Honors Capstone - Student Information
Your hub for resources on starting and completing your Honors College Capstone.
How to Find a Capstone Topic
There are a number of ways to find a capstone topic. First, you might approach a faculty member in your department whom you know, perhaps from a previous class, with an idea that you think would be a good fit for their expertise. You can consult your department website to find their research interests. Then, you shape the project together, merging their expertise and your interests. This approach is especially common in the humanities, business, education, and some social sciences.
Second, you might join an existing lab or faculty research project. Attending department events and looking through department webpages can give you a good sense of what faculty in your home department work on. This approach is especially common in the physical sciences, engineering, and some social sciences.
Third, some departments (including Accounting, Computer Science, and Chemical Engineering) offer a senior design course or special internship that can become a practicum opportunity for honors students. In these departments, you can combine your honors capstone with work done in that course, usually with additional requirements. In these departments, you also have the option of developing a thesis-track project, and many faculty encourage the more intensive research approach, especially for those considering graduate school or who want to get ahead in their profession.
Fourth, the Honors College sometimes offers capstone-launching courses. These provide opportunities for interdisciplinary, practicum-track collaborations. For these opportunities, watch for new course announcements each semester.
Finally, if you are a student who is engaged in some significant (100+ hour) community-transforming work, and you are wondering if this could qualify as a project-track capstone, please reach out to the Associate Dean for Capstone.
Three Tracks to Complete a Capstone
Every track described below involves a written component (often called the thesis) and an oral presentation and defense. When you are filling out your Capstone Form, you will be asked to designate which track you will be on. Below is a description of the three tracks.
Every student has the opportunity to dive deep into a research or creative project in their major (or sometimes minor). For some, this involves working in a lab; for others, research in an archive; for still others, designing a portfolio. The thesis track is for work done in one’s major, supervised by a specialist in the field, that involves substantial research or creative achievement. (Speak to the Associate Dean for Capstone if you are interested in a thesis-track capstone outside your major.) The length of the written component varies by field. A maximum of nine credit hours can count toward the required thirty honors hours (for four-year students). This is the most common track.
In some majors (including Accountancy and Chemical Engineering), students work on pre-professional projects in groups and add on an individual component; these are disciplinary practicums.
The Honors College offers occasional opportunities for collaborative work, supervised by a specialist, that involve research, creative achievement, professional development, or multidisciplinary collaboration. These are interdisciplinary practicums.
Students on either version of the practicum track can take a maximum of seven credit hours toward their thirty honors hours.
Some students are involved in long-term or large-scale projects that transform our community and that can serve as the basis for reflection and theorizing; these can become project-track capstones. Project tracks do not have to be closely connected to one’s major. Students need the approval of the Associate Dean for Capstone to begin a project-track capstone. Students on the project track can take a maximum of seven credit hours count toward their thirty honors hours.
The Capstone Step by Step
While the Capstone can be started as early as your second year, we ask for your plan by November 1 of your third year. Complete the Capstone Form and submit it to hococapstone@olemiss.edu. Because graduation plans can change and some students plan to graduate in more or less than four years, please keep us updated of your expected semester of graduation.
The Capstone Form will ask you which track you will be on. Please use the guidelines described above to check the appropriate box.
The form will also ask you which courses you will be taking while you work on your honors capstone. Most students receive course credit while working on their honors capstone, which can count toward graduation requirements, honors hours, and in some cases credit toward the major. Use the Commonly Used Courses to determine which courses work for your path. When possible, choose one of the listed research or independent study courses in your major for your capstone credit; this way your work on the honors capstone will also help you meet the requirements of your major. We can also use HON 301, 302, 401, and 402, but these should be considered only when an appropriate course in your major is not available or you are on the project track.
Before you submit the Capstone Form to the Honors College, you should discuss expectations with your thesis advisor, talk through and initial the talking points, and get the (ink or electronic) signature of your thesis advisor.
When you are working out your plan and then again when you are receiving course credit for your capstone work, you and your advisor should discuss expectations, deadlines, grading criteria, and how frequently you will meet. Be sure you are clear about the work required of you each for each meeting and by the end of each semester.
For most courses that you will be taking while working on your honors capstone, you register for the class by contacting your advisor or chair about being added to a section of that research course. For HON 301, 302, 401, and 402, we will sign you into a section with your capstone advisor according to the plan described in your Capstone Form. If there are changes to your plan, please contact hococapstone@olemiss.edu so that we can get you into the right section.
All students are able to apply for funds to support their research and presentations, including purchasing necessary materials, travel costs, and registration fees for conference presentations. To request funds, submit a Research Funds application or Conference Travel Funds application.
In the fall of your senior year, you will be asked to inform the Honors College of your second reader, who is determined by your advisor and you.
If at some point your capstone takes on a significantly different focus, or if the classes you are taking for you capstone changes from your original plan, or if your advisor changes, please fill out a new Capstone Form.
If you or your advisor run into difficulties, please contact the Associate Dean for Capstone as soon as possible. The staff of the SMBHC is here to help you, but we can only help if you keep us updated.
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Research Funds
Need equipment, supplies, or gas money for your project? You can apply for research funds to support your work on the Capstone.
Research Funds application -
Honors Fellowship Funds
Completing an internship, a fellowship, or study abroad that will help you develop a really interesting Capstone? You can apply for Honors Fellowship funds.
Honors Fellowship application -
Conference Travel Funds
Did you earn the opportunity to present your work at a conference in your field? You can apply for Conference Travel funds to offset some of the cost.
Conference Travel application