Honors Program in Anthropology

• You must be a declared anthropology major.
• You must have achieved at least a 3.00 cumulative grade point average at Rhode Island College and at least a 3.25 grade point average in the major.
• Acceptance into the program (see the Guidelines Overview and Process for the Application for Admission to the Anthropology Honors Program)

• Decisions from the Departmental Honors Committee can only be obtained during the normal academic year from September to June.
• Anthropology Honors Projects are normally completed in the senior year, although they may start in the junior year.
• The project entails collection of original data for analysis and presentation.
• Normally, 8 semester credits of directed study, distributed over two semesters, are earned within the major. The sequence is usually ANTH 491 and ANTH  492, but ANTH 495 and ANTH 492 may be used when appropriate.
• Any additional hours earned may be credited toward degree requirements outside the major.
• A student can fully participate in the College Honors Program activities and have "graduating with honors in anthropology" published in appropriate college graduation publications if all deadlines are met.

• You are encouraged to meet with multiple faculty members in the department to plan a project that is best suited to your interests and to choose a mentor best suited to your goals.
• Confirm that the mentor will be available during the entire process of the project: The student should consider the possibilities of future faculty leaves.
• If your project extends into a related discipline, you may have a co-mentor from another department.
• You can, if your mentor is available and willing, work on your project over the summer.

Work with your mentor to draft a project proposal that follows the guidelines below. Once your mentor has reviewed your completed proposal, submit it to the Anthropology Honors Program Committee Chair by April 1 (for fall) or November 1 (for spring). Alternative schedules may be proposed to the Anthropology Honors Program Committee. The application for anthropology honors should include the following:

• completed cover sheet
• abstract of approximately 200 words.
• clear statement of the topic, identifying the key research questions(s) or topic(s)
• clear statement regarding the relationship of the proposal to current theory in the discipline
• clear statement of the materials and/or methods to be used
• bibliography of completed preliminary readings supporting the proposal and additional bibliographic material yet to be examined
• plan of application for IRB or IACUC approval of the project, for projects involving human or animal subjects:

Human subjects, Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Animal Subjects, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

The Anthropology Honors Program Committee will review your proposal and inform you of their decision no later than May 1 (spring semester) or Dec 1, fall semester).

The cover sheet requires the sequential development of your proposed project, with a timetable for completion of each phase. You are strongly encouraged to establish deadlines that are realistic -- reflecting the time constraints of your project, your mentor, the Departmental Honors Committee, and various college programs which require notification. Proposed projects should be designed to be submitted and completed well in advance of the deadlines listed in points 7 and 8 below.

This timetable will include:

• submission of the cover sheet and your proposal to the Anthropology Honors Program Chair, Peter Little, by April 1 for projects staring in the following fall semester November 1 for projects staring in the following spring semester
• projected dates for Biweekly meetings with your mentor, as agreed upon with your mentor
• IRB or IACUC application submission: You will want to work closely with your mentor during this process. You should anticipate possible delays and that research cannot commence until the necessary approvals have been made.
• projected date(s) for literature search completion
• projected dates for data collection start and completion
• projected dates for analysis start and completion
• projected dates for the submission of at least 3 drafts to the mentor for feedback and rewriting: You will want to work with your mentor to develop this timeline. These can be stepped – Introduction, Methods for data collection and analysis first, followed by data analysis, followed by conclusions.
• projected date for submission of the final draft to the mentor that is no later than March 1 (spring) or October 1 (fall)
• projected date for submission, in its final form, to the Departmental Honors Committee that is no later than April 1 or November 1

• Peter Little, chair
• Libby Pfeiffer
• Elijah Edelman