Undergraduate Major in Communication Studies

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Graduating with Honors in Communication Studies

The Communication Studies Department provides opportunities to expand and enhance your educational experiences through special honors sections of courses designated by the H code on ISIS and by offering you opportunities to complete independent honors projects or assignments.

Based upon your GPA at Iowa and in Communication Studies, you might also be invited to join Lambda Pi Eta, the official communication studies honor society of the National Communication Association (NCA).  You can also graduate with honors in Communication Studies by completing a thesis project.  To graduate with honors, you must meet the requirements below including finding a faculty member in the department to serve as the chair for your thesis committee. 

The department also offers financial assistance for student’s travel to undergraduate honors conferences in cases where a student presents a paper.  Students interested in participating in the Department’s honors program may initiate a request to become a member by contacting the Department’s Faculty Honors Liaison listed below.  

Honors Program Requirements:

• Minimum Grade Point:   3.33 UI GPA

Departmental Requirements for Graduating with Honors
(Additional coursework may be required and/or completed)

• Find Communication Studies faculty member to serve as Chair for the required Thesis Committee
• 36:101    Honors Workshop (1 semester hour)
• 36:102    Honors Thesis     (3 semester hours & successful defense of the thesis before the Thesis Committee)

Thesis Committee Chair

In the semester prior to taking the Honors Workshop, you must find a faculty member who is willing to serve as the committee chair for your thesis project.  You and the faculty member must sign the Honor’s Project Completion Form and the signed form must be submitted to the Department’s Honors Director or Academic Counselor (Room 162 BCSB) before registering for the Honors Workshop.  (Forms are available from the Academic Counselor or in the Main Office.)  

Thesis Requirement

The honors thesis provides the student with a unique opportunity to develop special expertise and to contribute knowledge and insight in a selected area of Communication Studies.  The thesis is a substantial piece of independent work at least equivalent to the coursework for two advanced classes. The honors thesis in Communication Studies may take the form of a creative project (sound design, video, screen play) or a critical, historical, theoretical, or social-scientific study. 

Deadlines & Forms

Honors thesis due by the end of the 11th week of the semester.

Defense of thesis due by the end of the 13th week of the semester.

Students must meet deadlines for the thesis project and file the appropriate forms and other paperwork required by the University’s Honors Program.  The Honors Project Completion Form must be completed and signed by the designated deadlines at each stage of the project.  After the successful completion of the defense of the thesis, the student must submit and deliver the required forms and copies of the thesis to the Department (Academic Counselor in Room 162 BCSB) and the University’s Honors Program Office (due by the end of the 15th week of the semester). 

Departmental Honors Program Contact Information

Kembrew McLeod
Honors Program Director/Faculty
Office:               Room 143
Mailbox:            Room 105 BCSB
kembrew-mcleod@uiowa.edu