Major Requirements for Students Pursuing Latin Honors
JOUR 1001H Honors Media in a Changing World
JOUR 3004H Honors Information for Mass Communication
JOUR 3776H Honors Media Law
JOUR 4721H Honors Mass Media and U.S. Society
HCOL 3101H
Students who declared their major Fall 2019 or later will need to complete JOUR 4999, a one-credit course. Students do not need to complete JOUR 4999 if they are completing the capstone in a different major
All Hubbard School honors theses must be a substantial, high-quality academic paper structured with essential components, including an introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. The process is designed to develop advanced research, writing, and presentation abilities, demonstrating originality, depth, and academic rigor. Importantly, a final honors thesis must exceed typical course requirements and cannot simply be a repurposed class project or paper.
- Summa Cum Laude: Students complete a final thesis that is typically 25 to 30 pages or 7,500 words and must have a minimum of 25 sources, with a majority being peer-reviewed. A summa thesis must be of exceptionally high quality, involving original research/data collection (qualitative or quantitative). Students must appropriately use primary and/or secondary source materials, complete the data collection and analysis independently, and report at least descriptive quantitative statistics or qualitative themes. An oral presentation of the final research is also required. A summa thesis is completed over two semesters (JOUR 4733V in Fall and JOUR 3993 in Spring).
- Magna Cum Laude & Cum Laude: Students complete a final thesis that is typically 20 to 25 pages or 6,000 words and must have a minimum of 20 sources, with a majority being peer-reviewed. A magna or cum laude thesis must provide a new perspective on existing knowledge through rigorous analysis and synthesis, prioritizing depth of analysis and critical thinking over data collection. This type of thesis should define the research problem, include a literature review, and explore and analyze the problem creatively. A magna or cum laude thesis is completed in one semester (JOUR 4733V in Fall).
A HSJMC faculty supervisor (typically the instructor of JOUR 4733V) must be the thesis advisor. In addition to the advisor, two other committee members are required, forming a three-person committee. Adjunct faculty members may serve on a student’s committee. The composition varies based on the Latin honors distinction:
- Summa Cum Laude: The committee must consist of two Hubbard School faculty members (one being the advisor) and one faculty member from outside of the Hubbard School. The final honors thesis distinction is approved by the committee.
- Magna Cum Laude & Cum Laude: In addition to the student’s advisor, two other faculty members sit as readers. The committee may consist of faculty members all from the Hubbard School (no outside faculty members are required to sit on this committee).