Assessing Your Qualifications

To qualify for a senior honors thesis you must, according to the registrar, have earned more than 89 hours of credit at the university level with a g.p.a. of 3.60 or higher. If your university g.p.a. and your expanded university g.p.a. will reach 3.75 or higher by the time you graduate, and you will complete at least 60 hours at this institution, you may be eligible to submit a project to graduate summa cum laude, thus achieving the highest level of honors at the university. Pursuing this possibility will give you the opportunity to conduct independent research, to prepare for graduate work, and to earn recognition that only a few students receive each year. Your department and the University Honors Program will support and encourage your work on your thesis; additionally, you will have the opportunity to develop a close working relationship with your supervising professor.

Information on this website describes the process of preparing and submitting an honors thesis. Your departmental honors adviser (listed below) can help you choose a supervisor and begin planning the thesis itself. If you have questions about graduating with honors or the thesis procedures, call the Honors Office at 852-6293 or feel free to e-mail honors@louisville.edu.

Please note: the EXPANDED UNIVERSITY G.P.A. takes into account ALL grades earned at the university level, including grades that have been replaced through the "repeat" option or eliminated through bankruptcy, as well as work done at other institutions (even courses in which you may have earned a D or an F). You may want to confirm your eligibility with your adviser in the A & S Advising Center before submitting a thesis initiation form. Alternatively, if you entered U of L before fall 1998, you may want to explore the option of calculating eligibility for honors on the basis of your program g.p.a. and expanded program g.p.a. These calculations would take into account only those hours earned towards a degree in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students who entered U of L in the fall of 1998 or later will be evaluated for honors eligibility on the basis of the university and expanded university g.p.a.s only. 

Senior Honors Thesis committee members, 2010-2011

Departmental contacts for Senior Honors Theses include: