Honors

• a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 overall and in the major;

• completion of an honors thesis based on independent study (which may or may not involve collection of one’s own set of data) under the supervision of a faculty thesis advisor;

• participation in a senior honors thesis seminar–in both the Fall (SOCI 691H) and the Spring (692H) semester year for May graduates, and in the final fall semester (SOCI 691H) for December graduates.

Either one or two courses’ worth of credit (SOCI 691H and SOCI 692H) can be earned for the thesis and seminar participation, depending on how much work the thesis actually entails.  However, only one semester (SOCI 691H) of the senior honors thesis seminar may be counted as “upper-level” credit toward the completion of a student’s major in Sociology.

The department attempts to identify and invite all qualified students to participate in the honors program at the end of their junior year.  But some are occasionally overlooked.  This is especially true for double-majors and transfer students and for those who declare their major in sociology relatively late in their college careers.  Anyone who is interested in the honors program and who might qualify to participate should consult his or her major advisor or the department’s advisor no later than preregistration time in the second semester of his or her junior year. To register for the course, majors must first download and complete the appropriate sections of the course checklist before the end of the junior year. The completed checklist should be submitted to the director of undergraduate studies. 

The Howard Odum Undergraduate Award

This award was established in 1967 in honor of Professor Howard Odum, who founded and first chaired the UNC Sociology Department.  Odum was a pioneer in American sociology and a major influence on the discipline.  The Department faculty selects the recipient of the annual Award on the basis of grade records and other demonstrations of academic talent and accomplishment as an undergraduate.  The recipients of the 2009 Award were Parfait Gasana and Laurie Graham.