Khoury College encourages undergraduate students to participate in the research community at Northeastern by working with a faculty mentor on independent research or a computing project. Undergraduate students can earn honors distinction in their discipline on their transcripts by successfully completing a Khoury honors project. Students don’t need to be members of the university-wide Honors Program to receive Honors in the Discipline.

Eligible undergraduate students in Khoury College of Computer Sciences who propose and successfully complete projects of sufficient scope (as described below) will receive honors distinction in their discipline. This will be recorded on the transcript as “Honors in [Name of Discipline].”

How does it work? 

Typically, the scholarly project will be a single project pursued for two semesters and be equivalent to a total minimum of 8 semester hours of academic coursework.

Possible projects include:

• An original research project
• A significant software development project
• A significant data project
• A computing project with a significant social impact

Ideally, the project will be conducted under the courses XXXX 4970 Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 (4SH) during the first semester of the project and XXXX 4971 Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 (4SH) in the subsequent semester, where XXXX is the departmental prefix.

From time to time, a student may begin a research project under a different form of directed study, such as XXXX 4991 Research. If of sufficiently high quality, such projects may be extended, with the approval of the college, for another 4SH to obtain Honors in the Discipline.

Junior/Senior Honors Project courses do not fulfill NUpath.

Eligibility

You may propose a project for Honors in the Discipline if you:

• Have completed the appropriate course based on your major
  • Computer Science and Computer Science combined majors: CS 3500 – Object Oriented Design 
  • Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity combined majors: CS 3650 – Computer Systems 
  • Data Science and Data Science combined majors: DS 3000 – Foundations of Data Science OR DS 3500: Advanced Programming with Data 
• Major at Khoury College or are in a combined major with Khoury College
• Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher
• Have junior or senior standing (64 or more earned semester hours)
• Have secured a full-time faculty member who has agreed to serve as mentor
• It is preferred that you participated in a previous research-based course:
  • CS 2991; CS 2992; CS 3950; CS 4950; CS 4991
  • CY 2991; CY 4940
  • DS 2990; DS 4991

Collaborative project proposals 

Proposals for collaborative projects must include the following elements:

• Statement explaining the reason for pursuing a collaborative project
• Statement of prior experience with collaborative projects, if any
• Statement of how the workload will be divided between participants
• Evidence that the project will be twice as substantive as an individual project would be

These additional elements are necessary because the result of a successful project will be a designation of Honors in the Discipline on each individual participant’s transcript.

How to submit a proposal 

Proposals must be developed and presented for approval before the beginning of the project. Proposals should be submitted via the Honors in the Discipline project approval form at least three weeks before the start of a term.

The faculty mentor is a very important element in the success of the project and should be chosen carefully. They will be a resource to the student throughout the research, from the development of the proposal to the dissemination of the results. The most successful projects often result when the student-mentor connection is strong and built on shared intellectual interests.

After a proposal is approved, the student can register for the Honors in the Discipline Course via Individual Instruction Form in the Student Hub. 

Project support 

Students are encouraged to consult with their academic advisor about how performing Honors in the Discipline can fit into their curricular and professional plans. Students are also encouraged to consult the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships for assistance in conceptualizing their projects and preparing their proposals, as well as for any financial resources that may be available to support their projects, such as the Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor Awards or the Summer Scholars Independent Research Fellowship. 

Successful completion 

The final project must be approved by the appropriate department as meeting the criterion of significant, honors-worthy research embedding both intellectual engagement and rigor. 

Students must submit their final report to the college for review by the Khoury Undergraduate Committee and the student’s faculty mentor. This must include an abstract of the report. Students will also be required to present their project on the reading day of the semester the project is completed. 

Students will be required to give a presentation of 45 minutes, minimum, with 15 additional minutes for questions on their project. The presentation will be open to the public.

Recognition of Honors in the Discipline 

Completed projects and any related requirements must be approved by the Khoury Undergraduate Committee. The academic unit will forward the names of successful Khoury Honors in the Discipline candidates to the Registrar and the University Honors Program. The designation, “Honors in [Major]” will appear on your final official transcript. Students will be recognized at the Khoury College end-of-year event each May. 

If the appointed review committee finds that the project does not merit conferral of Honors in the Discipline, that finding will not in itself affect grades for any related coursework, GPA, eligibility for graduation, or any other recognition for which the student may otherwise be eligible.