The Honors Program

There are a number of research opportunities available to all undergraduates at Carolina from fellowships to summer programs. Please choose an option from the menu on the right to learn more about some of our programs.

William W. and Ida W. Taylor Honors Mentored Research Fellowship

2009 Taylor Fellows

Eligibility:

All currently enrolled UNC-Chapel Hill Honors students in good academic standing who will graduate after November 2010 and wish to engage in undergraduate research or artistic projects for at least six (6) weeks between May 10, 2010 and August 22, 2010 are eligible to apply.

The projects must be carried out under the supervision of a UNC-Chapel Hill faculty mentor. Applicants may work on projects of their own design or participate in their faculty mentors' ongoing research efforts. Applications are welcome from students in all majors and disciplines.

Students may not accept a Taylor Fellowship and either a Burch Fellowship or a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (offered through the Office for Undergraduate Research) during the same summer.

Anticipated Number and Value of Fellowship Awards:

The Honors Program expects to make at least six (6) fellowship awards of $4,000 each. Selected students will receive $2,500 at the start of the summer, and the remainder of the award after they have submitted the required final materials.

Proposal Development:

Applicants should identify a suitable and willing faculty research mentor and seek feedback as they prepare their application materials.

Application Materials:

There are three (3) parts to a complete application. (2010 application deadline: TBD)

1. Application cover sheet. Applicants must indicate on the cover sheet whether or not IRB approval is required for the proposed project. For more information about the IRB requirement, please visit the IRB guide for students and faculty.
2. A research plan of no more than 1,200 words, typed and double-spaced that includes:
   • the topic and goal of the project, including the key research or artistic issues it will explore;
   • the potential significance of the project;
   • a description of any preliminary work accomplished and/or relevant experience of the applicant;
   • a description of project methods; and
3. a letter of support from the faculty mentor who will supervise the project. The letter should include an assessment of the significance of the project and the applicant's qualifications to carry out the proposed work. The advisor's letter must also include a statement noting whether or not IRB approval is required for the project.

The letter of support should be submitted along with other application materials. It must be in a sealed envelope with the mentor's signature across the seal.

Application Submission:

Please deliver all application materials to:

Honors Program Office
225 Graham Memorial

2010 application deadline: TBD 

Selection Process:

A multidisciplinary sub-committee of the Honors Faculty Advisory Board will select the fellowship recipients. Selection criteria will include the originality, significance, and feasibility of proposed projects. The sub-committee will aim to have a balance of disciplines represented among the fellowship recipients.

Acceptance Checklist:

Taylor Honors Mentored Research Fellowships are paid in two installments, one at the beginning of the summer, and one at the end.  In order to process your first payment, we must receive all required items listed on checklist #1.

Final Payment Checklist:

In order to process your second payment at the end of the summer, we must receive all required items listed on checklist #2.

Reporting Requirements:

At the end of the summer, fellowship recipients must submit a summary statement and faculty evaluation of their projects. In addition, each student must prepare a digital presentation for display on the Honors Program's web site.

For additional information, please contact James Leloudis, Associate Dean for Honors, or Jason Clemmons, Honors Program Administrative Manager.

Phone: 966-5110

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Senior Honors Thesis

At Carolina, cutting-edge research and undergraduate learning are complementary, not mutually exclusive, activities. Under the direction of faculty mentors, approximately 350 seniors each year engage in programs of original research and creative work, in the form of a senior Honors thesis, in more than fifty undergraduate majors.

The quality of their efforts is extraordinary. For example, many biology Honors theses result in scholarly publication, and several recent novels and published collections of poetry began as theses in creative writing. Students who successfully defend their theses before a faculty review panel are graduated with either Honors or Highest Honors. Students who have been in the Honors Program for their coursework are not required to finish by writing a senior Honors thesis, but writing and successfully defending a thesis is the only way to graduate from Carolina with Honors or Highest Honors.

Students completing a Senior Honors Thesis must register their Honors thesis by the appropriate deadline listed below. Anyone can browse a list of past Honors theses at the Honors Thesis Archive.

Upcoming deadlines:

Other helpful links:

• Senior Honors Thesis Guidelines for Academic Units, Faculty Advisors, and Students (Adobe pdf)
• Guidelines for Preparation and Submission of Honors Theses (Adobe pdf)
• Sample Honors thesis title page (MSWord doc)

Senior Honors Thesis Research Grants

Each semester, students undertaking senior honors projects are invited to apply for funding to help offset expenses incurred as part of their research.Honors thesis research grants can cover the cost of equipment, supplies, software, publications,transportation, and more. Awards are made on a competitive basis, and are usually limited to $500. Research projects that have an international component may be eligible for up to an additional $500 from the Center for Global Initiatives.

These awards are made possible by gifts to our program, and are awarded annually (follow the links to see a list of recent award recipients and their topics):

The Michael P. and Jean W. Carter Research Award
The Sarah Steele Danhoff Undergraduate Research Award
The Gordon P. Golding Senior Honors Thesis Award - dedicated to research involving some aspect of American slavery of North Carolina
The Gump Family Undergraduate Research Award
The Honors Undergraduate Research Award
The Rodney F. Hood Undergraduate Research Award
The Kimball King Undergraduate Research Award
The William F. Little Prize for Creative Research in Honors
The Professor George V. Taylor Award for Honors Undergraduate Research
The James Henley Thompson and Evelyn Barnett Thompson Undergraduate Research Award

To learn more about applying for an honors thesis research grant, please contact your departmental honors advisor.

For questions regarding eligibility, application status, allowable expenses, or reimbursement procedures, please contact
Jason Clemmons ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) in the Honors office.

Office for Undergraduate Research

Paticia J. Pukkila, Ph.D., Director

The Office for Undergraduate Research (OUR) was established in 1999 to help students learn about the expanding possibilities for research, mentored scholarship, or creative performance at UNC–Chapel Hill. It seeks to make research a distinctive feature of the undergraduate educational experience at this vibrant research university because it believes that students who understand how discoveries are made are well prepared to address the unsolved problems of the future. The office is located in 220 Graham Memorial and is a part of the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence.

The OUR maintains several kinds of searchable databases, including listings of courses that introduce research methodologies; research-intensive courses in which over half of class time is devoted to students’ conducting original research and presenting research conclusions; courses that involve graduate students as “research consultants” to assist undergraduates with their projects; postings of current undergraduate research opportunities on campus; and descriptions of what Carolina students have accomplished. The OUR also sponsors a Celebration of Undergraduate Research each spring, which allows students to present their results to the campus and community. There are also funding opportunities available through the OUR that provide the necessary support for students to conduct summer research, travel to professional meetings to present their work, or pay for essential research supplies.

In 2008 the OUR initiated the Carolina Research Scholars Program (CRSP), which is open to all undergraduates. Participants who complete the required course work, including an introductory Modes of Inquiry seminar and research-intensive courses, and who present their original work at the campus undergraduate research symposium or at a professional conference, will receive official University recognition on their transcripts for their contributions.

For more information about the Office for Undergraduate Research and for access to all the programs and databases, visit the Web site at www.unc.edu/depts/our.