Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate students are valued members of Acadia's vibrant research community. You'll interact closely with your supervisors and gain hands-on experience with research in a way that isn't always possible in a larger university. You may be involved in conducting research in the lab, working in the field, or investigating in the library or archives. 

Your training and experience at Acadia will prepare you to advance in careers that require high-quality research and critical thinking skills. Acadia students work on developing their written and oral communication skills and often travel to scholarly conferences to present their work. There are many other value-added opportunities for senior undergraduate and graduate students through involvement in research workshops and reading groups, collaborative research opportunities with industry, and publishing activities.

 

Honours Thesis

 

STEPS FOR FINALIZING AND SUBMITTING AN HONOURS THESIS for 2023

  1. Student ensures the final draft is complete and properly formatted, as per the Honours Thesis Regulations (see Honours Thesis Regulations).
  1. Thesis Supervisor and 2nd Reader review the draft Thesis for content and formatting.
  1. Student makes the agreed changes/edits, which are then checked and approved by the Supervisor.
  1. The completed and signed Checklist (Appendix D) is emailed to Jessica Bradley, researchoffice@acadiau.ca, at Research and Graduate Studies the day the thesis is uploaded to the Library.
  1. Student uploads the unsigned FINAL Thesis to the Library, using their Acadia student email account.

Go to https://library.acadiau.ca/using-the-library/services/thesis-submission.html

  1. Student electronically shares the same final version of the Thesis with their Supervisor, and with the home Department or School, if requested. For 2023, a hardcopy of the Thesis for the Special Collections Theses Collection will be printed by Library staff.
  1. The Chair of Honour’s Committee this year is Dr. Matthew McSweeney. This name is to be entered on page iii.
  1. The thesis due date is April 17, 2023. If an extension is required, send a completed Extension Request form (signatures not required) to the Associate Vice-President Research & Dean of Graduate Studies, anna.redden@acadiau.ca.

Any questions regarding regulations, deadlines, extensions, etc. should be directed to the Research & Graduate Studies Administrative Office at researchoffice@acadiau.ca

Templates

Please note that templates may be provided by your Department/School or Learning Technologies & Instructional Design, however it is the responsibility of each student to ensure that their thesis conforms to the formatting required by the Division of Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies as outlined in the Honours Thesis Regulations. 

Formatting Requirements

The inside binding edge must be 1”. Please refer to the Honours Thesis Regulations for complete formatting details.

Dates:

April 17, 2023 – Deadline for approved honours theses for Spring graduands

September 21, 2023 – Deadline for approved honours theses for Fall graduands

December 14, 2023 – DEADLINE TO AVOID WINTER 2023 Fees

April 15, 2024 – Deadline for approved honours theses for Spring graduands

2021- 2023 Senate Honours Committee Chair: Dr. Matthew McSweeney (October 20, 2021 - August 31, 2023)

Documents and links:

Undergraduate Student Research Funding

 

Honours Summer Research Awards (HSRA)

Deadline: Wednesday, February 15, 2023

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA)

Deadline: Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Research Nova Scotia Scotia Scholars Undergraduate Award

To learn more and apply, visit Research Nova Scotia

Webster Undergraduate Research Awards

The Webster Undergraduate Research Awards have been made possible through the generous support of the R. Howard Webster Foundation. The Foundation makes grants to outstanding Canadian charitable organizations offering unique and inspiring programs or projects for the benefit, improvement, and development of Canadian society.

The Webster Undergraduate Research Awards are designed to support the engagement of Acadia’s most promising undergraduate Honours students in unique research work of their design. The Fund provides a total of $17,500 to support three awards ($5833 each) to Honours students in their 3rd year of study at Acadia University.  Recipients are chosen from the applications for the Honours Summer Research Awards. One student from each Faculty is selected by the HSRA adjudication committee based on their academic record and the quality of their research grant application.