* CLICK HERE for the Fall 2022-Spring 2023 Application - DUE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30TH, 2022 *
In order to apply, you must be history major with a GPA of at least 3.65 in history and 3.65 overall (PLEASE NOTE: If your GPA is near 3.65, but not quite there, you are still encouraged to apply!). You also must have completed 5 History courses. Applicants are also required to either be currently enrolled in or have already completed The Workshop (HIST-UA 9XX).
The Honors Program begins in the fall and is completed in two consecutive semesters. If the program is completed successfully, the student will be awarded Honors in History. Students should apply to the program the spring semester BEFORE they are ready to begin the Honors Program. They are also strongly encouraged to take a Capstone Seminar before applying to the Honors Program, but this is not a requirement.
This 8-point Program affords qualified students the opportunity to work closely with faculty members and to conduct extensive research on a topic of their choice.
The Program consists of an Honors Seminar, followed by an individualized Honors Tutorial. The Seminar (which counts as a Capstone Seminar for the Major) is taken in the fall semester. In the Seminar students define a thesis topic of their choice, develop a bibliography, read broadly in background works, and begin their research. Students also write a prospectus, write a historiographical essay, and complete a draft of one chapter by the end of the semester. The Tutorial, in which students work on a one-to one basis with a faculty director, follows in the spring semester. This is where the thesis is completed. The most successful projects are those where the student has thought about the project earlier in her/his career and has begun to work on the project with a professor and done research over a longer period.
Theses vary in length between 40 and 70 pages, depending on the nature and scope of the subject. The completed thesis, approved for defense by the director, is defended before a committee of a primary advisor and at least one additional faculty member. A grade of at least A- is required for the award of Honors in History. Otherwise, students will simply be awarded 8 points toward the major.