The Senior Honors Thesis

At Carolina, cutting-edge research and undergraduate learning are complementary, not mutually exclusive, activities. Under the direction of faculty mentors, approximately 350 seniors each year engage in programs of original research and creative work, in the form of a senior Honors thesis, in more than fifty undergraduate majors.

The quality of their efforts is extraordinary. For example, many biology Honors theses result in scholarly publication, and several recent novels and published collections of poetry began as theses in creative writing. Students who successfully defend their theses before a faculty review panel are graduated with either Honors or Highest Honors. Students who have been in the Honors Program for their coursework are not required to finish by writing a senior Honors thesis, but writing and successfully defending a thesis is the only way to graduate from Carolina with Honors or Highest Honors.

You can browse past honors theses by clicking on the Honors Theses Archive link to the left.

Students must register their Honors Thesis in our Honors Theses Archive (click on the "Register Your Honors Thesis" link). Please check the Senior Honors Thesis Calendar for deadlines.

Click here to download "Senior Honors Thesis Guidelines for Academic Units, Faculty Advisors, and Students."

Click here to download "Guidelines for Preparation and Submission of Honors Theses."