Honors Program

To qualify for honors in the Italian studies major, a student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.65 and a major GPA of 3.65 or higher. Students who wish to pursue honors should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies for an application during their junior year. The Director of Undergraduate Studies may, by petition to the director of college honors, consider strong candidates who do not meet the GPA threshold of 3.65.

Undergraduate students in the Honors Program write a thesis overseen by an Italian Studies faculty member in their senior year. In fall, the student prepares research for their thesis in the course ITAL-UA 999 Seniors Honors Seminar. In spring, the student writes the thesis under the guidance of a faculty member in the course ITAL-UA 990 Honors Independent Study. Both count as advanced courses for the major. Students work closely with a departmental faculty member who becomes the honors thesis adviser (chosen in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies). The thesis should be a work of scholarship and/or criticism from 40 to 60 pages in length. In consultation with a second faculty reader, the student’s thesis adviser determines whether or not to recommend him or her for honors in Italian. A grade of at least A-minus is required for the award of honors. Students receiving a lower grade will simply be awarded 8 credits toward the major.

Eligibility: Maintain an overall and major grade point average of 3.65.

Requirements:

  • Complete ITAL-UA 999 Senior Honors Seminar in the fall of the senior year,
  • Complete ITAL-UA 990 Honors Independent Study in the spring of the senior year, and
  • Present the thesis in the spring semester

Contact italian.dept@nyu.edu or the DUS with any questions or to register in ITAL-UA 999 and ITAL-UA 990.

Visit the CAS Bulletin – Italian Studies page for more information.

Timeline for Thesis Research and Completion

By the end of the fall term in their senior year, students are expected to have developed a thesis outline, annotated bibliography, and an introduction or portion of a chapter (approximately 15–20 pages of finished writing). The thesis is due in final form by mid-April.

Recommended timeline:

  • October 1: Preliminary annotated bibliography
  • October 10: Prospectus for topic approval
  • December 1: Draft chapter (introduction or one of the initial chapters; approx. 15–20 pages)
  • End of Fall Term: Thesis outline and annotated bibliography

  • March 15: Complete draft of the full thesis
  • April 15: Final draft to thesis supervisor for grading and deposit

Thesis Guidelines

  • 40/60 pages, exclusive of abstract, title Page, acknowledgements, table of contents, bibliography
  • Formatting: double-spaced lines; standard font (e.g., Times New Roman); standard margins of 1"
  • The thesis will consist of:
    • Abstract;
    • The title page, which will include:
      • student's name;
      • thesis title;
      • and the legend “This thesis has been submitted on this day of [date] in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the NYU Italian Studies Bachelor of Arts degree."
    • Table of Contents;
    • Body of the thesis divided into chapters;
    • Bibliography;
    • Appendices (if applicable).

GLS-Italian Studies Majors

Students will need to meet all necessary requirements for entry to the honors track. GLS students should coordinate with the Director of Undergraduate Studies during their junior year abroad in order to identify their research question and their mentor in the department. If they qualify, students will have the option to complete their thesis either in Italian or in GLS (taking the thesis-related courses within either department). Students who complete their thesis through the yearlong Senior Colloquium and Senior Thesis in GLS should have a second reader designated from Italian, with similar arrangements for a second reader from GLS if the thesis project is registered through Italian.

Students may choose to pursue an honors track, following the guidelines provided by the DUS. Students must get approval from both GLS and the Department of Italian in order to follow this (double) honors option. The GLS seminars will count toward fulfilling the credits of the honor requirements, but will not count as one of the required courses for the major.

Contact italian.dept@nyu.edu for more information.