Purpose:
To give qualified students advanced writing experience and the opportunity to distinguish themselves.
Application:
Students will apply to the department chair during their junior year.
Qualifications:
3.3 overall GPA; 3.5 GPA in the English major; fulfillment of the language requirement for English majors.
Requirements:
Two courses beyond those required for the English major. One course will be chosen from a list of English 300-400 level courses deemed appropriate by the thesis advisor. The second course will be an independent study in which the student will write a thesis in consultation with a full-time English Department faculty member. The thesis will be orally presented and defended to a committee of at least three faculty members, two of whom will be English Department full-time faculty, or presented in a comparable public forum, such as Scholarship Week or a Research Symposium. The thesis must earn a B or better in order for the student to be recommended to the full English Department for honors.
Conferral of Honors:
The Department will notify the Office of Registration and Records of successful candidates, and “Departmental Honors” will be imprinted on the student’s transcript. A congratulatory letter will be provided to the student, as a record of achievement, signed by the chair of the Department of English and the thesis advisor.