A student may receive the distinction of graduation with "Departmental Honors in Chemistry" upon recommendation of the Department of Chemistry Honors College Representative and his/her research advisor.*

Criteria for recommendation for graduation with Department Honors in Chemistry are as follows:

  1. Completion of an ACS major in chemistry, a major in chemistry, a biochemistry option major in chemistry, or a teaching major in physical science with a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in chemistry courses.
  2. Completion of a minimum of 2 credit hours of superior quality work in CHEM 470.
  3. Completion of Option I or Option II below:**
    Option I:
    i. A presentation of a research paper at a state, regional, or national meeting of a scientific organization, and
    ii. A written report (approved by the faculty supervisor and the Department Honors College Representative)*** based on the research described in the oral presentation.
    Option II:
    i. An Honors Thesis (approved by the faculty supervisor and the Department Honors College Representative),**** and
    ii. An oral report, based on the Honors Thesis, presented before Ball State University students and faculty.
*For a student to be listed in the commencement program as graduating with Departmental Honors in Chemistry, he/she must
a) register with the Honors College six weeks prior to the graduation date, and
b) satisfy the criteria 2 and 3 above by the time of graduation.
 
**Options I and II are comparable in terms of student and faculty advisor effort. Thus, Option I will require more effort for the oral presentation, and Option II more for the written.
 
***The written research report for Option I shall be typed in the format of a manuscript to be submitted to a scientific journal (e.g., title, abstract, introduction, experimental, results and discussion, acknowledgments, and references), but is to be based on the work described in the oral presentation. Thus, while some reorganization may be necessary and appropriate references properly cited, additional materials such as extra literature or experimental work are not required, although certainly acceptable.
 
****More extensive writing is required for the Honors Thesis of Option II. It shall be prepared and typed in the format of a manuscript to be submitted to a scientific journal, as described in the preceding paragraph, and supported by appropriate tables, figures, etc. A thesis is based on a more thorough literature survey, however, leading to a well-developed text.
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