Lara Polse, who graduated with degrees in psychology and linguistics, not only wrote a senior honors thesis but presented her research at a national cognitive neuroscience conference. (Karin Higgins/UC Davis photo)
With help from faculty, students excel through pursuit of departmental honors
Lara Polse had been intrigued by the brain’s role in language throughout her undergraduate career. That interest, combined with some initiative, led Polse to complete a senior honors thesis and present her research at a San Francisco cognitive neuroscience conference.
Polse, who graduated from UC Davis last year with degrees in psychology and linguistics, is one of many students who participate each year in the Honors Program of the College of Letters and Science.
Nearly every department within the College of Letters and Science offers students a senior honors thesis program. Generally, undergraduates spend two quarters under the supervision of a faculty adviser designing and completing a project related to their area of study.
To be eligible, they must have completed 135 units and have at least a 3.5 grade point average.
With a high enough GPA, students earn honors upon graduation. But students must complete a thesis if they want to earn high or highest honors – the status is determined by an honors committee that evaluates the student’s work.
Projects run the gamut
What the project entails varies widely based on the department. A student in the mathematical or physical sciences may complete a chemistry experiment in a laboratory setting, for instance, while a social sciences student might conduct a sociological survey research project and a humanities student might write a scholarly essay about a literary work.
In any case, students often work closely with a professor to design and complete the project.
The history department has a particularly rigorous thesis program. Students wishing to complete a history thesis must go through an application process, through which about a dozen are selected each year.
In addition, instead of the usual two quarters of participation that most departments require, history students must spend an entire academic year taking an honors seminar, doing secondary and primary research, and writing a 40-page paper.
Last year, 11 students completed the program, including April Trask. Trask’s paper on Nazi youth academies won the department’s Dobbs Prize for best thesis.
‘I got into a lot of big-name grad schools and it was because of my thesis.’
April Trask, UC Davis history major
Investigation takes her to D.C.
Trask began her research the summer before her senior year, and the investigation took her to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., during winter quarter to examine the library’s European collections. She completed her paper in the spring and presented it at the campus’s Undergraduate Research Conference.
Trask will now pursue a doctorate in history, thanks – she says – to the research experience and letters of recommendation she garnered from her honors project.
“I got into a lot of big-name grad schools,” she said, “and it was because of my thesis.”
But history students who do not continue on to graduate school can still benefit from completing the thesis, says assistant history professor Andres Resendez, who chaired his department’s honors committee last year.
“The skills they get go way beyond history,” he said. “They’re coming up with a topic, doing research and making a report. That’s something you can use in any field.”
Several fine arts departments also offer an honors thesis. Instead of generating a final paper, students completing these programs often produce their own creative works.
Music majors create compositions
Music majors, for example, have the option of creating an original seven- to 10-minute musical composition. Student composers can spend up to a year working with a professor to complete their project, and often build up to it with smaller compositions.
Assistant music professor Laurie San Martin says the experience of writing music is good preparation for students, regardless of whether they plan to continue on in academia.
“This sort of careful and supervised composition study would help any student be a better musician,” San Martin said, “whether they are going to teach elementary school, play in a rock band or work in arts administration or any other field in music or related to music.”
No matter what the project is, says Jim McClain, interim associate dean of letters and science, the benefits of completing an honors thesis are twofold. On one hand, the experience can help an applicant stand out among other qualified peers.
Little stars open doors
“The bottom line is, whether students go on to graduate school or a profession,” he said, “having those little stars by your name that say ‘completed honors thesis’ help. They open doors.”
Also, the research experience can be a head start for graduate school.
“Professors want to see that you can follow a project longer than one quarter or semester,” said McClain, who himself is a geology professor.
Polse knows that her honors thesis will help her down the road, and not just because it will look good on graduate school applications. Polse, who completed her research project under psychology professor Tamara Swaab, says the experience gave her confidence that she will carry with her to graduate school.
“I’ll have much more comfort going into a research environment,” she said. “I learned more doing the thesis than from the rest of my undergraduate education combined.”