Washington and Lee University
The Honors Program in Computer Science is intended to be an enrichment opportunity for students who demonstrate superior achievement in computer science. Honors work consists of research for and preparation of an honors thesis, which is supervised by a departmental advisor. The topic of the thesis must be approved by the Department as a whole. Honors topics have included Emergent Behaviors in Artificial Life, Position-Aware Wireless Networking, and Modeling Complex Surfaces Using Dynamic Meshing. Preliminary reading and study in the thesis subject will begin prior to the senior year. In the senior year, on the completion of the thesis project, six credits will be awarded. An honors candidate is required to make an oral presentation of the completed thesis to a departmental seminar to which the public is invited. Preliminary reports on progress will be made periodically to the candidate's thesis advisor. Deadlines for the phases of honors projects can be found in the University Catalogue. 
A typical honors candidate will be pursuing the Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science, but, at the discretion of the Department, a student pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree may be admitted to the program.
To be eligible for admission to the honors program, a student must have an overall grade point average of 3.0 and an average in computer science courses of 3.5. Qualification for the program also depends on the student's ability, as judged by the Department, to profit from an intensive program of directed individual research. A student applying for admission to the program should be aware that independence, self-discipline, and perseverance are necessary for a successful candidacy. Questions should be directed to the Department Head.
