The Honors Thesis/Project is the culmination of your UMass Lowell Honors experience. The public presentation, critical thinking, analysis, writing, and organizational skills emphasized by the Thesis/Project Experience benefits Honors students looking to find jobs or internships after graduation. The Honors Thesis/Project also prepares you for the level of work expected of graduate students, giving you a leg-up against the competition.

Thesis Versus Project

An Honors Thesis conducts new research testing a hypothesis and involves the creation of a final document written in the style of an academic article in the student's discipline. All Honors Theses must be 6 credits and must be completed over two semesters. 

An Honors Project includes everything else and may be either a 6-credit two-semester project or a 3-credit one-semester project. Both the Honors Thesis and Honors Project must include a final archival written document. While there is no page requirement the final document generally runs 25-50 pages in length.

• Thinking Thesis Guidebook (pdf)

Honors Thesis Grant

The Honors College will grant up to $500 for materials related to the Honors Student’s Thesis. The number of grants awarded will be determined by available funding. To be eligible to apply, a student must be a member in good standing of the Honors College and must be working on an Honors Thesis. Research grant application must be submitted by the end of the add/drop period the semester you will need reimbursement. Download the Senior Research Grant Application (pdf).

For travel related to you Honors Thesis/Project, please fill out the Senior Professional Travel Grant Application (pdf).

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view any pdf files. It can be download for free from the Adobe website.

General Completion Checklist for Students

• GPA of at least 3.25
• E1 completed for each semester active in Honors
• H1-H6 Requirements completed with a B or better
• Mentor Form signed by Mentor and submitted to Honors College
• Thesis/Project Proposal Form and Proposal signed by Mentor and Committee Member and approved by Honors College
• H7/H8 courses submitted to Honors College for Transcript Coding
  • H7: Honors Thesis/Project (Part I) or a 3000/4000 Honors Course, or a Graduate Course
  • H8: Honors Thesis/Project (Part II) or One-Semester Honors Project
• Public Presentation of Honors Thesis/Project attended by Mentor, Committee Member, and Representative of the Honors College
• Thesis/Project Completion Form signed by Student, Mentor, and Committee Member submitted to Honors College
• Thesis/Project Title Page signed by Student, Mentor, and Committee Member
• Final thesis/project document submitted to Honors College