Honors College

Ideally, Honors College students will start brainstorming early about what they want to experience and accomplish in their undergraduate careers; choose classes and co-curricular activities that support those goals; initiate a Capstone Project that feeds their unique intellectual passions; and, finally, carry what they have learned forward into life beyond college.

Students have the option of pursuing a capstone inside or outside their major and discipline. In many instances, expectations for the Capstone are in line with honors quality departmental theses, senior design projects, and other senior research projects that enable students to carry out rigorous inquiry, writing, and public presentation.

Introducing the Honors Capstone Project: General information; a sample timeline and the steps to completing a Capstone; registration and paperwork; and tips about using the Capstone Project to pursue other opportunities like fellowships and graduate school admissions.

Video: https://youtu.be/M5ssU7I-98M
Transcript: https://uofi.box.com/v/capstonetranscript

Capstones in Specific Disciplines/Areas of Study

The Honors College encourages students to complete a Capstone Project that will simultaneously fulfill departmental or college requirements/opportunities for advanced undergraduate research and professional presentation, subject to approval by the student’s Capstone Supervisor and Faculty Fellow.

Discipline-Specific Information:

•  See discipline-specific information for your Capstone.

Capstones Outside Your Specific Discipline

Students must have taken sufficient coursework in the field they wish to produce a Capstone Project, and they must locate a faculty member or practitioner from that field to serve as their Capstone Supervisor.

Need Help Deciding on a Capstone In or Outside Your Major? 

Your Capstone Supervisor will be your ultimate guide along the way, but as you move through this process, you can:

• bring general questions to and receive feedback from your Honors College primary advisor,
• brainstorm options with and bring field-specific questions to your Faculty Fellow;
• or make an appointment with one of the Capstone specialists in the Honors College, Kathryn Burns-Howard (kbh@uic.edu).

The Honors Capstone Project involves two semesters of work and is generally supervised ideally by a UIC faculty member. Honors College students also have the option of recruiting an expert outside of the university to be their Capstone Supervisor, as long as that person has appropriate experience in the field, as determined by the Faculty Fellow and the Honors College.

Here are some ways to recruit a Capstone Supervisor:

1. Contact your Faculty Fellow! Your Faculty Fellow is your lifeline to the academic research community on campus. They have myriad connections to other faculty and researchers across campus who can mentor you with your Honors Capstone Project and can help you brainstorm.
2. Approach current faculty or professors you’ve taken classes with in the past! Swing by their office hours and chat with them about your current research interests. Ask them to direct you to relevant peer-reviewed sources articles and to other faculty members or experts in the community.
3. Consider internships, volunteer hours, or work experience as potential sites to initiate an investigation applied research project.
4. Come meet with Rachel! She’s the Capstone Specialist and is here to help you with all stages of the Honors Capstone Project.  You can email her at rkara@uic.edu.

Note: Honors College students may complete an Honors Capstone Project outside of their major discipline if they have taken sufficient coursework in the field of interest and are able to locate an appropriate Capstone Supervisor.

The Capstone Supervisor reviews drafts, provides feedback, and guides the student as they develop their project. Therefore, the Capstone Supervisor determines whether or not an Honors Capstone Project meets the academic standards of the field for a novice researcher.

Meeting with your Capstone Supervisor

The Capstone Supervisor is knowledgeable in their area of research and is a resource for the student. More specifically:

• Students need to ascertain that the prospective Capstone Supervisor has expertise in the area of study and is willing and able to devote the time required to supervise the project effectively.
• The Capstone Supervisor is expected to enthusiastically mentor the student throughout the project, including by
  • being available to check-in with the student on a recurring basis, ideally in person
  • identifying appropriate research methods and obtaining background reading materials
  • reading and critiquing drafts in a timely manner
  • consulting with the student regularly on the scope and methodology of the project.
  • helping the student find appropriate public presentation venues and forms of presentation
  • evaluating the project to determine whether it meets academic standards and disciplinary requirements
  • attending the public presentation, if possible

Meeting with your Faculty Fellow 

The Faculty Fellow ensures that the student successfully fulfills the Capstone Project requirements. More specifically:

• The Fellow may assist the student in finding an appropriate Capstone Supervisor.
• The Fellow may periodically check with the student to ensure that the project is progressing as expected and that the student is working well under the Capstone Supervisor.
• The Fellow is expected to comment on the quality of the Capstone Project and must certify that it meets the Honors College requirements.
• Some Fellows also serve as Capstone Supervisors for one or more Honors College students, while others do not.

The Honors College Capstone Agreement Form is required for any student who is registered for HON 322. It is the first (#1) of a series of 4 forms related to the Capstone. This is in lieu of the Honors Activity Agreement Form, and must be completed at the beginning of the semester in which a student begins work on the Capstone project. After the Capstone Agreement Form is submitted by the student in HARS, the Project Supervisor will be notified within one business day for electronic approval.

Only after the Project Supervisor has approved the project, will the Fellow be notified for electronic approval. The form should be created in HARS by the end of the third week of the semester.

Log into the Honors Activity Reporting System to generate and print your Capstone Agreement Form.

Registering for HON 322 also involves the following paperwork:

Capstone Agreement Form

Students must submit a signed Capstone Agreement Form to the Honors College front desk by the third Friday of the first semester in which they are enrolled in HON 322.

The form includes a section for the student to include a project proposal. The project proposal should include the following elements:

1. Title
2. Purpose and Goal of the Research – A brief summary of the issues to be addressed and/or questions to be investigated. The issues described should be as specific as possible, and the student may wish to include a summary of preliminary background research.
3. Methodology and Data/Materials Collection – An explanation of what data or other materials are to be collected to answer the research question(s) and how.
4. Analysis and Anticipated Results – An explanation of how the data or materials will be analyzed and the potential scholarly contribution of the results from the study.
5. Preliminary Schedule – A tentative schedule for completing the above steps in two semesters, including plans for preparing and conducting the public presentation. For example, students will likely carry out the necessary background literature review and conduct the bulk of their research during the first semester of the Capstone and then devote the second semester to writing up research and preparing a poster, a PowerPoint presentation, and/or a lecture for public presentation. The venue for public presentation should also be identified.

Students should provide the Capstone Supervisor and Faculty Fellow with an initial draft of the project proposal so that they are able to address their concerns prior to the student submitting the proposal by the third Friday of the semester.

Capstone Progress Report

At the end of the first semester, students submit a Capstone Progress Form indicating the progress made on the project and must be signed by the Project Supervisor. Students must have a completed Capstone Agreement Form approved by both the Capstone Supervisor and the Faculty Fellow before they can access and submit their Capstone Progress Report.

• The Capstone Progress Form is due, signed and submitted in HARS, by the last day of classes.
• Questions about your Capstone Progress Report should be directed to your Capstone Supersivor or your Honors primary advisor

Meeting with your Capstone Supervisor

At the start of your second semester, you should meet with your Capstone Supervisor to discuss the parameters and expectations of (1) written portion and (2) public presentation

To help you prepare for the meeting, please consider reviewing examples of Capstone projects from former Honors students.

Verified UIC students and faculty/staff can access an evolving collection of Capstone examples at https://uofi.box.com/v/MoreCapstoneExamples. Graduating Honors College students have consented to share their supervised intellectual property within UIC only, and not all projects are included in their entirety. (NOTE: You must have a UIC Netid and Box account to view these files. Create Box Account here.)

Below is list of sample capstones from former Honors students:

• Colonizing or Coexisting: The Psychological and Psychogeographical Implications of Gentrification Efforts in Pilsen 
• Analysis of Student Perceptions of Service Learning and Global Health Impact 
• Film and Television Adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Gender and Sexual Orientation 
• Othering and Imperial Criticism: The Ambivalent Message of the Adventure Novel 
• Development of Health Rehabilitation in Mainland China: From Traditional Chinese Medicine to Modern Rehabilitation Methods 
• The Displaced Agent: A Pentadic Analysis of Immigrant’s Protective League Discourse from the 1930s through 1958 
• Dragonfly Abundance and Richness in Chicago’s Community Gardens 
• The Incorporation of UDL into Lesson Plans 
• Geometry and Structure of BaTiO3 Nanocubes 
• Culture Fit in the Interview Process: How Important is it, and How Do We Gauge it? 
• Shattering Mental Health Stigma 

Capstone Proposal Update Form

• At the beginning of the second semester of the Capstone, students must submit a Capstone Proposal Update Form to describe any changes to the original proposal and to outline a schedule or timeline for completion of the project. Both the Capstone Supervisor and the Faculty Fellow must sign the Capstone Proposal Update Form. In the cases when the Capstone Supervisor is different than the Faculty Fellow, this midway review is another opportunity for the Fellow to ensure the proposed work is meeting Honors College standards.
• The signed Capstone Proposal Update Form is due in HARS at the end of the third week of the second Capstone semester.

Video Guide: Poster Design and Presentation: How to design a good research poster and present it to your audience.

• Video Guide: https://youtu.be/WaB5s7APs_8
• Transcript: https://uofi.box.com/v/posterdesigntranscript

I Understand the written requirement. Why should I present the project in public? 

Presentation of the results of your work in some form of public academic or professional forum allows you to showcase your accomplishments. It is a great opportunity to share ideas and receive constructive feedback from your colleagues. And it is an important chance to network with academics, professionals, alumni, and others in your field interested in similar lines of inquiry. Overall, it will be a proud moment for you, your Capstone Supervisor, your Faculty Fellow, your family and friends, and of course, the Honors College.

Examples of presentation venues include:

• Undergraduate Research Forum — Annual event in April
• Honors College Research Symposium — Annual event in November
• Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Forum — Annual event in April

• Undergraduate Forum Information

Capstone Completion Form

Both the Capstone Supervisor and the Faculty Fellow must approve the final project and sign the Capstone Completion Form at the conclusion of the project.

While no formal grade will be given by the Honors College on either the written portion or the public presentation of the project, the Capstone Supervisor indicates that the project is acceptable, and the Faculty Fellow certifies that the project meets the Honors College Capstone requirements.

The Capstone Completion Form is due by the last day of classes.

Final Capstone Submission to Blackboard

The student is responsible for submitting their final Honors Capstone Project (written thesis and/or Scholarly Report, and documentation of public presentation) to the Honors College by the last day of classes in the second semester via the Blackboard course site HON 322.

The Capstone Supervisor is responsible for addressing any possible academic honesty and plagiarism issues that are discovered when the student submits drafts of the written portion of their Capstone Project through SafeAssign. Honors Capstone students have the ability to make unlimited submissions of capstone drafts within their Blackboard course site HON 322. They have access to their SafeAssign originality report, and should submit that report to the Capstone Supervisor as part of the iterative writing process. Students who struggle with paraphrasing, quoting, and properly citing should be referred to the UIC Writing Center (https://writingcenter.uic.edu) for support.

• Note: The Honors College requires students to run their final capstone submission through SafeAssign. Any academic honesty issues identified at that time may impact the student’s ability to graduate as a member of the Honors College and may be reported for a formal Standards of Conduct Review. The Capstone Supervisor at that time will be contacted about the academic honesty issue. Please work with the student throughout the iterative process to address issues prior to this point.