BCSC 311: Senior Honors Seminar

Prerequisites: Senior status in the BCS Honors Program. By permission of the department
Offered: Spring
Required or recommended for: Seniors only

A 2-credit course required by seniors in the BCS Honors Program. This is similar to BCSC 310, and students enrolled in the two courses meet together. Either course meets the requirement for a senior seminar. Like students in BCS 310, Honors students choose a classic paper for the entire class to read, and lead a discussion of the paper. Members of the class come prepared to discuss a set of questions provided at the time the article is assigned, such as:

• What was the question addressed?
• What was the method?
• What was observed?
• What is the main conclusion, the logic behind it, and the assumptions on which it depends; is it convincing?
• What was new or important about the paper?
• What are the broad implications?

Finally, Honors students give a formal oral and written presentation of their Honors thesis in lieu of the critique written by students in BCSC 310. Students' grades depend on performance as leaders, as discussants, and as authors, in equal parts. To be taken in the semester the Honors Thesis is completed.