Mathematics Honors

Mathematics Honors

For Students graduating in May 2022 and beyond:

Students interested in pursuing Departmental Honors in the Mathematics Major have the option of two paths and can choose to submit either a portfolio or thesis.

Students taking the Portfolio option must:

  1. Complete all departmental requirements for the major and have a grade point average of 3.75 or higher for all course work taken in the Department.
  1. Have a grade point average of 3.0 for all work taken at Skidmore.
  1. Identify a faculty member to serve as your portfolio advisor. Your advisor can but does not have to be your major advisor.
  1. File with the Department a declaration of intention to qualify for honors, signed by the student and the advisor, by the end of the official add-drop period during the semester of graduation.
  1. Submit a portfolio draft to the portfolio advisor one month before the last day of classes. The final portfolio must then be submitted to the portfolio advisor eleven days prior to the last day of classes. The portfolio will demonstrate the student's commitment to the field of mathematical sciences and contributions to the Department. More details on the format of the portfolio can be found in the "Guidelines for Students Submitting a Portfolio." Portfolios will be read by the review committee to see if the work is of the exceptional quality that merits honors. The review committee will submit its recommendation to the Department for final adjudication.

Students taking the Thesis option must:

  1. Complete all departmental requirements for the major and have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher for all course work taken in the Department.
  1. Have a grade point average of 3.0 for all work taken at Skidmore.
  1. File with the Department a declaration of intention to qualify for honors, signed by the student and the advisor, by the end of the official add-drop period during the semester of graduation.
  1. Submit an honors thesis to the thesis advisor one week prior to the final due date for thesis submittal. The final thesis must be submitted to the Administrative Assistant no later than 4:00 p.m. of the day falling eleven days prior to the last day of classes. No honors thesis will be accepted after this date. Honors theses will be read by the review committee and an oral presentation of the student's work will be given to the Department.


PI MU EPSILON, New York Alpha Theta Chapter: Incorporated in 1914, Pi Mu Epsilon is a national honorary society whose purpose is the promotion of scholarly activity in mathematics. Undergraduate students are qualified for membership if they meet one of the following criteria: 1) upperclassmen who have completed at least two years of college mathematics, including calculus, with at least a B average and who are in the top third of their class in general college work; 2) sophomores, majoring in or intending to major in mathematics, who have completed at least three semesters of college mathematics, including one year of calculus, with a straight-A record and who are in the top quarter of their class in general college work; 3) senior mathematics majors may also qualify with a 3.0 or better overall GOA and a 3.5 or better GPA for all MA and MS courses at the 200 and 300 levels.

See Mathematics and Statistics

Computer Science Honors

Students wishing to qualify for departmental honors in the computer science major must:

  1. Complete all departmental requirements for the computer science major and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher for all course work (MC and CS) taken in the department, together with a course in another discipline that has substantial computer science content if taken as an elective with permission of the department;
  2. Have a GPA of 3.0 for all course work taken at Skidmore;
  3. File with the department, by the end of the official add-drop period of the fall semester of the senior year, a declaration of intention to qualify for honors; and
  4. Submit an honors thesis to be read by a review committee, and give an oral presentation of the thesis to the department. The review committee will evaluate the thesis to determine if it is of the exceptional quality that merits honors; the committee will submit its recommendation to the department for final adjudication.

    Additional guidance regarding the honors thesis

    An honors thesis may take a variety of forms. The following guidelines provide some clarity regarding the department's expectations. In all cases, further discussion with your thesis advisor will be necessary before formalizing your research plan.

    A computer science honors thesis will:

    • Require at least one full academic year of applied effort to complete;
    • Involve significant review of existing research in the area of interest. The thesis will include an extensive literature review section highlighting relevant concepts, frameworks, and theories; and
    • Result in a creative contribution. The contribution might be an implementation and validation of existing work or an identification of a gap in existing literature, along with a validation of your proposed solution. The creative contribution must confirm the student's grasp of the subject matter while demonstrating independent thinking.

See Computer Science