Honours Program

An Honours Bachelor of Arts in Communication is for exceptional students who want to conduct independent research toward the production of a thesis project. Honours students participate in a cohort environment with other students to develop their research skills, and work one-on-one with a faculty supervisor to produce an extended research paper (thesis) of 40 pages. The application-based program supports the development of students who want to pursue graduate-level study, or career opportunities related to research, such as policy analysis, law school, non-profit work, government roles, and more.

Application Form

The Honours Project option is an excellent opportunity for students who:

plan to pursue more education after the undergraduate degree
want to focus their energies on a particular project, concern or topic
want to work independently and have flexibility in their learning
are curious about project management
want to start applying course-based learning to real world issues

Program Timeline

Interested students apply to the program by May 21st before the fall semester in which they wish to begin the thesis. The program consists of two courses that are to be completed in the fall and spring semesters: in the fall, students enroll in CMNS 497 and produce a thesis proposal. In the Spring, students enroll in CMNS 498 and complete the thesis project based on this proposal. Students are required to attend online workshops on research skills with other honours students twice a semester, and deliver a ten-minute public presentation on their work at the end of each semester.

*Applications may be accepted after the deadline on a case-by-case basis. Please contact Sami Lee at cmns3@sfu.ca if you are applying after May 21st.

Credit Breakdown

Students will need to complete a total of 120 units of which 60 must be upper division units including a minimum of 48 units in the honours subject. A minimum of 3.33 SFU CGPA, SFU UD CGPA, CMNS GPA and CMNS UD GPA is required to remain in the Honours program.

11 Upper Division CMNS courses including:

CMNS 304W or 455W
CMNS 362
CMNS 497 Honours Proposal
CMNS 498 Honours Project
Four 400 level CMNS courses
Three upper division CMNS courses

About the Thesis

The thesis should be framed around a topic and research questions that interest you. Your supervisor will help you develop appropriate research methods and review of secondary literature to support your investigation of these questions. The SFU library maintains an archive of past Honours thesis projects that you can browse. For full program details, including admissions requirements, please consult the SFU Calendar.

Questions?

If you have questions about the thesis project, or whether independent research is the right fit for you, please contact faculty program coordinator, Cait McKinney. For questions about program eligibility, timelines, or other advising-related matters, please contact advisor Sami Lee.