Honors concentrators take all of the courses required for a GNSS concentrator, plus GNSS 1970 and 1980 (thesis writing courses) during their senior year. During the fall of senior year, honors concentrators must enroll in GNSS 1970 and 1990 (the Senior Seminar), and they must enroll in GNSS 1980 in the spring. Their advisor will grade 1970 and 1980, while the Senior Seminar instructor will grade 1990. Students may submit overlapping written work to GNSS 1970 and 1990, but the concentration expects students to conduct enough substantially distinct work for each (e.g. course readings, presentations, and peer review in Senior seminar and thesis outline, research, and additional writing in 1970) to warrant credit for two courses.

By the end of the fall semester reading period, the student will turn in a significant piece of written work (typically one chapter, but to be determined in each case in consultation with the student’s advisor). By that time, the student will also have produced a well-developed, detailed outline or otherwise have a substantial framing for the overall project, as well as have significant research completed. The advisor will submit a brief progress report on the status of the thesis to the concentration director at the end of the fall semester.

A full draft of the thesis must be submitted to the advisor and reader by mid-March. The completed thesis must be submitted to the advisor and second reader by mid-April. If the advisor and second reader deem the thesis to be of superior quality, the candidate will be awarded the designation of Honors in Gender and Sexuality Studies. If the readers judge the thesis acceptable but not of honors caliber, the student will receive credit for the full two-semesters of work.

At the beginning of the fall semester, students should discuss expectations for regular meetings, written work, and deadlines with their advisor. A second reader for the thesis must be in place no later than the end of the student’s seventh semester. The second reader’s role is to provide supplementary guidance and feedback on the student’s research and writing, the extent of which will be individually determined. Both the primary advisor and the secondary reader will read the final version of the thesis and submit written feedback to the concentration and the student.

Thesis advisors should:

• Establish work schedules and help set deadlines for completed work
• Meet with advisee on regular basis
• Help advisee plan and organize research
• Read research reports and drafts of chapters
• Submit a progress report at the end of the fall semester to the concentration advisor
• Read full draft of thesis submitted in mid-March and provide comments for revisions to the thesis writer
• Submit written evaluation of the final thesis to the concentration advisor by late April.

Thesis readers should:

• Meet with advisee on an as-needed basis
• May help advisee plan and organize research
• May read drafts of chapters
• Read full draft of thesis submitted in mid-March and provide comments for revisions to the thesis writer
• Submit written evaluation of the final thesis to the concentration advisor by late April.

• Brown University GNSS LibGuide
• How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from Your First Ideas to Your Finished Paper by Charles Lipson