The Honors Program in Nonfiction Writing
A Brief Description of the Program
The Nonfiction Writing Honors Program is intended for students who have been highly successful in their English concentration work. English concentrators pursuing Honors in Nonfiction Writing need not choose the Nonfiction Writing focus in the concentration. Specifically, it allows those who have an expressed and proven interest in nonfiction writing to pursue more completely a single project under the supervision of a thesis advisor. The intention is to help students to complete work worthy of publication. The program culminates in the writing of a thesis during the senior year.
Admission
Students apply to the Nonfiction Writing Honors Program in the second semester of their junior year at the latest. Interested students should already have made contact with at least one member of the Nonfiction Writing faculty and should meet with the Director of Nonfiction Writing to discuss their proposed project.
Admission to the Honors Program in Nonfiction Writing depends upon a student's demonstrated superior ability in nonfiction writing. Students must have taken an advanced writing course (EL 114, 116, 118, or 119/ENGL1140, 1160, 1180, or 1190). See procedures and application for more details.
Requirements
Students in the Nonfiction Writing Honors Program take two additional courses beyond the ten courses required by the regular concentration -- ENGL1200 Independent Study in Nonfiction Writing (with the thesis advisor) and ENGL1990 Senior Honors Thesis in Nonfiction Writing; the Honors track will bring to twelve the total number of required courses. The independent study grade option must be ABC/NC. Honors candidates should discuss their proposed course of study with the Director of Nonfiction Writing.
Honors candidates must receive more As than Bs in courses taken as part of the concentration. Courses completed with a grade of C will not count toward an Honors concentration. A student who receives such a grade and wishes to continue in the program must complete an additional literature course in a comparable subject area, with a grade better than C. Students receiving a grade of NC in any English course will not be permitted to continue in the program, except by special permission of the Director of Nonfiction Writing.
The Honors Thesis
The Nonfiction Writing Honors thesis is an extended project, usually of between 50 and 80 pages, written under the supervision of one of the Nonfiction Writing faculty and a second reader (who can be from literature or another department). The specific topic and approach of the thesis are worked out between the student and the thesis advisor, with assistance from the student's second reader. A good way to get an idea of what sorts of projects are possible is to visit the Hay Library, which stores theses from previous years, or to meet with the Director of Nonfiction Writing. The work typically is in a genre chosen from Nonfiction Writing's spectrum: critical analysis, literary journalism, memoir, lyric essay, or narrative based on travel, science, history, or cultural critique.
Full thesis drafts are due by mid-March; final bound copies of the thesis are due in mid-April. Late theses will not be accepted for honors after the April deadline; students who hand in theses after the deadline and before the end of the term will receive a grade for the thesis course, but they will not be eligible for departmental honors. The completed thesis will be evaluated by its advisor and a second reader, each of whom provides written commentary and suggests a grade for ENGL1990.
Evaluation
The English Department reviews the academic record as well as the thesis evaluations for each senior completing the Nonfiction Writing Honors Program. Following a successful review, the student will be eligible to graduate with Honors in Nonfiction Writing.
Deadlines for 2007-08 Honors Theses in Nonfiction Writing
| September 28 Friday |
Signatures from Thesis Advisor and Second Reader due Revised and signed prospectus due to the Honors Director Note: Have your advisor and second reader approve and sign the prospectus before you submit it to Beth Taylor, Director of Nonfiction Writing |
| November 13 Tuesday |
Register for ENGL1990 for semester II Banner Registration permission must be obtained from Beth Taylor, Director of Nonfiction Writing |
| December 7 Friday |
Minimum of 40 pages of draft material due to ENGL1200 supervisor Each Honors student must turn in a minimum of 40 pages of draft material to the ENGL1200 supervisor to receive a grade for ENGL1200. |
| March 6 Thursday |
Full draft of the thesis due to Advisor and Second Reader Advisors and Second Readers must send written confirmation of receipt to the Honors Director. |
| April 17 Thursday |
Final copy of bound thesis due to Honors Director, Advisor and Second Reader Late theses cannot be accepted for honors after the deadline; students who hand in theses after the deadline but before the end of the term will receive a grade for the thesis course, but they will not be eligible for departmental honors. |
| April 24 Thursday |
Reports and grades from Advisor and Second Reader due to Beth Taylor, Director of Nonfiction Writing |
