Writing an Honors Thesis in the Marriott School of Management

1. Writing an Honors Thesis in the Marriott School of Management

2. Why Write an Honors Thesis? • Develops proficient research and rhetorical skills • Makes an original contribution to your chosen field • Can lead to publication • Culminates undergraduate educational experience • Enhances academic and professional credentials • Gives advantage in applications to graduate school • Bottom line: The ability to write is a Good Thing!

3. The Stakeholders in Your Thesis • Marriott School Honors Coordinator • Helps you explore various topics • Assists in the selection of thesis advisor • Reviews and signs the Thesis Proposal Form • May participate in the thesis defense • Thesis Advisor • Teaches or researches full-time in thesis discipline • Is academically qualified (PhD) • Supervises development of thesis proposal • Directs the research and writing of thesis • Participates in the thesis defense • Thesis Referee • Teaches or researches in field relevant to thesis topic • May or may not be academically qualified, but is professionally qualified • Participates in the thesis defense • Honors Program Representative • Serves as a member of Honors Faculty Council or as an Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education • Chairs thesis defense

4. Student Resources • The Honors Program Office • The Marriott School Honors Coordinator • Honors Thesis Orientation • Twice a week (see Honors Program Website for schedule) • Courses • Honors 499R “Honor Thesis” - variable credit hours (6.0 max) • Use to maintain full-time status • Proposal must first be approved • Honors 300R “Writing the Thesis - 3.0 credit hours • Research must first be completed • Financial • Honors Program Funding • ORCA Research Scholarship • Examples • See prior Marriott School Honors Thesis in the Business Advisement Center (460 TNRB)

5. ? ? The Job of a Full-Time Faculty Member • Assistant Professor • Six years to receive continuing status (“tenure”) • Excellent publications • Publish or perish! • Associate Professor • Six years to receive full promotion • Very good publications • Very good teaching • A Full Professor • Expected to maintain a “full plate” • Good publications OR Good Citizenship • Very good teaching

6. Why Would a Professor Choose to Advise? • To work with a great student! • Good writers • Creative thinkers • Excellent initiative • An additional source of research assistance • 80 to 100 hours of unpaid work • A special zeal for the research work • The relationship should result in publication • The publication doesn’t have to happen at the time of the honors thesis work

7. How the Honor Thesis Process Should Work in the Marriott School The Best Model → Partnering! • Student identifies a professor doing work that interests the student • Student discusses with the professor possible work that could be delegated • The delegated work is an integral part of the professor’s research • The student is able to use the delegated work to write his or her own honors thesis • The professor’s delegated work and the student’s honors thesis are two separate, but related, deliverables • At the end of the partnership the student will graduate with honors and the professor will have research work advanced in a significant manner

8. How the Honor Thesis Process Should Work in the Marriott School A Possible Alternative Model → Mentoring • Student identifies a research idea that excites the student • The Marriott School Honors Coordinator helps the student establish a doable project • The student then meets with potential advisors who would then choose to advise the project based on the merit of the idea • The professor is able to adopt the honors project into his or her current research pipeline, • At the end of the partnership, the student will graduate with honors and the professor will have an additional publication (likely in co-authorship with the student)

9. How the Honor Thesis Process Should Work in the Marriott School An Unacceptable Model → Sacrificing • The professor feels compelled to bring a student onto an ongoing research project without a clear idea of how the student will be able to make significant contributions to the project • Or the student brings an idea to a professor who then feels compelled to advise on a project that is either unlikely to result in publication, or is unappealing or unconnected to the professor’s research focus • The Marriott School Honors Coordinator is committed to avoid this model!

10. The Honors Thesis Timeline • The Proposal • Submitted at least one year priorto your anticipated graduation date (CRITICAL!) • The Research • Complete the research the semester before you write the thesis • The First Draft • The advisor should see a complete first draft at least two months before you plan to have your defense • The Final Draft • Submit the final draft of the thesis and honors portfolio to the Honors Advisement Center three months priorto your graduation date • The Defense • Plan to defend your thesis within one monthof submitting final draft Example – A Typical Winter Semester First week First week First week Middle of of Jan of Feb of March April Deliver 1st Deliver Finished Defend Draft to Advisor Thesis to Honors Office Thesis Graduate!

11. Marriott School Faculty Volunteers • 101 Qualified Research Faculty (most are PhDs) • 12 Volunteers to be Research Partners • 9 Volunteers to be Research Mentors • 20 Volunteers to be either Partners or Mentors • 33 have requested to not participate at this time • The remaining 27 have yet to respond (ask them!) • Approx 60 Part-Time Faculty (most are not PhDs) • Part-time faculty are potential referees • The Faculty List is maintained at Marriott School website (select Students, then Courses) • Use this list when reviewing faculty bios on the Marriott School homepage

12. Partial Faculty List

13. Sample Faculty Page

14. Questions?