Honors in the major
Honors in Neuroscience
Am I a candidate to be considered for honors in the Neuroscience major?
All of the following are required of candidates for honors in Neuroscience:
- GPA equal to or greater than 3.3 both overall in all courses and also in all courses that may count toward the Neuroscience major (including a maximum of two quarters of NEUROSCI 398-0 and NEUROSCI 399-0) through winter quarter of senior year.
- Completion of equal to or greater than 2 quarters of NEUROSCI 398-0 and NEUROSCI 399-0 by the end of winter quarter senior year. One of those quarters should be NEUROSCI 398-0, the Senior Thesis Seminar, taken in winter quarter of senior year. NEUROSCI 398-0 will cover the format, composition, and standards for scholarly content of a senior thesis.
- Submission of a senior thesis by the late April date listed in the Timeline below and meeting all other deadlines set forth in the Timeline as well.
After submission, the thesis will be evaluated by the Neuroscience Honors Committee. If the thesis is judged to meet standards for honors, and all other criteria are met, the candidate may be recommended to the WCAS Honors Committee.
The WCAS Honors Committee makes the final decision as to whether honors in Neuroscience will be awarded, weighing the recommendation of the department, GPA, and other factors.
Timeline
- Before 2025 Winter Quarter: Complete at least one quarter of NEUROSCI 399-0.
- November 15th, 2024: File an application to write a thesis with the Office of the Neuroscience Major. If you are having trouble uploading the application please send an email to neuroscience@northwestern.edu requesting the application and one will be sent to you.
- 2025 Winter Quarter: Complete NEUROSCI 398-0, Senior Thesis Seminar.
- April 21st, 2025: Submit completed Senior Thesis and email of approval from Faculty Adviser to the CANVAS website by 5:00pm for Class of 2025.
- Mid-May: Recommendations are made by the Neuroscience Honors Committee to the WCAS Honors Committee
- June: Decisions are announced by the WCAS Honors Committee usually 3 days prior to convocation.
NOTE: While it is possible to write a Senior thesis based on work begun in Fall of senior year, the strongest theses will result from longer research experiences. It is not unusual for students to include work spanning 2-3 academic years and 1 or more summers in a Senior thesis.