Honours Thesis

For people registered in the Honours program, completing an honours thesis is mandatory. This thesis shall be on some original research to be conducted under the mentorship of a supervisor, normally a faculty member in the department of physics. This research shall take place over the Fall and Winter semesters of a given academic year and may not be based on work done during any prior work term or research experience. All honours projects shall be accessible by any prospective student, regardless of any other considerations.

Prior to the start of the Fall semester the Physics 498/499 coordinator shall solicit projects from all faculty members in the department. These projects should represent original research that should reasonably be achievable by a senior undergraduate student in a two semester timeframe. These projects will then be presented to Honours students registered in 498 during the first week of the Fall semester so that they may choose a supervisor. Such student should expect to receive an email from the 498 coordinator to their University of Regina email address with further information no latter than the end of the first day of classes in the Fall semester.

Students are encouraged to consult with as many potential supervisors as they wish and some may even negotiate projects with a professor in advance of the Fall semester. When this is the case, these students shall have the right of first refusal on this project, but may choose another project. Supervisors who have designed a project specifically for a student may also choose to withdraw that project if the student in question does not choose their project or may allow other students to consider it. Any such considerations must be communicated to the 498/499 coordinator, preferably prior to the start of term, preferably in writing.

In exceptional cases and at the physics 498/499 coordinator’s discretion, a qualified person outside the department of physics may be selected as a supervisor and submit a project for consideration. Such projects shall be subject to the regulations described above. 

For Honours students, Physics 498 is the first of two mandatory classes and is pass/fail. To obtain a passing grade, Honours students must:

• Regularly attend physics seminars and notify the Physics 498 coordinator in advance if unable to attend.
• Complete a written progress report (5-10 pages) by week 12 of the Fall semester.
• Give a short oral presentation on the progress report to a committee of 3 friendly professors.
• Following the presentation, answer questions from the committee on their progress to date. 

Students are encouraged to consult the 498/499 Handbook for more details on timelines and expectations as well as to contact the 498 coordinator if they have any questions or concerns.