Honors Program
Department of Communication Honors Thesis Program 2024-25
The Program: The Honors Thesis Program offers qualified students an opportunity to conduct independent communication research and to write an honors thesis reporting their results. The program provides for close contact between students and thesis advisors so that students can receive intensive guidance and assistance throughout their research and writing. The aim is to help students go through the process of conceptualization, study planning, data collection, analysis and writing, which is essential to excellence in scholarship.
Eligibility: Each student should submit an application for the program no later than the last day of classes of spring quarter of the junior year and have a GPA of 3.3 in Communication courses. The Honors Thesis Program is based on the assumption that useful research and writing take time and effort and thus will be ongoing for the three quarters of the senior year. Students should be aware that no faculty member can effectively supervise more than a few theses each year. Normally, the thesis advisor will be a faculty member with whom the student has already taken a course.
Requirements: Students wishing to participate in the Honors Thesis Program must be majoring in Communication and must have completed the core requirements (COMM 1, 106, 108, STATS 60) and received a grade of B+ or better in Communication Research Methods (COMM 106). A thesis advisor may deem other courses as necessary.
Writing Consultation Services: The Hume Center for Writing and Speaking provides many resources to help you with Honors projects. Honors Thesis Boot Camps are offered during the summer and academic year. Students can seek individual consultation with them about clarifying argument and thesis, framing research, improving transitions, providing revising strategies and other writing issues. Their writing consultants also work with students on scheduling and planning, how to stay motivated, overcoming writer’s block, outlining and organizing sections of a thesis, and assessing a writing schedule for the honors thesis.
Funding: Academic Advising Student Grants support rigorous, independent projects in all disciplines. Major Grants provide $8000, with a need-based supplement (of up to $1500) for eligible students. Most Major Grants are awarded to students beginning an honors thesis, a senior project in the arts, or senior synthesis project between their junior and senior years. Small grants of up to $1,500 support smaller independent projects and can also be used to enable particular phases of larger-scale effort. Applications deadlines are found throughout the year, making the Small Grant especially flexible.
Honors Thesis Credit: Students admitted to the program will earn five units of honors thesis credit for a total of three quarters. Students are expected to make steady progress on their honors thesis throughout the year. An ‘N’ grade must be entered in Axess by the thesis advisor at the end of each of the first two quarters, indicating that this is continuing work and that the final grade (posted in spring) will be a letter grade. The honors work may be used to fulfill Communication elective credit. Honors in Communication cannot be awarded retroactively. A student failing to fulfill all honors requirements may still receive independent study credit for work completed which can be applied toward fulfilling major elective requirements. Failure to submit a satisfactory draft of the thesis during fall quarter will result in the student being dropped from the honors program.
Submitting Your Honors Thesis: A final copy of the paper must be submitted to the thesis advisor for review and grading and an electronic copy uploaded to the Stanford Digital Repository by the end of the eighth week of Spring Quarter of the student’s senior year.
Graduation with Honors: The designation graduation with honors is awarded by the Department of Communication to those graduating seniors who, in addition to having completed all requirements for the Communication major, also achieve the following:
- Successfully complete an Honors Thesis (B+ or better)
- Maintain a distinguished grade average in all Communication course work
- Are recommended by the Communication faculty
This distinction will be noted on the student’s diploma and during the department graduation ceremonies.
Honors Application: Complete the COMM Honors Program Application form in Adobe Acrobat Sign. You will be asked to enter your Honors Advisor’s and the COMM Student Services Manager’s names and email addresses. The form will then be routed to your Honors Advisor the Student Services Manager in COMM.
2024-25 Communication Honors Student, Camille Peisner
When the NCAA adopted a policy that enabled student-athletes to profit off their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in 2021, a billion-dollar industry was born. Despite the industry's rapid growth, empirical data is limited on how athletes are monetizing their NIL, especially on social media, where 72% of NIL activities take place. The present study aims to supply much-needed research into student-athletes' self-presentation on Instagram in sponsored, athletic, and neutral content to identify patterns and differences across sport, NCAA division, and gender. Ultimately, this research can help universities, brands, and athletes understand impression management and audience perception of NIL activities while providing empirical clarity for navigating the unchartered territory of NIL. Thesis Advisor: Jeff Hancock
Honors Theses
Previous Honors Theses are available for review in Room 110A in Bldg. 120. Examples of some recent theses include:
- Assessing Greenwashing in Electric Vehicle Marketing: Developing a Coding Scheme through Advertising Strategy Analysis
Madeline Bernheim, 2024, Thesis Advisor: Jay Hamilton - America’s Quietest Emergency: Exposing,Identifying and Analyzing Suicide Contagion in Institutions of Higher Learning
Emma Talley, 2024, Thesis Advisor: Nilam Ram - The Effects of Sample Size on Significance Testing
Diana Jordan, 2022, Thesis Advisor: Jon Krosnick - Homeworking in Italy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Preliminary European Labour Force Survey Results
Caroline Ghisolfi, 2021, Thesis Advisor: James Hamilton - Film Franchise Strategy in the Age of Intellectual Property
Walker Brown, 2019, Thesis Advisor: James Hamilton - Leadership During Conflict: Where Charismatic Leadership Falls Short
Pascale Eenkema van Dijk, 2019, Thesis Advisor: Jen Pan - Discourse and Deceit: Native Advertising, Influencer Marketing, and the Increasing Corrosion of Public Trust
Minkee Sohn, 2017, Thesis Advisor: Ted Glasser - Heavy Rotation: Japanese Female Idols & Fantasy Image Commodities in the Post-Feminist Age
Alejandra Reynoso, 2016, Thesis Advisors: Fred Turner & Miyako Inoue - Televisa Presenta: Analyzing the cultural resonance of a contemporary Mexican telenovela
Ileana E. Najarro, 2015, Thesis Advisors: Ted Glasser & Guadalupe Valdés - Transmedia and the Spectator: How Disney Represents Interactivity, Star Images and Contingency for Audiences
Sophia Vo, 2014, Thesis Advisors: Fred Turner & Carol Vernallis