A Project of Your Own

Requirements for Honors in History

All history majors with at least a 3.3 GPA in the history major and a 3.0 GPA or better overall have the opportunity to graduate with honors in history. Before commencing an honors program in history, a candidate must have completed 21 hours of history courses. The candidate may complete the work for an honors project in level-3 or level-4 independent studies, but all honors candidates must take at least one level-4 seminar or tutorial in addition to these independent studies. The candidate may receive a maximum of 6 credits for the honors project. If at any point the faculty sponsor deems the work insufficient for honors, the student will receive a grade for any independent studies completed but will not be eligible to pursue department honors. Honors candidates must adhere to the following process:

  1. The candidate will select a department member with expertise in the field to advise the student about the project and, in consultation with that adviser, will create a three-person committee to review the project.
  2. By August 15 of the year before graduation (March 30 for winter graduates) the candidate must apply for honors with a written proposal. The proposal should clearly describe the project and identify primary sources to be used. Committee members will signal their approval with their signatures on the form and the entire faculty of the history department will vote on the proposal and inform the student whether they may pursue departmental honors.
  3. The candidate will submit a complete draft of the project to the faculty sponsor by the end of the fourth week of their final semester, and a final draft of the project to the committee by the ninth week of the semester.
  4. The candidate will defend the project before the committee approximately one week after the submission of the final draft. The committee will then determine whether the project receives honors.

The completed honors project must fit the following criteria: be a 30-50 page scholarly article; illustrate an understanding of relevant historiography; demonstrate original analysis based on extensive research in primary and secondary sources; and use the Chicago Manual of Style citation style.

Please click the link on the menu at left for a complete list of our student theses.