*Please note that this information has been updated to reflect policies that will go into effect for the 2023-24 academic year.*
Students are responsible for forming a thesis committee which will consist of two to three readers. The thesis director (first reader) will determine whether a third reader is required.
The first reader must be a regular NTC faculty member within the department(s) in which honors will be granted (e.g. tenured, tenure-track and professors of practice). An exception will be made for students completing a project in an NTC-approved major in the School of Professional Advancement, such that SoPA faculty may serve as a first reader.
In addition to regular faculty, Visiting Assistant/Associate Professors, administrative faculty, and non-NTC Tulane faculty (e.g. SoPA, Law, Medicine, & Social Work) will be allowed by policy to serve as second or third readers. Non-Tulane faculty and other professionals within the field will be allowed by policy to serve as third readers; such faculty are to be approved for inclusion on the committee by the first reader. Adjunct professors will be allowed by exception to serve as second or third readers with the approval of the relevant department chair. Post-docs will be allowed by exception to serve as second or third readers with department chair approval, provided their principal investigator is not also serving on the same thesis committee.
A student who is writing a thesis for departmental honors in two majors must have a co-director from each major rather than a first and second reader. In this case, each co-director is, in effect, “first reader” for the major they represent.
The third reader (if required) serves as an observer of the thesis process, in particular the oral defense. Sometimes third readers are able to advise students substantively on the thesis research, but that is not a general requirement.
The members of the student's Honors Thesis committee vote whether to “Pass” or “Fail” the thesis at the time of the Oral Defense. Two or three negative votes by members of the committee will fail the thesis; in this case there is no basis for appeal except on procedural grounds. If there is a single negative vote among the three members of the student’s committee, the following procedures will be followed:
If the first or the second reader casts the negative vote, the matter will be referred first to the chair of the student’s major department, and then to the Office of Academic Enrichment. If the reader casting the negative vote is serving as the chair of the department, the matter will be referred to the Office of Academic Enrichment. In the case of a student writing for two majors, if one of the first two readers casts a negative vote, the matter will be referred to the Office of Academic Enrichment.
If the third reader casts the negative vote, the matter will be referred to the Office of Academic Enrichment.
The thesis committee may also (and often do) vote to pass a student provisionally, with instructions to the student to revise the thesis. In any case, revisions required of the student at the time of the oral defense must be completed for the thesis committee to sign the final thesis title page and ultimately pass the thesis.
The committee will report to Newcomb-Tulane College (via a digital form) the results of the oral exam, and the nature of the revisions required (if any) before the thesis is to be considered final.
After the oral examination is held and the thesis is completed, the thesis first reader awards a letter grade that takes into account the full year’s work. The minimum passing grade for an Honors Thesis is A-. The first reader is expected to consult with the second reader regarding the grade, and may also consult with the third reader. The initial grade for the first semester of Honors Thesis registration will be “IP,” but this will be changed to the final letter grade that the student earns for the project.
If the student completes the Honors Thesis and receives a “fail” from the thesis committee at the time of the Oral Defense or when the student submits the revised final version of the thesis, the usual practice is for the student to have the thesis transformed into a two-semester independent study project, and the readers to grade it on that basis.
