Honors College

The Honors College at the University of Maine is a community of nearly 800 students who, along with nearly 100 faculty members, are committed to taking intellectual risks through exploring questions both within and outside their academic disciplines in the course of a four-year curriculum.  The College is committed to both broadening and deepening the academic experience of its students, providing them with the resources and skills needed to critically engage important questions and issues.

For those students who graduate from the Honors College, their journey ends with the writing of their Honors thesis. Over the course of the senior year, they work with a faculty mentor completing independent research or a creative project in their discipline. At the end of the two-semester experience, they present the thesis to their thesis committee of five faculty members and professionals in their field.  For these students, this is the culmination of their work at the University of Maine and a springboard to future opportunities and achievements.

“The intense supervision of my Honors thesis was the most important academic experience of my life. My advisor’s personal guidance and insistence that I couple precise research with creative and original thought has served as a benchmark for me for over thirty years.” – James E. Tierney ’69, Attorney General of Maine (1980-1990)

The first four theses were written in 1937, in recent years the number has approached 100.  We plan to populate this digital archive with  many of the over 1300 theses that have been written in those over seventy-five years. 

For more information, contact the Honors College at honors@maine.edu or 207-581-3263.