Skip to main content

Honors in Studio Art

The Senior Honors Project in Studio Art allows senior Studio Art majors to create a substantial body of work that may qualify them to graduate with honors or with highest honors.

Students may work in any medium but must complete a cohesive project over two semesters. The final work will be presented in an exhibition or approved public display, accompanied by a written thesis statement.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

  • Be a Studio Art major
  • Have a minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA
  • Have completed at least two ARTS courses beyond Tier I
    See courses by tier here: https://go.unc.edu/StudioTiers

Application Process

Review all information on this webpage. Students should attend any informational meeting and/or consult with the Undergraduate Honors Advisor or Director of Undergraduate Studies for Studio Art during the spring prior to the senior year.

Key Dates:

  • March – Application portal opens
  • Mid-April – Standard application deadline
  • Late Applications – Considered in special cases (e.g., transfer students, newly GPA-eligible students) but must be submitted before the first day of fall semester classes. Contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies for exceptions.
  • December Graduates – Must complete the project in the fall and spring before their final fall semester.

Faculty Thesis Advisor

Identifying a faculty member willing to serve as the thesis advisor is not required prior to applying but is highly recommended. The faculty member must full-time (adjunct faculty may not serve in this capacity) and in residence for both semesters of the academic year in which the project is completed.  Finding an advisor before applying ensures guidance during the application process and availability for the independent Honors project if accepted.

Admission & Review

  • Applications are reviewed by the studio faculty before the end of the spring semester.
  • Applicants must receive at least three positive votes and have one faculty member indicate their willingness to serve as the Honors Project Thesis Advisor.

Required Application Materials

The application consists of these components

  1. Honors project proposal
  2. Portfolio of 8–10 works submitted to SlideRoom
    Submitted artwork does not need to align exactly with the Honors proposal but must demonstrate strong visual research capabilities.

Advice for Honors Applications

Application Procedure

1. Prepare Honors Project Proposal

  • (max 1,000 words) outlining project ideas.
  • Save as: Lastname_Firstname_HonorsProposal-2025-6.pdf
  • You will upload this PDF as an attachment in the SlideRoom portal.

2. Complete Application Form

3.  Prepare Application Portfolio

Choose 6–8 artworks for your application portfolio.  Photograph artworks, making sure they are color balanced and with a maximum of 8–10 media uploads (including alternate views or details, if necessary).

Accepted Formats:

  • Images: JPG, up to 5MB each
  • Video: Up to 250MB each
  • Audio: Up to 30MB each
  • PDFs: Up to 10MB each
  • External Links: YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud

For time-based work (video, animation, performance documentation), indicate a 3-minute clip for review in the description. If the full work cannot be uploaded, provide a cloud-based link (YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud).

5. Upload to SlideRoom

  • Upload the Portfolio and Proposal to the link in the application form
  • Label all works with: Title, Medium, Size
  • Description Field: You may provide a brief 50-word description for each work (optional). Do note if an entry is a detail, alternate view, or documentation of performative work

Questions? Contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies or Honors Advisor  for Studio Art.

Enrollment Procedure

Once a student has been accepted to pursue a Senior Honors Project in Studio Art, they must choose a full-time UNC-CH Studio Art faculty member to serve as their Honors Thesis Advisor (adjunct faculty are ineligible to serve in this capacity).  Acceptance to the program indicates that at least one faculty member has been identified to serve in this capacity. The faculty member must in residence for both semesters of the academic year in which the project is completed.  While the deadline for completing this isn’t until the first week of fall classes, it is recommended that this be completed before the end of the spring semester of the application year. The student will then enroll in ARTS 691H (fall) and ARTS 692H (spring).

The student must also assemble a Thesis Committee consisting of 2–4 faculty members (including the advisor) One committee member may be from outside the Department of Art & Art History. A signed consent form is due within the first two weeks of the fall semester.

Applying for Honors Funding

Students seeking funding from the UNC-Chapel Hill Honors Program should consult their Thesis Advisor and Studio Art Honors Advisor before submitting their proposal. Applications are reviewed alongside Art History Honors applicants, ranked, and submitted as a group. Awards are decided in late September or early October. The Art Department deadline is one week before the Honors Office deadline. Check the Honors Carolina Senior Thesis Project webpage for current dates.

Honors Project Completion

Students selected to pursue a Senior Honors Thesis Project will receive a  detailed syllabus upon acceptance.  The information below is a summary  of the 2-semester Honors Project requirements.

ARTS 691H (First Semester)

Students refine their project proposal under their Thesis Advisor’s guidance. By Week 3, a formal statement outlining the project’s concept, technical approach, research, and semester goals must be submitted to the Thesis Committee for review.

Students must:

  • Meet with their Thesis Advisor biweekly and committee members every 3–4 weeks
  • Present progress updates and discuss research developments
  • Submit a statement at semester’s end, summarizing the creative and academic research of the semester:
  • Creative process & concept evolution
  • Technical exploration & insights
  • Revision of project goals

The Thesis Committee will provide feedback to guide second-semester work.

ARTS 692H (Second Semester)

Students continue project work and begin planning their Honors Exhibition early in the semester. The department reserves space in the Allcott Galleries for Honors projects, though alternative venues are allowed.

Students must also:

  • Draft & refine a final thesis statement expanding on their project’s concepts
  • Submit a final draft to the Thesis Committee at least one week before the Oral Defense
  • Document the artwork produced for the thesis.

Oral Defense & Honors Decision

The Thesis defense must take place before  the UNC Honors deadline (typically early to mid-April). At the Oral Defense, the Thesis Committee will determine whether to recommend the student for graduation with honors. If improvements are required, revisions must be made before the abovementioned deadline.

Final Submission

After approval, students must:

  1. Submit their final thesis statement and visual documentation via the Carolina Digital Repository (CDR)
  2. Ensure submissions are finalized by the last day of classes
  3. Note that published theses become publicly accessible post-degree conferral

If a student withdraws or does not meet honors requirements, they will graduate without honors and receive a letter grade from their Thesis Advisor.