Department of Computer
Science
Helpful Information for
Students Planning to Graduate with Honors
2004-05
From ADVISING HANDBOOK:
THE HONORS PROGRAM AT TRINITY
The Honors Program provides
an opportunity for students to show their capacity for thoughtful writing,
thinking, and speaking through the completion of a senior honors thesis.
Alternatively, a student in the arts may complete an artistic work accompanied
by a prose explication. Application for admission to the honors program should
be made through the department in which honors is sought early in the junior
year. The thesis is defended as a proposal during the spring semester of the
junior year and will be presented as a completed document to the faculty in the
last semester of the senior year.
The minimum University
requirements that qualify a student to attempt an honors thesis are a 3.3 grade
point average both cumulatively and in the major and two faculty letters of
recommendation that speak to the candidate's motivation and ability to complete
such a project. Since individual departments may have additional requirements,
students should consult the Courses of Study bulletin or speak with the chair
of the department.
From COURSES OF STUDY BULLETIN:
GRADUATION WITH HONORS
Departmental/Major Honors
Students who have maintained their scholastic standing on high levels
and who complete a thesis supervised by a faculty member in the department of
the major may be candidates for Departmental Honors. Not all departments offer
the opportunity for Departmental Honors; consult the course listings of the
individual department or program in this Courses of Study Bulletin.
The minimum requirements qualifying a student for Departmental Honors
include a 3.33 grade-point average, both cumulatively and in the major.
Individual departments may require a higher grade-point average in departmental
courses, but not a higher overall grade-point average.
In addition to the grade-point requirements, a minimum of 6 hours of
thesis credit must be acquired during the last three semesters before
graduation. This curricular option, entitled Thesis, may also be available to
students who are not candidates for Departmental Honors. In all cases the
thesis provides students with the opportunity for independent scholarly,
scientific, or artistic work. Students may enroll for thesis credit only with
the permission of the instructor who will be the advisor. Grounds for faculty
decisions may include faculty load, appropriate expertise to guide the
particular project, and the willingness of the faculty member to serve as
advisor.
In anticipation of completion of the 6 hours of Thesis and the
grade-point requirements, the student may become a candidate for Departmental
Honors by addressing a written request for consideration to the chair of the
department. The request must be received no later than the end of the first
full week of the student’s final semester at Trinity.
Additional requirements for candidacy vary according to the department
but minimally include the oral and written presentation of the thesis to a
committee of no fewer than two members of the faculty: the advisor and a reader
with appropriate expertise in the area of the thesis. Based on the quality of
these presentations, the committee makes the recommendation to award
Departmental Honors to the department chair. If the award is made by the
department, copies of the written thesis are submitted for format approval and
binding to the Office of Academic Affairs. The costs of binding will be paid by
the student. The student will provide the University with three bound copies of
the thesis. The award will be indicated by a designation of Departmental Honors
on the student’s transcript. If the award of honors is denied, the thesis will
be considered for non-honors thesis credit.
. . .
HONORS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
Requirements:
1. Overall grade point average of at least 3.3.
2. Grade point average of at least 3.3 in Computer Science.
3. Two faculty letters of recommendation.
4. Application for admission to the honors program in the fall
semester of the junior year. Application is made to the chair of the Department
of Computer Science.
5. Applications must be approved by majority vote of the faculty of
the Department of Computer Science.
6. Identification of the faculty committee and submission of the
thesis proposal during the spring semester of the junior year. The thesis
committee consists of three Trinity faculty members, two of which must be from
Computer Science. (The third may also be from Computer Science.)
7. Register for CSCI 3398, Honors Reading, during the spring
semester of the junior year. Note: Only 3398 may be used as a Computer Science
Major Elective, counting toward the required 42 hours.
8. Register for CSCI 4398, Honors Thesis, during the fall semester
of the senior year. Note: 4398 is required in addition to the 42-hour
requirement.
9. Register for CSCI 4399, Honors Thesis, during the spring semester
of the senior year. Note: 4399 is required in addition to the 42-hour requirement.
10. The requirement of CSCI 4286 is met for those students successfully
completing the Honors Thesis, CSCI 4398, 4399.
11. Students must make formal presentation and defense of the Honors
Thesis during the spring semester of the senior year.
12. If the student successfully completes each of the above
requirements, then the student is a candidate for Honors in Computer Science,
and is recommended to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for graduation
with Honors.
13. Successful thesis will be bound and placed in the library. Binding
costs will be paid by the student.
. . .
CSCI
4398, 4399 Honors Thesis
Individual research and
scholarly investigation under faculty supervision leading to the preparation of
an Honors Thesis. To be taken only by Senior Honors students in both terms of
their Senior year. Includes participation in Senior Colloquium where students
present reports on their Thesis work.