Instructions for Graduating with Honors

For the Student:

1. At the end of your Senior year, you must have an overall GPA of 3.0.
2. At the end of your Senior year, you must have a GPA of 3.3 in your Physics classes.
3. You must participate in a mentored research project and You must pass either Physics 381 or 382 for at least one semester.
4. You must write an honors thesis (see below for content requirements and deadlines) and defend the thesis before an Honors Committee. Your Honors Committee consists of your Honors Adviser plus two others from the faculty or research staff, chosen in consultation with your Honors Adviser. (3 people total)
5. Whenever possible, you should give a short (~10 minute) presentation of your research at the end-of-year colloquium when ΣΠΣ inductions are done.

Deadlines for Honors thesis:

1. First draft of thesis distributed to Honors Committee members: five weeks before the last day of classes
2. Corrected draft of thesis distributed to Honors Committee members: three weeks before the last day of classes semester
3. Honors thesis defense: two weeks before the last day of classes (Note: when this deadline falls during Thanksgiving break, a one week delay will apply.)
4. Final copy of the thesis, with the signatures of the the three Honors Thesis Committeee members, submitted to Physics major adviser: one day before the last day to turn in Senior grades

For the Adviser:

1. Ensure that all changes to the Honors Thesis, as requested by the Honors Committee, have been made.
2. Turn in one copy of the Honors Thesis, with signed title page, to the student's Physics Adviser before the last day to turn in Senior grades at the end of the semester. The Physics Department will have the original and copies of the Honors Thesis bound. The original may be one- or two-sided, but must be properly formatted for binding. The department will provide funding for some of the bound copies; additional copies can be bound at the student's expense.

Thesis content:

1. An introduction including a broad overview of the topic
2. A detailed account of the methods used in the work
3. Results and findings
4. Conclusions
5. A comprehensive bibliography

Thesis Format:

1. The thesis may be printed one- or two-sided, but must be properly formatted for binding. Margins should be 1.0" along the top and bottom of the document. On the binding side of the page (left on single sided printing), the margin should be 1.5". On the open side of the page (right on single sided printing), the margin should be 1.0". If double sided printing is used, be careful to insert blank pages where necessary and to make sure that the extra 0.5" of margin is placed correctly on the even and odd pages.
2. The title page should begin with a centered Thesis Title. Following this, the centered statement "A paper presented to the faculty of the Department of Physics of Wake Forest University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with Honors in Physics." Next, on consecutive centered lines, the student's name and the date of the honors defense. Finally, left justified, an area where the three committee members can sign. The first line should say "Approved by", then on consecutive lines, an underscored blank line with the committee member's name underneath for each member. See this example page.
3. Additional formatting requirements are at the discretion of the student's Adviser.
4. The copy that is turned in to the Physics Department should be printed on high quality paper, as would be used for a doctoral dissertation.