The sociology major with the highest overall cumulative grade point average at the completion of the junior year is designated the Senior Scholar. To qualify, students must have at least a 3.2 cumulative academic average and must have completed at least 27 units of credit, at least 18 of which must have been earned at Roanoke College. Special recognition is given to the Senior Scholar at the spring honors banquet and at commencement.

Students classified as juniors as of October 1, who have earned a minimum of 18 course units at Roanoke College with a minimum GPA of 3.00, are awarded by the faculty a certificate of recognition as a Junior Scholar.

Sociology majors may apply for honors in the major and receive the designation, "Honors in Sociology" on the diploma by completing a significant honors project and by meeting the following standards:

The student must have at least a 3.4 grade point average in the major both at the time of application for honors work and at the time of graduation.

The student must complete an Honors Project that is the equivalent of one course credit and receive a grade of at least A- on the project. The Honors Project may be either a significant scholarly project (which could be an extensive literature review, theoretical analysis, or empirical study) or a significant creative or organizational project (which could be such things as creation of software, establishment of a new program or service for an organization or agency, or completion of a major specialized task on campus or in the community). While the project may be based on previous work (e.g., a seminar paper or independent study), it must represent a significant and original project over and above any past work.

The Honors Project must be undertaken in the senior year or in the summer prior to the senior year. It may be completed in one semester as one unit (SOCI 496) or in two semesters as two 1/2 units (SOCI 495 and 497). The credit received for the Honors Project may be counted as one of the 11 required units for the major.

The Honors Project must be sponsored by a faculty member in the Department of Sociology (the primary advisor for the project) and by a committee of at least two additional faculty members (one of whom must be from a discipline other than sociology). Application for departmental honors must be made in the semester or summer prior to undertaking the project. A student applying for honors work must submit a proposal that is approved by the committee, but final approval to enroll in SOCI 496 or 495-497 rests with the department.

The completed Honors Project will be evaluated by the committee both on the final product and on an oral examination. The student must present a summary of the work both at a public forum (e.g., a professional sociology meeting or a campus symposium) and in a selected sociology class (e.g., in Sociology 454: Seminar). After consultation with other committee members, the project's primary advisor will assign a final grade.

Printer-friendly version E-mail this page