Honors Distinction Requirements

The ENST Departmental Honors is a distinction on the academic transcript. The Honors is provided to students meeting the highest academic standards and going above and beyond the requirements for the major, including the completion of a research project. Students can develop critical thinking, analysis, research, and writing skills through a pre-approved capstone research project.

 

If you are interested in knowing more, contact sohm@usc.edu

Honors Distinction Catalogue

  • To earn Honors Distinction in Environmental Studies, students must have:

    • Completed all the degree requirements.
    • A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.7.
    • An approved capstone experience related to an environmental or sustainability theme.
  • Students must successfully complete a capstone experience related to an environmental or sustainability theme with an approved faculty adviser.
    • Capstone experiences and faculty adviser must be approved in advance by the Honors Committee, and no later than the fourth week of the fall semester of the student’s senior year. Capstone planning should occur beforehand, likely in the junior year.
    • Acceptable experiences include but are not limited to:
      • Directed research resulting in an original thesis or a scholarly paper (ENST 490x or research such as that supported by SOAR or PURF).
      • An approved research/empirical paper based on a guided internship (such as ENST 492).
      • Other research papers or scholarly work may be approved on an individual basis by the Honors Committee (e.g., a scholarly work produced in ENST 495).

    General guidance for preparation of an honors research proposal:

    • What is the broad goal of the research, and how does it build on the existing literature.
    • What is/are the specific research question/s you hope to answer; as appropriate, what is/are the hypotheses.
    • What research method would you employ, what research tools would you use (per the typical content for a Methods section, following disciplinary norms and standards). What might be some limitations of the method used.
    • How would the project contribute to current understanding of the issue.
    • What is the planned timeline for completion of the project.
    • Use citations and reference/bibliography (choose your preferred method but be consistent throughout the paper).
    • Honors must be nominated by the student’s faculty adviser.
    • Honors candidates will be encouraged (but not required) to participate in a presentation at a professional meeting or university symposium to summarize the results of the capstone experience.
    • A faculty committee will approve applicants for honors and review the capstone work for completion to receive honors in Environmental Studies.

The Environmental Studies Program acknowledges our presence on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Tongva/Gabrielino/Kizh people and their neighbors, the Chumash, Tataviam, Kitanemuk, Serrano, Cahuilla, Payomkawichum, Acjachemen, Ipai-Tipai, Kumeyaay, and Quechan peoples. Indigenous stewardship and rightful claims to these lands have never been voluntarily relinquished nor legally extinguished. We pay our respect to the members and elders of these communities – past, present, and future – who remain stewards and advocates of this region.