Undergraduate Thesis Courses ('Honours Thesis' Designation)

In some disciplines, qualified students in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Arts and Science programs, either as a first degree or second degree, may elect to complete an Undergraduate Thesis course (6.0 credit hours) linked to their declared major. Students who complete all requirements and satisfy the academic standards required for the Undergraduate Thesis course for their declared major are eligible to receive the ‘Honours Thesis’ designation on their official transcript and degree parchment.

Students completing a combined degrees program or post-diploma program may not count the 6.0 credit hour Undergraduate Thesis towards the requirements of their chosen major or degree program, although they are eligible to receive the ‘Honours Thesis’ designation by completing this course in addition to the minimum requirements for their chosen major and degree program.

Undergraduate Thesis courses are numbered 4995 and are available for Arts and Science majors as indicated below:

(See Course Catalogue for details on approved courses.)

a.Prerequisites

Prospective ‘Honours Thesis’ candidates must meet the following prerequisites:

1.Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90.0 credit hours).¹

2.A minimum GPA of 3.30 (or higher if the department/unit requires) calculated on all completed University of Lethbridge courses or calculated on all University of Lethbridge and transferable courses taken within the terms containing the last 20 courses (60.0 credit hours), whichever is higher.

3.Any further prerequisite(s) as determined by the department/unit (see Course Catalogue).

1Students enrolled in a second degree program must have completed at least ten courses (a minimum of 30.0 credit hours) at the University of Lethbridge within the second degree program to meet this requirement.

b.Supervisory Committee

For each prospective ‘Honours Thesis’ candidate, a Supervisory Committee will be established. The Supervisory Committee, approved by the department offering the Undergraduate Thesis course, will consist of the Thesis Supervisor from the department and a minimum of one other reader, who may be from outside the department.

Note: For majors not housed in a department, the Supervisory Committee composition shall be proposed by the Program Coordinator, subject to endorsement by the Dean.

c.Initial Approval

1.The prospective student must present a Thesis Proposal to be approved by the Supervisory Committee prior to registration for the course.

2.The Supervisory Committee will establish at the outset the weighting of the written and oral components of the Thesis, as well as the procedure for determining the final grade.

3.Subsequent changes to the approved Thesis Proposal must be approved by the Supervisory Committee.

4.The prospective student must submit an unofficial transcript for review by the Supervisory Committee.

5.Admission to the course is achieved through approval of the Supervisory Committee and the department, or Program Coordinator, endorsed by the Dean whose signature indicates that the necessary resources are available for the project.

6.The student must register for the Undergraduate Thesis course by the last day for course add/drop for the given fall/winter term or summer session.

d.Final Assessment

The final assessment for the Undergraduate Thesis is based on two criteria:

1.Written Component

a.The Undergraduate Thesis must be a sustained piece of supervised research demonstrating a superior level of academic ability on a matter approved by the Supervisory Committee prior to registration in the course.

b.The Thesis should be of high quality and made publicly available by the department.

2.Oral Component

The student will be required to make a formal oral presentation demonstrating the ability to articulate clearly the nature of the project undertaken, the research methodology and the results of the project. This component is a demonstration of the student’s competence in oral communication and not necessarily an oral defence of the Thesis, unless so specified by the department.

e.Eligibility for ‘Honours Thesis’ Designation

Students are eligible to receive the ‘Honours Thesis’ designation on their official transcript and degree parchment only if they achieve a minimum grade of ‘B+’ (3.30 or higher) for the Undergraduate Thesis course, and have satisfactorily completed the required oral component. Students who achieve grades between ‘D’ and ‘B’, inclusive, and/or do not complete the oral component will retain credit for the equivalent of two courses (6.0 credit hours) but will not be eligible for the ‘Honours Thesis’ designation.

Students may not repeat an Undergraduate Thesis course and may not complete more than one Undergraduate Thesis course per degree.

Inquiries about the availability of the ‘Honours Thesis’ option should be directed to the respective department/unit. Please refer to Academic Regulations, Honours Thesis Designation for more information on the ‘Honours Thesis’ designation.