Honors in the Major – College of Health and Behavioral Sciences

Communication Sciences & Disorders

Nursing
Physical Therapy
Psychology & Counseling
 

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Communication Sciences & Disorders

Contact Information

Darshon Reed, PhD
Associate Dean & Interim Chair
andersond@uca.edu
(501) 450-5479
SLHC 127

Department Requirements

  • 72 credit hours completed (12 in the major)
  • Overall GPA of 3.25 or better
  • Major GPA of 3.40 or better
  • Consent of Department Chair
  • Completion of CSD 4350

Exercise & Sport Science

Kim Eskola, MS, ACSM-EP
Interim Department Chair & Senior Clinical Instructor
keskola@uca.edu
(501) 450-5701
DHSC 131

Department Requirements

  • 60 credit hours completed (12 in the major)
  • Overall GPA of 3.25 or better
  • Major GPA of 3.50 or better
  • Consent of Department Chair
  • The Honors in the Major Capstone Project is a scholarly experience that incorporates concepts and techniques learned throughout the undergraduate career, and allows students to make original scholarly or professional contributions to their field. Students will complete a faculty-approved project in order to fulfill the Honors in the Major Program criteria, thus earning the designation of “undergraduate scholar” upon graduating. Requirements include:
    1. All HIM capstone projects must have a component that is open to or could be shared with the public.
    2. Courses and projects appropriate to each major should be discussed with and pre-approved by faculty in the selected major.
    3. HIM capstone projects must demonstrate significant learning and rise to the expectations of exemplary performance as judged by the faculty.
    4. Regardless of the type of project, evidence of the HIM capstone project must be filed by the end of instruction (study day) for the semester in which the student will graduate.
    5. Before the end of the third full week of the semester in which the student intends to graduate, the student must submit a completed Honors in the Majors form to the Registrar. Download the form here: form link

Health Sciences

Contact Information

Denise Demers, PhD, CHES
Department Chair
denised@uca.edu
(501) 450-3194
DHSC 318

Department Requirements

  • Overall GPA of 3.25 or better
  • Consent of Department Chair
  • 3.50 in at least 12 hours required by the major

Nutrition & Family Sciences

Contact Information

Rebekah Luong, MS, CFCS
Interim Department Chair & Clinical Instructor
rlindsey@uca.edu
(501) 852-0952
MAC 117

Department Requirements

  • Overall GPA of 3.70 or better
  • Consent of Department Chair
  • Completion of FACS 4301

Nursing

Contact Information

Susan Gatto, PhD, RN, CNE
Director and Professor, School of Nursing
susang@uca.edu
(501) 450-5518
IHSB 496

Department Requirements

  • Overall GPA of 3.50 or better
  • Major GPA of 3.70 or better
  • Consent of Department Chair

Physical Therapy

Contact Information

Kevin Garrison, PT, PhD
Associate Professor
kgarrison@uca.edu
(501) 450-5559
PT Center 329

Department Requirements

  • Overall GPA of 3.70 or better
  • Consent of Department Chair
  • Completion of PTHY 4_83

Department Resources

Department Process

During their junior year, qualified students are invited to become candidates for departmental honors. The student must have earned at least an overall GPA of 3.25 and have at least a 3.5 in the major with at least 12 hours required by the major completed.

  1. Students can identify possible mentors by consulting the web pages of the Physical Therapy Department. The student should then make an appointment with prospective mentors to discuss possible projects. On a special note, sponsoring research and other independent projects are exceptionally time consuming for faculty (and students!); faculty that are already over-committed may decline to sponsor a project or may only sponsor projects in particular areas of interest.
  2. The student and faculty mentor will together develop a plan for initiating a project. The student will read relevant articles and prepare a brief proposal to submit to an advisory committee. The advisory committee will consist of two to three faculty in Physical Therapy including the faculty mentor. Upon acceptance of the project the student and the faculty mentor will sign a thesis contract (see below) providing a detailed description for satisfactorily completing the project.
  3. The research project may be completed during the academic year and/or summer. Honors students are required to complete a minimum of three hours of Directed Study in Physical Therapy PTHY 4_83. The Directed Study in Physical Therapy hours may be completed in one to three semesters as agreed upon in the honors thesis contract. The hours will not count towards the core requirement for graduation.
  4. Upon completing the research project, the student will prepare a final written honors thesis to submit to the faculty advisor. The thesis is typically modeled after research articles with introduction, methods, results and discussion sections, but is not limited to this format. The student will also give an oral presentation on the project. Physical Therapy faculty and students will be invited to attend the presentation.
  5. Upon successful completion of the written report and oral presentation, the faculty advisor and advisory committee will review the work and, if appropriate, recommend graduation with honors to the Physical Therapy faculty.

If the faculty agrees to grant honors and the final GPA meets requirements, the honors distinction is noted on the student’s transcript and diploma and is recognized at commencement.


Psychology & Counseling

Contact Information

Art Gillaspy, PhD
Professor of Psychology
MASH 249

Department Requirements

  • 72 credit hours completed (12 in the major)
  • Overall GPA of 3.25 or better
  • Major GPA of 3.50 or better
  • Consent of Department Chair

Department Process

  1. Student will complete and defend the project before graduation.
  2. Student must give an oral presentation of both a proposal and a defense of his/her project to a committee of faculty (3-5 members) selected by the student and their proposal advisor.
  3. Deadlines related to writing the paper, obtaining ethical approval, collecting data, proposing, and defending the project will be determined by the faculty advisor. Students should anticipate no less than one academic year (or 2 semesters) from development to completion. The typical sequence is as follows:
    • student develops one (or a few) ideas for a research project
    • student finds a faculty member who will serve as an advisor for the project
    • student notifies Ms. Anna Park of intent to enter the program
    • student enrolls in PSYC 4380 Independent Readings (optional) and develops a research proposal
    • student presents research proposal document and PowerPoint presentation to 3-5 selected faculty committee
    • student obtains ethical approval for the research project
    • student enrolls in PSYC 4382 Independent Research (optional) and conducts the study
    • student presents final research paper to their committee before the last week of classes the semester the student intends to graduate