What's So Honorary About an Honours Degree?

Written by Payton McPhee

Thumbnail Photo by Joseph Chan on Unsplash

As a university student, the number of choices that have to be made regarding your future can seem daunting. Sometimes, it is easier to make as few decisions as possible and simply aim to graduate. However, there are some important decisions that university students should consider at some point during their undergraduate degree, and one of these decisions is whether or not they would like to do an honours degree. An honours degree is talked about so frequently but often students aren't aware of what it actually means. This article will give an overview of the requirements, expectations, and the importance of an honours degree for each faculty at Saint Mary’s University. 

An honours degree is a degree that you can receive in conjunction with your bachelor’s degree. It involves taking extra classes and writing a thesis paper by the end of the student’s last year of their undergraduate degree. A thesis is essentially a final project or study that is done outside of regular coursework. If a student pursues a bachelor of science in biology and also an honours degree, they will graduate with a BSc Honours in Biology. But what does this title really mean? 

What Does an Honours Degree Involve? 

Generally, students should decide whether they would like to pursue an honours degree by the end of their second year of studies. However, the decision to undergo honours is not solely up to the student. These students are required to have a minimum GPA that may differ for each program, must have already declared their major, and must have completed a certain number of credit hours for their program. 

Once each of these requirements are met, students who are interested in pursuing honours will then be tasked with securing a professor as their thesis advisor. A thesis advisor is a professor that will work alongside honours students to help guide them through each aspect of their thesis. A student’s thesis advisor will help with brainstorming ideas, deciding on the study’s design, interpreting the results, and putting together their final paper and presentation. Students tend to seek out honours advisors during the first semester of their third year in order to ensure that they will have many options available. 

In order to secure a thesis advisor, students will usually research professors to try to identify one whose work matches the student’s interests or whose research they find intriguing. Once the student has identified potential advisors, they would then email, or virtually meet, with the professors in a professional and thoughtful way, to ask if they would be willing to take them on as their honours student.

Next, students will fill out an application to apply for an honours degree through the registrar’s office. This application tends to take place during the third year of an undergraduate program; however, some programs have a strict deadline for applying to honours. For example, economics students must apply no later than the last day of registration of their third year, psychology students must apply no later than April 30th of their third year, and anthropology students must do so before June 10th of their third year. 

After a student has been accepted into the honours program, they will connect with their advisor to develop a research topic. Usually, this is a topic that the student is interested in, but it may also simply be a project that the advisor suggests. Throughout the fourth year of an honours student’s undergraduate degree, they will organize, plan, and execute their own original research. The methods of research will vary depending on what faculty the student is in, however at the end of the academic year, all honours students will have completed their own original theses. Some theses may be a research study, an archival study, or even an essay, depending on what program the student is enrolled in. Finally, the student must present their research to faculty and colleagues.

SMU Faculties and Honours

At SMU, there are 17 programs within the Faculty of Arts, 10 in Science, and one in Business that offer students the opportunity to pursue an honours degree. These specific programs can be found on the SMU webpage to learn more about each program's requirements and expectations. In general, each honours degree requires a certain GPA to be accepted, a certain GPA to be maintained throughout the program, additional courses and credit hours, as well as a final thesis project. 

Benefits of Doing an Honours Degree

In general, an honours degree is needed in order to be accepted into most graduate programs; however, this is not a concrete rule. For example, many science graduate programs require an honours degree because the vast majority of these programs are research-and laboratory-based. Having a background in research, and an original thesis to prove it, provides students with a solid foundation to enter the graduate studies world. 

In addition, an honours degree indicates that a student has in-depth knowledge of a specific area of study. It shows that the student is able to learn independently rather than solely through a professor. This enhanced knowledge acts as a great reference for graduate studies applicants because it suggests that the student is motivated, qualified and well-trained. This alone may offer students an advantage over their colleagues when applying to graduate school, even if the program they apply to does not require honours. 

However, there are many students who decide not to pursue graduate studies after their undergraduate degree. In this scenario, an honours degree is likely not necessary or required to jump into the workforce, and a bachelor’s degree would be suitable. It may put these students at ease knowing that SMU offers a Certificate in Honours Equivalency, which is offered to students who have already graduated but wish to return to school to complete an honours degree. Because of this, students are able to choose to forego an honours degree initially but can return to schooling in the future if their plans change. 

Is an Honours Degree Right For Me?

Completing an honours degree is not something that should be decided on a whim. It’s a big decision, and should only be done if you really want to. As mentioned above, students conduct their own project during their fourth year. This task is required to be done on top of any other classes that the student might be taking, and it may be extremely time-consuming. Because of this, an honours student's social and personal lives might have to be put on the back burner while they try to balance classes, work, assignments, and a research study. Students should realize that an honours degree is more work than a regular bachelor's degree and they must be prepared to put that work in. 

Honours should be undertaken by students who are motivated, passionate, and driven in their program of study. Honours students are generally keen learners who wish to learn beyond their syllabi and create a deeper understanding of what they have previously learned. Honours students should be eager to conduct their own study and should feel confident in their ability to do so. However, the role of an honours student’s thesis advisor is to help the student as much as they can. Most students who enroll in honours are unfamiliar with research and thesis writing, but part of the journey is learning as you progress.

Tips for Honours Students

Connect with your professors: Building a professional relationship with your professors is always encouraged, and it is for a good reason. Specifically, connecting with your professors provides a space for you to get to know them and their research. This can allow you to see if their research is something you are interested in, and can help when it comes to applying for honours. In addition, by having a professional relationship with your professors, you might have the upper hand when it comes to securing an advisor. If your professors know you, your work ethic, and your interests, it might give you an edge over a student they have not connected with.

Learn about honours before you decide: The best thing that anyone can do when making a big decision is to talk to those who are familiar with their situation or have been in the same one. Students can learn a lot from talking to people who have completed an honours degree already or those who are in the process of doing so. Graduate students, friends, and family are a great place to start to see if an honours degree is right for you. Professors and the academic advising centre can also be a great resource for students interested in honours.  

Get ahead of the game: An honours degree is something that can be easily forgotten about because it is not something that is always overtly advertised. There are deadlines to apply and they cannot be missed. In addition, securing an advisor can become a difficult task unless done early. If a student waits too long, many professors will have already chosen the students that they wish to advise. There is nothing worse than being eager to do honours and then not being able to secure the advisor that you want. 

Make sure your research topic is interesting to YOU: As mentioned above, an honours degree is a big project to undertake. If a student decides on a topic that is uninteresting to them, they are likely to become tired and unmotivated very quickly. By being interested in your topic, it motivates the student and may not even feel like work. Additionally, students should be proud of their research that they conducted during their honours and there is no better way to encourage this than to be interested in it initially. 

In short, an honours degree is an opportunity for students to learn how to conduct research in their field of interest. It illustrates creativity, innovation and motivation which are celebrated characteristics in academics. Being able to conduct research that is entirely one’s own original work is an exciting opportunity that students should consider. To learn more about pursuing an honours degree, students can visit the SMU website or contact the academic advising centre. 

Claire Keenan