WELCOME

CHC PATHS is an online tool for the Commonwealth Honors College community. A UMass NetID is required to log in. Honors students must use CHC PATHS to set up the course contracts for an independent study honors (ISH) course, or an Honors Thesis (499Y/T/P) course. Faculty members and honors thesis committee members use CHC PATHS to review and authorize these contracts.

DEADLINES

Submission of Honors Thesis Proposals and Honors Independent Study Proposals

·    Research proposals for Fall 2025: August 1, 2025

·    Research proposals for Spring 2025: December 15, 2024

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Final Thesis Submission of Documents to be Archived (abstract, manuscript, portfolio, reflections, etc.) 

For graduates in:

·      Fall 2025 and Winter 2026: December 15, 2025

·      Spring 2025: May 15, 2025

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Submission of Research Assistant Fellowship & Honors Research Grant Proposals

·     Proposals for Fall 2025 funding are due: Monday, April 7, 2025 at 11:59pm

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Faculty Approvals of Honors Thesis Proposals and Independent Study Courses - faculty should review proposals as soon as notified by PATHS. 

Approvals are required from the Faculty Sponsor of the thesis or independent study AND the Honors Program Director of the department in which the course is registered. Once all faculty approvals are received, the proposal will be reviewed by the CHC Academic Standards Committee.

The Academic Standards Committee begins reviewing proposals concurrently with the start of the semester. If your proposal is awaiting ASC review at the start of the semester, your proposal will be reviewed with enough time to enroll you in the credits prior to the end of the add/drop period.

NOTE: Students cannot be registered for a course that requires permission for a course overload until permission is granted. Students should review the requirements before submission of a proposal.

For an honors thesis, information is available at https://www.umass.edu/honors/honors-thesis

and https://www.umass.edu/honors/honors-thesis/individually-contracted-honors-thesis.

For other independent study honors contract proposals, see the information available at https://www.umass.edu/honors/book/honors-courses-detailed-descriptions. Links are provided on that page to guidelines for writing the proposal and registration details.