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
Students should plan to submit a finalized thesis by the end of April. 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.
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.undergraduate@nyu.edu for more information.