The Honors Project may be the most valuable component of your honors education. Your project is an opportunity to synthesize your experience at Iowa State with a research project or creative work that is uniquely yours.
Honors students have designed projects around a wide variety of subjects. Most honors students choose to do their projects in their area of study, but some design projects that combine their major with other interests or pursue a topic unrelated to their major. To view examples of honors projects, visit the digital repository.
Honors Project Steps
- During your freshman and sophomore years, we encourage you to begin thinking about your project by attending the Honors Poster Presentation.
- During sophomore and junior years, you should begin determining your project topic and work to identify a faculty project advisor.
- To find your faculty project advisor, you should look at the digital repository to find past advisors of similar projects or speak with your academic advisor or honors program staff.
- Once you've determined your project topic and found your faculty project advisor, complete your college's project proposal form by September 21 (to present in Spring) or February 21 (to present in Fall).
- The project proposal should be submitted one semester prior to beginning your project, as your College Honors Committee will need to approve it.
- Complete your honors project and apply for an Honors Research Grant.
- You are required to register for 4900 (independent study) credit in the term you complete your project. Please consult with your academic advisor prior to enrolling. This credit is registered as:
- Departmental 4900H if you are doing a project within your field of study.
- Departmental 4900 is contracted as honors if the department does not have an honors designation available.
- HON 4900H if you are doing a project outside of your field of study (students registering for HON 4900H must submit a completed HON 4900H Form. Contact the honors program office for the form before registering for the credit.
- Present your Honors Project.
- Poster presentations are at the end of each fall and spring semester. Students are encouraged to present late in their junior year or early in their senior year to allow time to take full advantage of opportunities to share their research, as well as to leverage their project during the application process to graduate school and/or during job interviews to gain a competitive edge.
