CRD Honors Program

CRD 194HA & 194HB
COURSE CONTRACT


COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

194HA-194HB Special Study for Honors Students (Fall – 4 units & Winter – 4 units)
(Deferred grading only, pending completion of sequence.) – I, II. (I, II.)

Independent study - 3 hours; seminar -1 hour; project; term paper. Prerequisites: completion of 135 units at the time of enrollment; GPA 3.500 in the major; GPA 3.300 in overall standing; completion of at least four upper division courses; agreement of a faculty member to serve as thesis advisor.

ELIGIBILITY FOR THE HONORS PROGRAM

To participate in the Honors Program, students must maintain a 3.5 GPA in upper division CRD courses. Students may enter the honors program as long as they meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • Declared major in Community and Regional Development at time of application.
  • Completion of 135 units at the time of enrollment in Honors Seminar (Fall quarter of fourth year).
  • GPA of 3.5 in the major (calculate upper division courses only) at the time of enrollment in Honors Program and a GPA of 3.3 in overall standing.
  • Completion of a least four upper-division CRD courses at the time of application.
  • Agreement of a faculty member to serve as the sponsor/thesis advisor for your thesis.

HOW TO APPLY AND JOIN

If you are interested in joining the program, please e-mail the following information to the Honors Program Director, Anne Visser, and for record keeping purposes please be sure to include the Human Ecology Undergraduate Advisor, Galyna Erdman, and Advising Assistant, Selena Alvarez, in your correspondence.

  • Expected year of graduation
  • CRD subfields of interest
  • Thesis research interest
  • Career plans
  • Name of sponsor/thesis advisor

SOME USEFUL TIPS

  • Submit a 5-page proposal by the Spring quarter of your third year to the Honors Program Director.
  • The proposal should list the name of a faculty member who has agreed to be your thesis advisor for the project and include their approval of your proposal which states that they have read and agreed to take responsibility for the Honors Thesis.
    • Begin with a brief, clear statement of your research topic and your research question(s).
    • What do you want to find out and why?
    • What is the puzzle that you are trying to solve?
  • Your research question may change over the course of the year, but it is necessary to have a question and preliminary literature review at the inception of your research to guide your thinking and data collection.
  • Discuss your preliminary plans for undertaking the research.
    • What method or methods will you use?
    • What are potential sources of data?
  • All proposals will be discussed during one seminar in the Fall. Your audience is your fellow students. Try to tell the group what you hope to do as simply and straightforwardly as possible and explain why you think this project is academically meritorious and belongs into the field of community and regional development.
  • Include an agreement with faculty sponsor/thesis advisor about your collaboration.

ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES

Academic unit credit can only be awarded to students by faculty who are authorized to do so by the University of California Academic Senate. Students who wish to enroll in HONORS THESIS must first identify and contact a faculty member whose academic expertise is related to their proposed project. It's the responsibility of the student to explain their project to faculty and ask the faculty member if they will serve as their thesis advisor for the work for academic unit credit.

ENROLLMENT CHECK LIST

  1. Read contract instructions
  2. Complete the page titles, “Students Complete This Section”
  3. Meet with your thesis advisor
    1. Review the contract work plan together
    2. The thesis advisor completes the page titled “Faculty Thesis Advisor Complete This Section”
    3. Obtain your thesis advisor’s signature on the contract
  4. Be sure you have provided your signature on the contract
  5. Obtain CRD Faculty (Instructor of Record) signature
  6. Make a copy of the contract for your file
  7. Return the completed, signed contract to the Human Ecology Advising Office in 1303 Hart Hall before the tenth day of instruction.
    1. Obtain the CRN from the Human Ecology Advising Office
    2. Enroll via Schedule Builder

LOCATION OF CONTRACTS & LISTS OF FACULTY RESEARCH INTERESTS

  1. Contracts are available at the Human Ecology Advising Office located in 1303 Hart Hall.
  2. Lists of faculty research interests can be obtained from the Human Ecology Website here.

DEPARTMENT POLICY REGARDING THE COMPLETION OF CONTRACTS

Students must submit a completed contract (thesis advisor’s signature, CRD faculty instructor of record signature, student's signature, student goals, and list of assigned/required academic work) to obtain a CRN# for enrollment in course work. Students are responsible for turning in the completed contract to the Human Ecology Advising Assistant before the 10th day of instruction. Late contracts will not be accepted unless there are extenuating circumstances with documentation. If students manage to enroll without the contract and/or fail to negotiate conditions for a grade prior to the add deadline and/or fail to submit materials so agreed upon, they will be administratively dropped from the course, which will require the contract and a written explanation/documentation of special circumstances beyond the student's control (e.g., a letter from a doctor and a letter written and signed by the student's faculty sponsor/thesis advisor).

QUESTIONS? Please contact the Human Ecology Advising Office at 530-752-1805. Office Hours are M-F 8am-12pm & 1pm-5pm in 1303 Hart Hall.