Students considering this award will be required to complete a special project or scholarly paper under the supervision of a committee. This group will oversee the acceptance of the students' works for the completion of Academic Distinction.

Qualifications 

• Minimum of 75 semester hours of credit
• 3.25 GPA in the major
• 3.0 overall GPA

Procedures 

Students will need to identify a tentative topic and a member of the faculty in their major to serve as the proposed chair of the project.

Complete the application and submit it to the Registrar's office for approval.

Students must apply and complete the process before the first day of classes in the student's graduation or commencement semester, whichever is first. The Registrar's office will forward the completed, approved copy of the form to the proposed committee chair.

Next Step

In consultation with their faculty chair, students will describe the proposed scope and nature of the project or paper in a tentative thesis statement and plan for completion. This proposal will be forwarded to the chair of the department of the student's major. Upon approval, a proposed committee will be designated.

• The committee must consist of at least 3 faculty and/or staff members.
• If the project is of an interdisciplinary nature, the committee shall include representative(s) from all disciplines.
• At least one member of the committee must not serve in the department of the major.
• The student must complete and submit the Academic Distinction Proposed Committee form to the Registrar's office.

The student will then propose the title and scope of the project to the committee. The committee has the right to deny or approve the project. The Committee Action Report will be submitted to the Registrar's office after a decision has been made.

Final Step

The student will meet with the committee to present the project. The Acceptance Sheet form will be submitted to the Registrar's office with the committee's decision to approve or deny the project.

If approved, the student will be presented with the Academic Distinction pin to be worn at Commencement, along with mention in the program

All forms must be completed in full, including the appropriate signatures