The Honors Program in Literatures and Cultures in English
A Brief Description of the Program
The Literatures Honors Program is intended for students who have been highly successful in their English concentration coursework and who want the opportunity to pursue a research project in more depth than is possible in an undergraduate seminar. The program is intended for those students with a strong desire to conduct independent research under the supervision of a thesis advisor and culminates in the writing of a thesis during the senior year.
Admission
Students apply to the Literatures Honors Program early in the second semester of their junior year. Interested concentrators are encouraged to speak to the Honors Advisor early in their junior year to discuss their plans. Specific deadlines for admission are announced annually and are available in the department office. Students who are studying off campus are expected to meet the application submission deadline.
Admission to the Literatures Honors Program depends on evidence of ability and promise in the study of literature. See procedures and application for more details.
Requirements
Students in the Literatures Honors Program take two additional courses beyond the ten courses required by the regular concentration -- ENGL1991 and ENGL1992. Honors candidates should discuss their proposed course of study with the Honors Advisor. The course requirements for the Honors Program are the same as those for the regular concentration, with the following exceptions:
Honors candidates must complete at least three upper-level seminars or comparable small courses in which students have the opportunity to do independent research, take significant responsibility for discussion, and do extensive scholarly and critical writing. These courses also count toward the courses required by the regular concentration. Students are encouraged to include at least one graduate seminar in their program. (Permission to take a graduate course must be obtained from the instructor.)
Honors candidates must complete ENGL1991 and ENGL1992, the Senior Honors Thesis, taken during the fall and spring of the senior year; these courses may not be taken S/NC.
Additional Requirements:
Honors candidates must receive more As than Bs in courses taken as part of the concentration (or receive the equivalent faculty evaluation on a Course Performance Report for courses taken S/NC). Courses completed with a grade of C or with a grade of S without a Course Performance Report indicating Honors-level work 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 Honors Advisor.
The Honors Thesis
The Honors thesis is an extended essay, usually between 50 and 80 pages, written under the supervision of a department faculty advisor and second reader. (Where appropriate, the advisor or the reader, but not both, may be in another department.) The thesis may be an interdisciplinary or creative project, but it is usually an essay on a scholarly or critical problem, dealing with works of literature in English. 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. This process should begin in the latter part of the student's junior year. 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 Honors Advisor.
A prospectus describing the project and endorsed by the faculty advisor must be submitted to the Honors Advisor at the beginning of the senior year. At the end of the senior year fall term, a student must submit to his or her advisor approximately 25 pages of draft material toward the thesis to receive a grade for ENGL1991. 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 but 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 ENGL1992.
Evaluation
The English Department reviews the academic record as well as the thesis evaluations for each senior completing the Literatures Honors Program. Following a successful review, the student will be eligible to graduate with Honors in Literatures and Cultures in English.
DEADLINES for 2007-08 Honors Theses in Literatures and Cultures in English
| October 1 Monday | Prospectus due to thesis advisor and second reader |
| October 8 Monday | Revised and signed prospectus due to the Honors Advisor.
Note: Have your advisor and second reader approve and sign the prospectus before you submit it to Stephen Foley, Advisor, Literatures Honors Program. |
| November 13 Tuesday |
Register for ENGL1992 for semester II. Banner registration permission must be obtained from Professor Foley. |
| December 7 Friday |
Minimum of 20 pages of draft material due to thesis advisor and second reader
Each Honors student must turn in a minimum of 20 pages of draft material to the advisor and second reader to receive a grade for ENGL1991. Thesis advisors must submit grades to Professor Foley by December 13. |
| March 6 Friday | Full draft of the thesis due to advisor and second reader.
Advisors and second readers must send written confirmation of receipt to Professor Foley, Honors Advisor. |
| April 17 Thursday | Final copy of bound thesis due to thesis advisor, second reader, and Professor Foley.
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 thesis advisor and second reader due to Professor Foley. |
Applications or materials for the Nonfiction Writing Honors Program may be left with Jane Donnelly in the English Department office at 70 Brown Street.
