Honors in Chemistry

 Students who wish to pursue honors in the Chemistry major must fulfill three criteria: 

They must have a Minimum GPA of 3.40 in all classes pertaining to the major, including math and physics.  Alternatively, they may petition the department for special dispensation based on unusual circumstances. 

Complete at a minimum one summer or two semesters of research with at least one faculty member.  At least one of the mentors must be present on campus during the expected date of defense. 

Satisfy the expectations of the department with respect to the quality of the honors proposal, oral defense, and the honors thesis.

A.Criteria for Honors in Chemistry

The faculty will consider Honors to a chemistry major based on the candidate's complete undergraduate chemistry record. This includes all courses required for the major, the student's grades and the successful completion of a two semester (or summer) research project. A minimum GPA of 3.40 is required in all courses that count toward the major, including math and physics courses and transfer courses that receive chemistry credit, at the conclusion of the seventh semester (typically the fall semester of the senior year) of study. The Honors research project should be distinguished by the originality and definition of the research problem, the sophistication of the experimental design and its execution, and the analysis and presentation of the results. Generally, Honors reports should be of publishable or near publishable quality. The Chemistry Department faculty will weigh all of these factors when considering Honors.

B.Procedures

1. A draft of the  research proposal  must be submitted to the faculty research advisor by the final class day of the student's seventh semester.

2. The student will present the department with a written proposal of the intended work by the second Tuesday of classes of the student's final semester, or on a date mutually agreed upon by the Chemistry Department.  The research proposal must follow the format specified below in C.

3. At the next regularly scheduled department meeting, the Chemistry faculty will review the student's proposal and make a determination as to whether or not the student is qualified to proceed towards honors. They will review the proposed project, and if accepted for Honors consideration, the faculty will set deadlines for the receipt of first and final drafts of the project paper. The student will be informed of the department's decision within one week of receiving the proposal.  NOTE:  The pursuit of honors in no way guarantees that the student will receive departmental honors.  This decision will be made independently at the completion of the honors project.

4. During the course of the thesis work, it is the responsibility of the research advisor to alert the department to any problems that arise in the research project.

5. At the end of the project, drafts of the paper are to be submitted to each department member by the deadlines set previously. The paper should conform to the style of an appropriate journal. Both an oral and a written report are required. The student will give a public 30 minute presentation of the research, to be attended by all Chemistry faculty. This will be followed by a private defense in front of the Chemistry faculty (this presentation/oral defense will be done on the Thursday of the exam period, which is a reading day.) Based on the quality of the research reported and the quality of the written presentation, oral presentation, and oral defense, the faculty will make a decision on whether or not to award Honors. 

C.  Format Specifications for Honors Theses (Revised 2012)

In order to facilitate the binding and cataloging of honors theses for the Archives and Special Collections Department of the Dickinson College Library, the following guidelines shall be observed:

1.The top, bottom, and right hand margins shall be one inch, and the left margin shall be one and one quarter inches.