An honours thesis is a capstone course where students will complete a piece of original scholarly work that contributes substantially to the knowledge and/or application of the discipline. Doing a thesis requires a substantial amount of commitment and time management skills. The workload is spread over two semesters, comprising two 8-credit courses, PSY 4998 Honours Research Seminar in the monsoon and PSY 4999 Honours Thesis in the spring. You should expect to spend no less than 20 hours per week per semester. PSY 4998 and PSY 4999 are taken as a package, although registrations begin formally in Jul/Aug for PSY 4998 and Dec/Jan for PSY 4999. It is not possible to do PSY 4999 without completing PSY 4998. It is, however, possible to exit the thesis “halfway”. That is, students have the option to not continue with PSY 4999 after they have completed PSY 4998 at the end of the Monsoon. In some cases, they may be advised not to continue with PSY 4999. In either case, students who do not continue with PSY 4999 have the option to do an (advanced) independent study module (PSY3099 or PSY4087).
Composition of the thesis committee
Your thesis committee consists of two faculty members. One of them is your advisor; you should choose the second member (second reader) in consultation with your advisor. The role your second reader plays should ideally be discussed with them, as well as with your primary advisor, before confirming your second reader.
Grading
PSY 4998:
- Advisors’ assessment of your peer review = 10%
- Advisors’s assessment of student’s research progress = 30%
- Advisor’s assessment of student’s research proposal = 30%
- Second reader’s assessment of student’s research proposal = 30%
PSY 4999*:
- Advisor’s assessment = 30%
- Advisor’s assessment of student’s research proposal = 35%
- Second reader’s assessment of student’s research proposal = 35%
*Note: Grades are not dependent on the statistical significance of your findings.