitted not later than April 15. To begin the program in the spring semester, applications must be submitted not later than November 15.
The Honors Thesis must be successfully defended not less than 30 days prior to the desired graduation date.
Students may withdraw from the Honors Program in writing at any time without penalty. Any Honors courses in progress must be completed unless the student withdraws from the course under normal university procedures.

Honors Program Application

Once students are accepted into the Communication Studies Honors Program, they must submit an Honors Thesis research proposal as part of the Honors College Application to Candidacy process. See link below for more details on the Application to Candidacy process:

Honors College Application Information

ALERT!

All students planning to graduate with honors must submit to the Honors College an Application to Candidacy Form with a thesis/project proposal by the deadline the semester PRIOR to the semester in which they expect to complete the thesis/project. This process includes review of the proposal by Honors Faculty and sometimes requires revisions. Plan ahead and contact your honors program director in your junior year to facilitate this process; he or she, as well as your thesis advisor and any reader(s), must review the proposal and approve it via signature before submission. This Application to Candidacy process is required before taking any honors thesis/project courses on campus. For more information, including the form, deadlines, and guidelines, see: https://honorscollege.charlotte.edu/living-honors/graduation-process. Students who fail to complete this required step will not be able to proceed with the thesis/project, nor graduate with honors.