Honors’ Pass with Distinction
Highest-level thesis skills
Being awarded Pass with Distinction on an Honors thesis is truly an outstanding honor.
Students receiving Pass with Distinction have demonstrated that their writing, speaking, and research skills are of the highest level.
Multiple evaluators and steps lead to this award …
- A student’s thesis advisor and the two thesis evaluators present at the oral presentation must unanimously agree that the work merits nomination.
- A detailed letter of support is developed by the thesis advisor.
- This nomination letter and the student’s thesis are reviewed by the Honors Council, that makes the final decision.
Student Highlights and Thesis Examples
Music performance and economics major from the class of 2012 Graham Dart presented his thesis in Fall of 2011 and earned pass with distinction recognition. His thesis, “New York Counterpoint: Exploring the Techniques of Taped Music,” included a musical performance that lasted several minutes.
Dart’s musical talents also landed him a 2012 Big Ten Senior award in the category of visual and performing arts. The audio recording from his performance is available. Listen>>
The written portion of Dart’s thesis, as well as examples from a plethora of other Honors students from an array of disciplines, are available in hard copy in the Honors Library.