In recognition of outstanding academic excellence, CASNR recommends the bachelors degree With Distinction, With High Distinction, and With Highest Distinction. Recommendations are made by the CASNR committee on Scholarship. To be eligible for consideration by the committee, undergraduate students must have completed 45 credit hours for a letter grade (excluding pass/no pass) at UNL prior to the semester in which they graduate, and must have completed 60 credit hours at UNL at the time they graduate.
The committee currently uses the cumulative grade point average as follows:
| Category | Criteria | GPA |
|---|---|---|
| With Highest Distinction | To be considered for Highest Distinction the student must successfully complete and defend an undergraduate thesis or comparable creative effort | 3.920-4.000 |
| With High Distinction | Does not require a thesis. Students with a GPA between 3.920-4.000 without a thesis will be recognized with High Distinction | 3.850-3.919 |
| With Distinction | Does not require a thesis. However, with successful completion of an undergraduate thesis or comparable creative effort, students will be recognized With Distinction with a GPA between 3.75-3.799. | 3.800-3.849 |
Guidelines for submitting a Thesis:
The thesis should be substantially more extensive than a term paper and must be the result of independent thought and intellectual curiosity. In some instances a narrow definition of “thesis” may not be possible or appropriate. In those cases, a “comparable creative effort” is a possibility. “Comparable creative effort” projects may be varied in design and final product format (paper, video, and website are just a few examples), but should include a reflective narrative and/or abstract. However, such projects should require the time, effort, and creativity that would be expected in a traditional thesis. Whether the student completes a traditional thesis or a comparable creative effort, the project must first be approved by the student’s supervisory committee or per degree program policy.
In instances where the student has performed the research for the thesis in another department (with prior permission for his/her major department), the thesis work and examination should be supervised by at least two faculty persons representing the different departments.
An “Oral Defense” as a part of the Thesis Examination is mandatory for all students who submit a thesis. The exact nature of the exam and the administration of this exam will be determined by the major department, and the department faculty distinction evaluation committee is responsible for overseeing the quality of this examination.
The thesis evaluation and oral defense committee should consist of three members (the thesis advisor, the thesis reader(s) and a faculty member either from the same department or from other related departments).
Forms for submission to the college by students
- Thesis Prospectus Form
This should be filed by the student and his/her co-advisors and the Faculty Distinction Evaluation Committee in the department. A copy should be submitted to the college as well, at least a semester before graduation. - Department Evaluation Form in support of a Degree with Distinction
To be completed by the respective department Faculty group responsible for distinction evaluation – this could include the evaluation of thesis or creative effort and their justification of the evaluation towards the thesis’s strength and weaknesses.
Deadlines
Students are responsible for meeting these deadlines. Materials to be submitted to the Dean’s office on or before the deadlines include, a) a copy of the student’s thesis/creative effort, b) the thesis/creative effort prospectus form, and c) thesis evaluation form duly signed by the departmental advisory / examination committee.
Questions? Please contact Melissa Sailors melissa.sailors@unl.edu