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Honors Requirements

Honors Requirements

English Honors Concentration

In the English honors concentration, select majors create programs tailored to their own particular interests and needs. A faculty mentor guides each of these students through this intensive experience. The principal feature of the honors program is a year-long research process culminating in the completion of an honors thesis.

If you have questions about the honors program contact the director of undergraduate studies.

Admission

Invitation to Apply

By the end of fall of their junior year, students are invited to apply after being identified in one of two ways:

  • 3.78 or above GPA in three or more English classes. At least two of the classes must be at the 30xxx level or above.
  • Faculty nomination with a minimum GPA of 3.6
Statement of Purpose

Invited students declare their interest in the honors concentration by completing a statement of purpose, a 250–300 word statement describing what the student hopes to focus on during his or her time in the honors concentration. Deadline for applications: February 29, 2024. This date has been extended and the new deadline is March 21, 2024.

Requirements

Students take a minimum of 11 English courses at the 30xxx-level or above, which include the following:

  1. All of the course requirements for the major.
  2. One optional advanced course, related to the thesis, from another department (requires the approval of the director of the honors concentration).
  3. During the junior year, the student identifies an area of interest and selects an advisor.
  4. In the fall of the senior year the student takes ENGL 53001: Honors Colloquium, in which they conduct research, write a proposal, and begin writing the thesis.
  5. In the spring of the senior year, the student enrolls in English 52998: Honors Thesis and completes the thesis.

Thesis

Fall: Honors Colloquium

In the fall semester, students enroll in the Honors Colloquium (ENGL 53001) and complete a series of assignments through which they begin the process of writing the thesis. Students work primarily with the instructor of the colloquium but consult with their individual thesis advisors about developing a specific research topic, research resources specific to the area of their thesis, and the writing of the thesis itself. Students complete the following:

  • Research bibliography of primary and secondary sources
  • Sample notes from sources
  • Thesis proposal
  • Annotated bibliography
  • Review of the critical literature
  • Report on historical, philosophical, aesthetic or other related contexts
  • Thesis outline
  • Draft section of thesis
  • Oral report on the thesis project
Spring: Honors Thesis

In the spring semester, students register for Honors Thesis (ENGL 52999) and work intensively with their thesis director, who assigns the final grade for the completed thesis. All theses should employ MLA style. The thesis should include the following:

  • Title page
  • Table of contents
  • Abstract (250–350 words)
  • An essay of 6,000–9,000 words including notes but not the works cited. Ordinarily, the thesis essay addresses a literary topic or question, situates its analysis in relation to the existing criticism, and formulates an independently conceived argument about this topic or question. The model is the scholarly article.
  • Works cited

Honors Thesis Abstract Examples

Deadlines
  • Complete draft of essay to advisor. Thursday, April 18, 2024.
  • Complete and final version in polished form (MLA formatting) with bibliography due both to the advisor and the department (email to undergraduate studies coordinator, Lisa Holderman). Abstract of 200–250 words due as well. Abstract should be sent as a separate document from essay. Tuesday, April 30, 2024.*
  • English honors concentration thesis presentations: Thursday, May 2, 2024, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. *Note: Informal lunch reception follows immediately.

*For a student to graduate with honors, the essay must receive the advisor’s approval, be at least 20 pages in length, and earn a grade of B or higher.

Creative Writing Honors Concentration

Creative writing honors concentrators complete all the requirements of the English major and the creative writing concentration and write a creative thesis their senior year under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The creative thesis may take the form of stories, a novella, a poetry collection, an essay collection, or a hybrid project of your own devising as approved by the director of creative writing.

Interested students should apply in the spring of their junior year.

Admission

Please include with your application a 250-word project proposal, a list of creative writing courses taken, and a list of preferred faculty advisors. Please note: we cannot ensure first choice of faculty advisors. Deadline for applications: February 29, 2024. This date has been extended and the new deadline is March 21, 2024.

Apply here.

Requirements

Students who wish to join the creative writing honors concentration and write a creative thesis must:

  • Have an English department GPA of 3.78 or above (3.6 at the discretion of the director of creative writing) and have completed 3 English courses, 2 at the 30xxx or above level
  • Complete all the requirements for the English major.
  • Complete all the requirements in the concentration in creative writing.
  • Write and submit a creative thesis according to the deadlines below under the supervision of a faculty advisor.
  • Meet all thesis requirements and deadlines.
Requirements FAQs
  • Creative writing honors concentrators are required to take a Creative Writing Honors Colloquium in the fall of their senior year. The Creative Writing Honors Colloquium does not count towards the student's four required creative writing courses.
  • Creative writing honors concentrators may count one 20xxx-level creative writing course towards the honors concentration.

Thesis

Students accepted into the creative writing honors concentration will be assigned a faculty advisor. They will meet with their advisor and write their theses throughout their senior year. The thesis will consist of an abstract, a 10–15 page critical essay, and a creative project. The project must entail 40 pages of prose or 20 pages of poetry or the equivalent under the discretion of the director of creative writing.

Honors Thesis Abstract Examples

Deadlines
  • Complete draft due to advisor. Thursday, April 18, 2024. Advisor can adjust at their discretion.
  • Complete and final version due to the department Tuesday, April 30, 2024 (email to undergraduate studies coordinator Lisa Holderman).
  • English Creative Writing honors concentration thesis presentations: Thursday, May 2, 2024, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. *Note: Informal lunch reception follows immediately.