Honors and Independent Study
Independent Study
Students may engage in independent study at the intermediate (2970–2979) or advanced (4000–4051) level. Only one semester of independent study or honors work may count toward the major or the minor.
Honors Project Guidelines
An honors project in environmental studies (ES) provides students with an opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary research and analysis. ES students should elect an environmental studies honors project if they have an interest in an area that is interdisciplinary in nature and the topic of their project cannot be addressed through their departmental major.
The Environmental Studies Program expects that honors projects require two semesters of research and writing during a student's senior year. Any students graduating in December should start the honors project in the spring of their junior year.
Eligibility
Permission to pursue an honors project in Environmental Studies is reserved for students with distinguished academic records in the ES Program. Students who want to pursue honors must fulfill the following requirements before the semester they plan to begin their project.
- A GPA of at least 3.5 in Environmental Studies courses or approval of the ES Program Director.
- Completion of ENVS 1101 and at least two other core courses (ENVS 2201, 2330, 2403)
- For projects involving social science methods, completion of ENVS 2331 (Nature of Data) and/or ENVS 2314 (Talking to Farmers and Fishermen), depending on the project.
Students considering honors should expect to do preliminary research in the summer preceding their senior year.
Proposal Submission and Review (Revised April 9, 2024)
By Wednesday, April 23, 2025, the interested Honors candidates are required to present a one-page description of the proposed project to the ES Program Director. The proposal must include (a) a description of the project or question the student expects to consider, (b) a brief description of the primary methods to be employed (i.e. social science, natural science, historical, literary), and (c) the name of a faculty member with whom the student has discussed the topic.
The ES Program Director, ES faculty, and potential faculty advisors will review the proposals and determine the best approaches for supporting students in pursuing honors projects. The ES Program may not be able to support all proposed projects in a given year due to the availability of faculty to advise projects. In certain cases, students may be encouraged to continue their projects as intermediate or advanced independent studies.
Committee Composition
The honors project will be supervised by a committee of three faculty members, at least two of whom will be ES faculty. One member will serve as the advisor. Selection of the faculty committee is the responsibility of the advisor and the ES Program Director. The format of the honors project will be developed by the faculty committee to reflect the focus of the student's research interest. Faculty advisors must communicate with the ES Program Director about how the project is progressing throughout the year.
Project Deadlines
By week 5 of fall semester, honors candidates will submit a prospectus for review by the faculty committee. This will be a detailed version of the initial project proposal. It should include the following: a description of the question or problem that the student is researching, significance of problem, analytical and theoretical framework, scholarly contributions, expected results, an outline for the paper, and a description of other project components. The proposal should include a preliminary bibliography of primary and secondary sources and the name and affiliation of committee members.
In late October, all ES faculty and all honors candidates will meet to hear each candidate speak briefly about their honors project proposal. Copies of the proposals will be distributed to ES faculty prior to the meeting. ES faculty will respond with suggestions for ways of improving or sharpening the candidate's approach to the subject. Advisors will meet with candidates after the presentation to discuss the faculty's suggestions.
By the last day of fall semester, the honors candidate will submit a draft of the first chapter or section to the honors committee. After having read and commented on this paper, the committee will meet with the student. The committee will then make a recommendation by the end of the semester as to whether the project should continue into the second semester, or if it should become an independent study.
By week 3 of spring semester, the honors candidate will submit a draft of the next substantive section (or chapter) of the project. After having read and commented on this paper, the committee will meet with the student.
By the start of spring break, the honors candidate will submit a draft of the next substantive sections (or chapters) of the project.
By week 10 of spring semester, the honors candidate will submit a completed draft of the project. Soon after these drafts have been read by the committee, the honors candidate and the committee will meet to review the project to ensure that satisfactory progress has been made up to this point.
By the last day of spring semester, the honors candidate will hand in the final honors project to the committee.
During reading period: The honors candidate will provide an oral presentation to the ES faculty committee for approval. Juniors who are considering pursuing ES honors during their senior year are strongly encouraged to attend.
Honors Designation
Each student's committee will evaluate the honors project based upon the quality of research, writing, originality of topic, effective use of primary materials (as appropriate), and completeness. The final recommendation of the student’s advisor and committee determines whether program honors are to be awarded. The ES Program does not distinguish levels of departmental honors. The grades for each semester will be determined by the student’s advisor, in consultation with the committee members.
At any point in this process, the advisor, in consultation with the committee and the ES Program Director, can turn the honors project into an independent study that does not require a presentation and is subject only to review and approval of the advisor.
Recent ES Honors Projects
* Recent honors projects can be viewed electronically via digital commons (at https://digitalcommons.edu for on-campus viewing only)
2024
Katie Draeger: , Eileen Sylvan Johnson (Advisor)
Katie Kurtz: , Jill Pearlman (Advisor)
2022
Brianna Cunliffe: Forests as Fuel? An Investigation of Biomass' Role in a Just Energy Transition
Samara Nassor: An Investigation on Data Gaps in Scope 3 Emissions Accounting and Disclosure using 2010-2021 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Questionnaire Responses
Matthew L. Thomas: Evaluating Dam Relicensing and River Herring Habitat Restoration from a Broad, Multi-Ecosystem Perspective
2021
Lily McVetty: Cultivating Community: Coastal Collaborations for Equitable Climate Survival and Adaptation in Rockland, Maine
2020
Anna Barnes: Protein Transition: Alternative Proteins and Policy Pathways to a More Sustainable Diet in the United States
Marina Henke: Alongside Despair: Signs of Life on the River des Peres
2019
Jasmine Long: Ecotourism Experience of Elephant Riding: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Chinese and Western Tourist Participation in Thai Elephant Tourism
Miranda Miller: Becoming Brasília: The Evolution of a Gregarious Capital City
Tharun Vemulpalli: A New Refugee Crisis? Understanding the Drivers of Climate-Induced Migration through Tuvalu and Bangladesh
2017
Lu Miao: Water funds as an effective conservation tool to China's nonpoint source pollution problem : lessons based on Latin American case studies
2015
Elizabeth Brown: The effects on land use change on riparian environment, water quality, and society along the Kimana-Kikarangot River, Kenya
Bridgett McCoy: The price of carbon : politics and the equity of carbon taxes in the middle income countries of Mexico and South Africa