GGS majors may culminate their studies with an intensive individual research project under the supervisory guidance of a faculty member. Such projects must be informed by relevant global gender and sexuality theories and scholarship. Applicants typically propose a GGS honors project in the spring term of their junior year. Honors students complete their projects in spring term of their senior year.
GGS majors are expected to choose a qualified faculty supervisor who is familiar with their work from a course or courses and willing to supervise them in a year-long thesis project. Typically, supervisory faculty are affiliated with Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies or International Comparative Studies.
Students admitted to the Global Gender Studies IDM Honors Program to pursue Graduation with Distinction must complete 16 rather than 14 credits. They must enroll in at least one GGS Honors Independent Study (GGS 491 in fall or GGS 492 in spring) with their thesis supervisor.
GGS majors are encouraged to make an appointment with the DUS in GSF or ICS early in the spring term of junior year to share their initial research interests and thoughts and to receive guidance and answers to questions before approaching a potential faculty supervisor. They should approach a potential supervisor no later than week 6 of spring term of their junior year.
Applicants to the Global Gender Studies IDM Honors Program… |
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Applicants must have met with a faculty member familiar with their work to discuss conceptualization of the research proposal. Applicants ideally solicit feedback from more than one faculty member to prepare a clear and feasible proposal.
Applicants must recruit a faculty member to supervise their year-long thesis research.
Applicants must prepare as one document saved in MS Word composed of a written research proposal and bibliography of approximately 1,500 words. Approximately 10 scholarly sources are reasonable for the bibliography. The research proposal must fulfill recognized academic citation requirements. Multiple universities offer online guidelines for preparing a research proposal, including this one: Research Guides: Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Writing a Research Proposal. Applicants are expected to use it to prepare the proposal.
When the proposal is ready, applicants must ask the potential faculty supervisor to submit an email directly to the ICS or GSF Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) affirming their commitment to supervising the student’s thesis research on the basis of the proposal’s relative merits and the student’s past record and potential for success.
The online application is due by April 1st of junior year to the DUSes of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies and International Comparative Studies and will require the polished research proposal ready for upload. The deadline may be extended for individual situations discussed with and approved by one of the DUSes.
Spring/Summer:If the GGS honors application is approved, the student is expected to meet with their faculty supervisor within a week of completion of spring final exams to make a summer work plan that is articulated and agreed upon in writing. This summer plan typically includes field or archival research or a deeper literature review guided by feedback from the supervisor. If the research involves “human subjects,” the honors student is required to contact the IRB Office at Duke no later than June 1 between junior and senior year to determine if their approval is required or if the research is “exempted.” If it is not exempted, submit an application for IRB approval immediately. Details are here: https://campusirb.duke.edu/campus-institutional-review-board. Under the FORMS menu item, use the option for research conducted by undergraduates. |
Fall:
The DUSes of ICS and GSF will confer with the faculty supervisor regarding the status of the student’s project and whether sufficient work was completed. The faculty supervisor will confer with the student to determine whether they wish to continue with the research project. If the student and thesis supervisor decide to end the project in fall, the student will receive a grade for work completed in GGS 491. If the student and thesis supervisor decide to continue, they will make an agreement in writing for a work plan through mid-January. They will also agree on a Reader for the project and the student will approach this faculty member as soon as possible in December. |
Spring:
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