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Cornell Brooks Public Policy

Undergraduate Honors in Research Program

Guidelines

The Honors in Research Program recognizes the highest level of academic achievement in research amongst Brooks School undergraduates. The following provides important information about the Honors in Research Program, including eligibility, the application procedure, and requirements. The program is a rigorous and rewarding endeavor. Though the application process begins in your junior year, in order to be successful, it is important that you plan your curriculum carefully, even as a first-year or sophomore.

Eligibility Requirements

Students must achieve and maintain a GPA of at least 3.7 to be eligible for the Honors in Research Program, and the 3.7 GPA must be maintained even after being admitted into the program.  Students whose GPA drops below 3.7 will be dropped from the program (though these students can register for special studies in order to complete their research). Likewise, to be eligible to start the program, students may not have any outstanding incomplete (INC) grades on their record. Students must have taken or be concurrently enrolled in PUBPOL 3120 Research Design, Practice and Policy during the semester of application.

Application Procedure

It is preferable that students apply for the Honors in Research Program a minimum of three semesters before their expected graduation date. Students must complete a Honors in Research Program Application Form. The application is due April 15th of junior year for May Graduates, and November 15th of junior year for December graduates. To complete the form, students must identify and get the consent of a Brooks School faculty Research Mentor and have a rough plan for their research topic, data source, and methods. Students who are planning to study abroad second semester of junior year are encouraged to arrange a mentor and complete the application before leaving for off campus studies. The Research Mentor will help the student refine their topic, and act as an advisor throughout the Honors in Research Program.  The Research Mentor must approve the student’s proposed thesis topic and sign the application form. The student will be notified within two weeks after the application deadline whether they are accepted into the program.

The Honors Thesis

The major component of the Honors in Research Program is the honors thesis.  Each student is required to conduct original research on a topic chosen by the student.  The research must be written up in a formal scientific manner. The faculty Research Mentor will supervise the research.  The Research Mentor and a faculty committee assigned by the Director of Undergraduate Studies will grade the final research paper.  The Research Mentor and/or committee may request revisions, which must be incorporated into the final version of the written thesis that is due by the last day of classes. For examples of recent Brooks School honors thesis’ visit eCommons.

Additional Requirements

In addition to the honors thesis, students must complete the following requirements in order to successfully complete the Honors in Research Program. For the most part these requirements are designed to aid in the research process.

Requirements

  1. Students must take PUBPOL 3120 Research Design, Practice, and Policy prior to their fall senior semester.
  2. Students must take PUBPOL 4980 – Honors Seminar or NS 3980 – Research in Human Nutrition and Health, no later than fall of junior year for December graduates and fall of senior year for May graduates. These 1-credit workshops provide an overview of campus research resources and policies that are relevant for honors research in any social science major.
  3. Students must complete a statistical or qualitative software training session offered through the Cornell Center for Social Sciences (CCSS) by the end of the fall semester in their senior year. (Note: The Brooks School has adopted the STATA software package for use in all undergraduate courses). If the thesis will be quantitative, students may select software training in a different statistical package such as R or select advanced training modules in STATA.
  4. Students must attend two professional research seminars during their senior year (decided upon in conjunction with their Research Mentor and/or your PUBPOL 4980 instructor).
  5. Students must enroll in three credits of PUBPOL 4990 Honors Research during their first semester in the program. To continue in the Honors in Research Program students must receive a grade of B or higher.
  6. Prior to enrolling in the first semester of PUBPOL 4990, students must meet with their Research Mentor to set out written expectations regarding progress on the thesis.
  7. During the second semester in the program, students enroll in three credits of PUBPOL 4990 with their Research Mentor to complete the thesis.
  8. Students are required to complete and present a poster of their research at a poster session during the second semester of the honors program. Several Cornell groups (e.g. DUAC, CURB, etc.) offer poster sessions. Contact the DUS or Brooksugprogram@cornell.edu to confirm if your selected poster session will meet this requirement. An electronic copy of this poster must be submitted to BrooksUGProgram@cornell.edu.
  9. If students are planning to collect any primary data from human participants (such as interviews, focus group discussions or surveys) they must work with their Research Mentor to submit an IRB application and receive approval prior to data collection. Note: In order to submit an IRB application students must complete a Human Subjects Protection training.

Honors Degree

If a final thesis with revisions suggested after the first review has been approved, the student will graduate with honors in research.

Timeline

Please refer to the timetable below that describes key dates for the Honors in Research Program.  Students must adhere to this timetable to complete the program and complete various forms.

If you have questions about the program, please send an email to both the Brooks Director of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Aubryn Allyn Sidle at as286@cornell.edu and the Honors in Research Program Coordinator at BrooksUGProgram@cornell.edu.

Timeline for December Graduation

Timeline for May Graduation

Action

Optional, as early as your first yearOptional, as early as your first yearAttend an information session about the program, hosted by the DUS at least once per Spring and Fall semester.
Optional, as early as your first yearOptional, as early as your first yearRequest to be added to Prospective Honors in Research Student Canvas course by emailing BrooksUGProgram@cornell.edu.
No later than spring before Junior yearNo later than Junior springEnroll in PUBPOL 3120 Research Design, Practice, and Policy (course only offered in spring semesters).
November 15th, Junior YearApril 15th, Junior YearApply for Brooks School Honors Program.
End of Junior Fall (preferred), no later than beginning Senior SpringEnd of Junior Spring (preferred), no later than beginning Senior FallIf collecting any primary data from human participants: Complete IRB training and submit IRB Application with your Research Mentor. 

Program Forms

Visit the Brooks School Petitions and Forms page to find the following forms:

Thesis Submission Formatting and Accessibility Guidelines

You do not need to provide printed, bound copies of your finalized thesis, but can submit an electronic copy to the Brooks Undergraduate Office once your final copy has been approved.

Page size: 8.5×11 inches.

Typeface:
If using a Macintosh computer for the dissertation or thesis, the following fonts and font sizes are acceptable:

  • Palatino 12
  • Bookman 12
  • New Century Schoolbook 12
  • Helvetica 12 or Helvetica 14
  • Times New Roman 12
  • Times 14 (Times 12 is not acceptable)
  • Symbol 12 is acceptable for symbols

If using a PC, the following fonts and font sizes are acceptable:

  • Times New Roman 12
  • Arial 12
  • Bookman 12
  • Helvetica 12
  • Times 14 (Times 12 is not acceptable)

Footnotes may be single-spaced in a 10-point size but must be in the same font as the rest of the text.

Justification: Left-aligned

Margins:

  • Top: 1”
  • Bottom: 1”
  • Left: 1.5”
  • Right: 1”

Pagination: Use continuous Arabic numbers (beginning with 1) in the same size font as the text for the body of the dissertation or thesis. Page numbers are placed at the bottom of the page, centered between the margins. Chapters within the text begin on new pages.

Spacing: Entire text should be double spaced, except footnotes, quotations, and tables.

Quotations: Use a standard format such as described in one of the following references:

Accessibility: Today’s publications must meet web accessibility guidelines. For written components of the thesis, students must follow guidelines set forth by the DAISY Consortium on creating accessible word documents. All graphs and charts included in an Honors Research Thesis must have text alternative descriptions. Students can learn how to write alternative text by reviewing the Web Accessibility Initiative’s guide to creating text alternatives for visual and auditory content  and the Diagram Center’s Image Description Guidelines.