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Neurons
George Mason University

Honors in Neuroscience Program

About the Program

Students in the B.S. in Neuroscience program have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major by completing an honors thesis. The honors program is a three semester sequence that culminates in the successful completion and presentation of an honors thesis, which is an independent research project. Students who are interested in completing an honors thesis should plan to take NEUR 411, the writing intensive requirement for the neuroscience major, in their junior year. Catalog information about the honors program can be found here:

Neuroscience: Honors in the Major, University Catalog

Course Sequence

  1. NEUR 411: Seminar in Neuroscience. The pre-requisites for NEUR 411 are a C or better in ENGH 302 Upper Level Written Communication and NEUR 327 Cellular Neuroscience or NEUR 335 Molecular, Systems, Developmental Neuroscience.
  2. NEUR 450: Honors Thesis Proposal
  3. NEUR 451: Honors Thesis

Eligibility

To enroll in the Honors in Neuroscience program, students must have completed at least 60 credits, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25, and a minimum GPA of 3.25 in neuroscience courses including NEUR 411 and NEUR 327 or NEUR 335. Students should have at least one semester of research experience before applying to the Honors in Neuroscience thesis program.

Selecting a Thesis Advisor

Students who are interested in doing research at Mason, and potentially completing an honors thesis, should identify faculty whose research aligns with their interests. Contact these faculty to set up a meeting and discuss available research opportunities in their labs. Neuroscience faculty research interests and contact information can be found on the faculty web page.

Thesis projects are completed under the supervision of a faculty member at Mason, who serves as the “thesis advisor.” Students must identify a faculty member who agrees to serve as the thesis advisor before applying to the program. We recommend that students begin research in a faculty member’s lab one or more semesters before they are planning to enroll in NEUR 450: Honors Thesis Proposal.

Applying to the Program

Students should apply to the program in the semester before they intend to enroll in NEUR 450. Follow the procedures below.

  1. Get a verbal agreement from your thesis advisor to apply for the Honors in Neuroscience thesis program.
  2. Write a 1-2 page project summary that outlines the research question(s) to be pursued, methods, and a general timetable to complete the project.
  3. Submit the online application (with the project summary) at least one month before the semester classes begin.
  4. Request a recommendation/endorsement letter from your thesis advisor be emailed to neurosci@gmu.edu.
  5. Please allow 2-3 weeks for review. If your project is accepted, you will receive a confirmation email with a CRN to enroll in NEUR 450. 

Assemble a Committee 

  1. Once you have received confirmation of acceptance to the program, you should form a committee of three faculty who will evaluate your thesis. The committee will consist of the neuroscience Program Director or Undergrad Program Director or the program Associate Director of Research, your thesis advisor, and one additional neuroscience faculty member. We recommend that students discuss the selection of the additional faculty member with their thesis advisor. Once you have assembled your committee, send this information to neurosci@gmu.edu.

Completing the Program

  1. While enrolled in NEUR 450, you should work on preparing your honors thesis proposal. Specific proposal requirements should be discussed with your thesis advisor. At a minimum, proposals should include: a description of the project, preliminary studies, and approach. The proposal should be submitted to your thesis committee for approval. The committee will decide if your proposal is acceptable (with a satisfactory grade entered in Patriot Web) so that you may progress to NEUR 451 Honors Thesis.
  2. Once the thesis committee has accepted your proposal, you may request the CRN for enrollment in NEUR 451 Honors Thesis from neurosci@gmu.edu.
  3. NEUR 451 should result in a written thesis submitted to the committee at least two weeks before semester finals to allow time for review and to make recommended revisions. The final written thesis (in PDF) is due to neurosci@gmu.edu by the last day of finals of the semester with the signature page signed by the committee.
  4. To complete the oral component, students may choose from one of the three following options:
    1. Live presentation of your thesis (either in person or online via Zoom) with your committee.
    2. Poster presentation at one of Mason's research conferences. (Example: OSCAR Celebration of Student Scholarship.)
    3. Recorded presentation of your thesis that will be posted on the Mason Neuroscience student research page.
  5. To graduate with honors, students must earn a minimum GPA of 3.50 in their honors courses, maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25, and complete an honors thesis.

* The programs and services offered by George Mason University are open to all who seek them. George Mason does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. After an initial review of its policies and practices, the university affirms its commitment to meet all federal mandates as articulated in federal law, as well as recent executive orders and federal agency directives.