Honors Thesis Overview
Education Studies Thesis
Students wishing to graduate with honors in Education Studies must write an honors thesis during their senior year. The thesis should serve as a capstone experience to the undergraduate major in Education Studies. It is a challenging enterprise and can be among the most significant and rewarding activities of your undergraduate career.
Writing a thesis involves extensive empirical and/or theoretical/analytical investigation into an educational topic, and it requires careful scholarship, good organizational skills, and the ability to work independently. Successful completion of an honors thesis will require a substantial, sustained effort through which you will gain the skills and expertise that will serve you well beyond the undergraduate program. It will provide you with the opportunity to: 1) develop expertise in a particular topic related to education, 2) learn how to critically analyze existing research in the field of education, 3) learn how to conduct empirical research, and 4) improve your organizational and written and oral communication skills.
In your junior year, you should begin contemplating the possibility of doing an honors thesis. You should consider the following questions:
- Are you passionate and excited about an educational topic that you want to think deeply about across a full year of study?
- Will you be able to manage your time independently, do a sustained research project, and present your findings and arguments orally and in writing?
- Will you have enough time necessary for such a project? (Although students receive two full course credits for the thesis their senior year—signing up for ED99a and ED99b in the fall and spring semesters—the time commitment and intellectual effort may be more than two typical courses.)
Requirements and Standards
Eligibility to write an Honors Thesis in Education
Student must:
- Major in Education Studies.
- Discuss your plans with an Education Program faculty member in the spring of your junior year so that reading, compiling a bibliography, and initial research necessary for writing a proposal can be conducted over the summer.
- Submit a two-page proposal to the Education Studies Honors Thesis Coordinator, Professor Ziva Hassenfeld, before May 1 of your junior year.
Frequently Asked Questions about Honors Theses in Education
Q. What is an Honors Thesis in Education?
A. An Honors Thesis in Education is an original, inquiry-based project that will contribute to existing research and/or theoretical/analytical literature in the field of education. While the type of evidence you use and the questions you ask will be based on your disciplinary (or multidisciplinary) orientation, some possible types of theses include:
- Empirical Paper – This is based on an empirical research project on an educational topic. It is guided by a clear, concise and original research question. Based on data collected (which can be based on interviews, observations in schools or classrooms, quantitative data, archival materials, or other printed or on-line data), it offers an answer to that question and provides evidence to support a conclusion or argument. This paper is typically formatted in the model of a series of interrelated chapters on a central question.
- Theoretical/Analytical Paper – This investigates a new or unique idea in the field of education, conceptually and analytically. This may involve examining a little-studied issue in education or conceptually linking different disciplines or schools of thought to develop a new way of thinking about a long-standing problem. As a work of both scholarship and interpretation, a thesis might undertake extensive research into a given subject and make a critical argument about it. A theoretical/analytical thesis aims to master relevant background and thinking in an area of inquiry, while making a fresh contribution to ongoing scholarship. This requires a considerable amount of reading in the field and analysis, synthesis, and critique of existing research and theory. The format a theoretical/analytical paper (decided upon by the student and thesis advisor) will vary based on the nature of the work.
Q. How do I get ready for an Honors Thesis project and come up with a topic?
- A1. Discuss your plans with an Education Program faculty member in the spring of your junior year. If you’re not sure who to meet with, reach out to the Education Studies Honors Thesis Coordinator, Professor Ziva Hassenfeld, to discuss your interests and possible faculty members who might be a good match as your Honors Thesis Advisor. Ideally, you will also take ED165a in fall of your junior year, which will help you think about research questions, methods, and processes.
- A2. If your honors thesis has an empirical component (observation of students, observation of classrooms, implementing a curricular intervention, conducting interviews with teachers, or data collection involving talking to or observing individuals or groups of people, etc.), you will have to prepare an application for approval by the Brandeis IRB (Internal Review Board). Before you can fill out the IRB application for your empirical research proposal, you will need to complete an online training (CITI) here: https://www.brandeis.edu/ora/compliance/irb/training.html
- After you have completed the training you can begin your IRB application process with this initial application: https://www.brandeis.edu/ora/compliance/irb/forms-instructions/initial-application.html
- The process of IRB review can take a few weeks to months. You should plan to complete the IRB application process the spring or summer before your senior year after discussing this with the Education Studies Honors Thesis Coordinator.
- For help with this process, you may contact the Brandeis IRB directly (irb@brandeis.edu) and/or reach out to the Education Studies Honors Thesis Coordinator, Professor Ziva Hassenfeld (zivahassenfeld@brandeis.edu).
- You will also be introduced to IRB applications and protocols in your required capstone course, ED165a.
Q. What goes in the two-page Honors Thesis proposal?
A. You must submit a two-page proposal to the Education Studies Honors Thesis Coordinator before May 1 of your junior year. In the proposal you must outline:
- the topic of your proposed project,
- what type of research you anticipate doing for the project and how,
- the significance of the project (e.g., Why do you think your project is important and how do you think it can contribute to educational research, theory, policy, and/or practice?),
- a bibliography of related readings you have done,
- if appropriate, a discussion of professional and/or personal experiences that have prepared you for your proposed project,
- Education Program faculty, or faculty in other Brandeis departments or programs, who you have consulted about this project.
Q. How long is an Honors Thesis?
A. The length of an Honors Thesis varies, but it is typically 70-100 pages.
Q. How frequently must I meet with my Honors Thesis Advisor? How many hours per week must I work on my Honors Thesis?
A. Once you are assigned an Honors Thesis Advisor you should meet with this advisor immediately to draft a work plan and timeline. After this initial meeting, there are no fixed standards beyond what is outlined in the timeline. However, it is very important to the success of your thesis that you meet regularly with your advisor. You will submit many drafts to your advisor. Completing the Honors Thesis requires sustained work. It is NOT something you can put off until the end of the semester. It is expected that you will work on some aspect of your thesis each week throughout the fall and spring semesters.Q. What are ED165a and the Honors Thesis Seminar, and do I have to take them?
A. Education Studies majors must take the capstone course, ED165a: Reading (and talking back to) Research on Education. It is intended to assist students with their first-time effort to do serious social science research, and teaches students how to formulate a research question, structure a research design, gather data/evidence, and organize a research paper. ED165a meets in the fall semester and is typically taken in one’s junior year. It provides the necessary preparation for conceptualizing and getting started on a thesis project.
Q. What if I start an Honors Thesis project and then find that I can’t finish it?
A. If a student is not making adequate progress on their honors thesis project, as determined by their Honors Thesis Advisor, they may be asked to discontinue the project. A progress evaluation meeting will take place at the end of the fall semester for each student working on an honors thesis. At this time, students will receive feedback and guidance on their work and progress. Students discontinuing their honors thesis project before completion will still receive credit for all credit bearing courses completed.
Honors Thesis Coordinator
The role of the Education Studies Honors Thesis Coordinator, Ziva Hassenfeld, is to orient students to the honors program, help them to compose their committee, and get started on the process. Specifically, the Coordinator will:
- Review initial two-page proposals and consult with any student who wishes to write an Education Studies thesis to help them determine if doing an honors thesis project is feasible.
- Identify an honors thesis advisor.
Honors Thesis Advisor
Together with the Honors Thesis Coordinator, you will select a faculty member to be your advisor for the Honors Thesis. This Brandeis faculty member is the person you will work most closely with through the process of conducting research and writing your Honors Thesis. Your advisor will:
- Make a work plan and timeline with you.
- Help you through the research and writing process.
- Provide feedback on drafts outlined below.
- Put together a final committee of readers when your Honors Thesis is complete.
- Determine your grade for the two ED99 courses.
Timeline
Below are the recommended timelines by which students are expected to complete components of honors theses. Students should work out final timelines with their thesis advisor once assigned.
Empirical Research Project
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Junior Year Sprng/Sumr |
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Fall |
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October |
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November |
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December |
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Spring |
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January |
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February |
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March |
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April |
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Assessment
Your committee of readers will make a recommendation to the Education Program faculty based on the quality of the project and paper after the formal presentation in late spring. It is possible to earn honors, high honors, or highest honors. The criteria for these designations are:
Honors
The student has successfully completed and defended an honors thesis with distinction, in writing and in person.
High Honors
The student has successfully completed and defended an honors thesis with unusual distinction, in writing and in person.
Highest Honors
The student has successfully completed and defended an honors thesis with the highest distinction, in writing and in person. Only the most original scholarship and eloquent presentations warrant this evaluation.
Funding and Prizes
The university offers a number of opportunities for funding and issues some thesis prizes.
For more information see the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations.