Honors Program

The Honors Thesis Program offers qualified students an opportunity to conduct independent communication research and to write an honors thesis reporting their results. The program provides for close contact between students and thesis advisors so that students can receive intensive guidance and assistance throughout their research and writing. The aim is to help students go through the process of conceptualization, study planning, data collection, analysis and writing, which is essential to excellence in scholarship.

Amy Bonilla: My research is on the development of the news media in Nicaragua over the last three decades. By taking a look at the role of the news media throughout the country’s different political eras (the Somoza dictatorship, the Sandinista regime, and the transition back to democracy) I plan to track how the news media have evolved over the years, what their significance is in the political arena, and where there is potential for growth. At the core of my research lies the question of how independent the news media really are from political parties, and what forces continue to limit their autonomy.

Faculty Advisors: Shanto Iyengar and William Ratliff (Hoover Institution)
Allison Brian: This project is designed to provide a sustainable source of income for the Wodaabe women of Niger and integrate their traditional craftsmanship into mainstream Western society. As a result of geographic isolation and government marginalization, the Wodaabe nomads of North Africa have become one of the poorest ethnic groups in the world. By stimulating the production of traditional embroidery in a form that appeals to Western consumers, this project will empower its craftsmen and provide a forum of representation for the nomadic women of Niger.

Faculty Advisor: Cliff Nass

Kamila McDonald: The majority of the western population has never visited Africa and most likely never will. Therefore, the media plays a huge role in the pictures painted of Africa as information via the internet, television, radio, films, newspapers and magazines are the only ways in which the audiences in the west are able to form impressions of the continent. Images of Africa for youth in the west are most often ones limited to famine, poverty, war sickness and disease. This saturation of negativity requires channels that will provide a more positive and balanced alternative. Media represents a potential powerhouse in changing perceptions, attitudes and orientations about Africanness and Africa as well as providing an avenue for tangible linkages and changes that could help release the potential of Africans in the Diaspora to strengthen Afro-centric views and approaches, as well contribute to tangible engagement with Africa.; My research will focus on the perceptions of African youth in the Diaspora (i.e African born, African American and Afro Caribbean etc) regarding Africa, the portrayal of the continent in the media and the effect this portrayal has had on identity, cultural retention and depth of knowledge about the continent. Having covered these contextual issues my research will attempt to determine the levels and types of information or features and networks youth in the Diaspora would be interested in receiving and engaging with in relation to Africa. My ultimate aim in undertaking this research is to design a multimedia website for and with youth in the Diaspora, to counteract negative representations of Africa, to respond to expressed interests and needs and to facilitate opportunities for youth networking and engagements towards the upliftment and development of the continent.

Faculty Advisors: Fred Turner and Prudence Carter (Sociology)
Eyal Ophir: Today’s media come in a multitude of formats – from the mobile phone and SMS, to instant messaging, online multimedia content, video conferencing, the MP3 player, video games, and other computer applications. As these media multiply in number and drop in cost, they are changing the way we use and integrate them. New media users are not only using all these media – many of them are using them all at once.; What effect does this high horizontal media use have on us, and how are high horizontal media users different from those who prefer to focus on one medium at a time? Are they better at filtering out irrelevant information? Are they more capable of quickly switching between the different mindsets appropriate to each medium? Or are they better at inhibiting inappropriate actions? My study will employ classic tasks from cognitive research to attempt to see what it is that high horizontal media users do differently.

Faculty Advisor: Cliff Nass

Eligibility

Each student should submit an application for the program not later than spring quarter of the junior year and have a GPA of 3.3 in Communication courses. The Honors Thesis Program is based on the assumption that useful research and writing take time and effort and thus will be ongoing for the three quarters of the senior year. Those wishing to conduct projects in two quarters or less may participate in a senior project (Comm 190) as an alternative to an honors thesis. Students should be aware that no faculty member can effectively supervise more than a few theses each year. Normally, the thesis advisor will be a faculty member with whom the student has already taken a course. .

Requirements

Students wishing to participate in the Honors Thesis Program must be majoring in Communication and must have completed the core requirements (Comm 1A or Comm 1B, 106, 108, Stats 60/Psych 10) and received a grade of B+ or better in Communication Research Methods (Comm 106). A thesis advisor may deem other courses as necessary.

Bing Honors College

Bing Honors College (BHC) brings students writing honors theses to campus in September before the start of the regular school year for a program of group- and major-based activities. By concentrating solely on the thesis for three weeks, BHC participants begin the senior year with a serious commitment to independent scholarship in an atmosphere of shared intellectual purpose. For further information please go to http://ual.stanford.edu/OO/honors/BingHonors.html

Writing Consultation Services

Associate Director of URP for Honors Writing, Hilton Obenzinger (hobnzngr@stanford.edu), and his staff offer writing workshops during the summer and academic year, as well as workshops and consultations for graduate students and faculty who provide writing support for departmental honors programs. You can also seek individual consultation with them at the URP office about overcoming writer’s block, increasing creative output, clarity, coherence, stylistic vigor, documentation, copyediting, articulating complex arguments or difficult concepts, and advanced writing needs, such as revision of papers for publication in professional journals. Alternatively you can consult URP’s extensive library of writing and documentation reference books.

Funding

Please contact Renee Courey, Associate Director, Student Services department of Undergraduate Research Programs, during the fall quarter of your junior year for more information regarding how to secure funding for your Honors Thesis. She can be reached at rcourey@stanford.edu or at (650) 736-1236.

Honors Thesis Credit

Students admitted to the program will earn honors thesis credit for a total of three quarters and may not receive more than five units of credit in a single quarter. Students are expected to make steady progress on their honors thesis throughout the year. An ‘N’ grade must be entered in Axess by the thesis advisor at the end of each of the first two quarters, indicating that this is continuing work and that the final grade (posted in spring) will be a letter grade. The honors work may be used to fulfill Communication elective credit. Honors in Communication cannot be awarded retroactively. A student failing to fulfill all honors requirements may still receive independent study credit for work completed which can be applied toward fulfilling major elective requirements.

Failure to submit a satisfactory draft of the thesis during fall quarter will result in the student being dropped from the program.

Submitting Your Honors Thesis

A final copy of the paper must be submitted to your thesis advisor for review and grading by May 21st. A second, final copy must be submitted to the department’s Student Services Administrator by June 1st and becomes part of a permanent record held by the department.

Graduation with Honors

The designation graduation with honors is awarded by the Department of Communication to those graduating seniors who, in addition to having completed all requirements for the communication major, also achieve the following:

1. Successfully complete an Honors Thesis (B+ or better)
2. Maintain a distinguished grade average in all Communication course work
3. Are recommended by the Communication faculty

This distinction will be noted on the student’s diploma and during the department graduation ceremonies.

Application

Download information about the Honors Program and an application here.

Previous Honors Theses

Previous Honors Theses are available for review in Room 110A in Bldg. 120.

Examples of some recent theses include:

The News Media in Nicaragua and Their Role in Democratic Development
Amy Bonilla, 2008, Thesis Advisors: Shanto Iyengar & William Ratliff

Running Head: S.tiches O.f the S.ahara: An Exploration Into the Non-profit Business
Allison Brian, 2008, Thesis Advisor: Cliff Nass

Multi-Media Minds: Cognitive Control in Media Multitaskers
Eyal Ophir, 2008, Thesis Advisor: Cliff Nass

Bringing the Asian Journalism Debate into American Newsrooms: Rethinking Diversity
Aram Hur, 2007, Thesis Advisor: Ted Glasser

Learning Tai Chi in Virtual Reality: Exploring the Effects of Fully Immersive Virtual Reality on Learning of Physical Tasks?
Alexia Nielsen, 2007, Thesis Advisor: Jeremy N. Bailenson
Virtually True: Children's Acquisition of False Memories in Virtual Reality
Kathryn Rickertsen, 2007, Thesis Advisor: Jeremy N. Bailenson

Virtual Police Lineups: An Exploration of How Virtual Reality Can Improve Eyewitness Identification
Alexandra Davies, 2005, Thesis Advisor: Jeremy N. Bailenson

Subtle Racial Media Appeals in Political Campaigns and the Local News: How does this influence public opinion and California referenda?
Jessica LaVerne Parker, 2005, Thesis Advisor: Shanto Iyengar