Honors Guidelines

The MMSS Committee on Honors makes final recommendations for Honors in MMSS, and its recommendations are subject to approval by the CAS Committee on Superior Students and Honors. The MMSS Committee on Honors considers the following criteria in its deliberations:

• The evaluation of the thesis by the candidate's thesis adviser and the MMSS senior seminar coordinator.
• The candidate's grade point average. Honors applicants should have attained a GPA of 3.5 or better in MMSS required courses.
• The minimum GPA may be relaxed if the thesis is judged to be extraordinary.

A majority vote of the committee is required to recommend honors. The committee's vote on each candidate accompanies its recommendations to the WCAS Committee on Superior Students and Honors. If a student disputes the committee's recommendation, an appeal can be made to the director of MMSS.

Special Provisions Regarding Submission of a Single Thesis to Meet the Requirements of Two Different Majors

Note that all majors at Northwestern require submission of a satisfactory thesis for the award of honors. However, some majors require submission of a satisfactory thesis as a requirement for a degree in the major, even if the student does not intend to apply for honors. This section describes the extent to which MMSS students may submit a single thesis to meet the requirements of their second major in addition to the requirements of their MMSS major. The general rule is that students wishing to apply for honors in MMSS and their second major must write two separate theses. However, students may use a single thesis to meet the requirements of both majors so long as they only use it to apply for honors in only one of them. The following two sub-sections describe this rule more specifically for two cases, depending upon whether or not the student's second major requires submission of a satisfactory thesis as a requirement for the degree or not.

a. When the second major has a thesis requirement for a degree in the major.

When a student's second major has a thesis requirement for a degree in the major, the student may submit a single thesis to meet the degree requirement for both MMSS and the other major. However, students who elect to write a single thesis to satisfy both degree requirements can obtain honors in only one of the two majors. In this case students should register for and attend the second major's senior thesis seminar according to the normal requirements of the major. Students should also fully participate and attend all meetings of the MMSS thesis seminar over all three quarters of their senior year, but should ONLY register for MMSS 398-1 in the fall. (i.e., they should not formally register for MMSS 398-2 or MMSS 398-3). Students must inform the instructors of both thesis seminars that they intend to submit a single thesis to fulfill both requirements and the thesis topic must be approved by both instructors. To obtain honors in both majors, students must complete two different honors theses, one for each major. In this case, students should formally register for both thesis seminars according to the normal requirements of each major.

b. When the second major does not have a thesis requirement for a degree in the major (but, as is true for all majors, has a thesis requirement for the award of honors.)

When a student's second major does not have a thesis requirement for a degree in the major (but, as is true of all majors, has a thesis requirement for the award of honors), a student not intending to apply for honors in MMSS may submit a single thesis to satisfy the degree requirement of MMSS and the honors requirement of the second major. In this case students should register for and attend the second major's senior thesis seminar according to the normal requirements of the major. Students should also fully participate and attend all meetings of the MMSS thesis seminar over all three quarters of their senior year, but should ONLY register for MMSS 398-1 in the fall. (i.e., they should not formally register for MMSS 398-2 or MMSS 398-3). Students must inform the instructors of both thesis seminars that they intend to submit a single thesis to fulfill both requirements and the thesis topic must be approved by both instructors. To obtain honors in both majors, students must complete two different honors theses, one for each major. In this case, students should formally register for both thesis seminars according to the normal requirements of each major.