Honors in History

Honors in History is a senior level experience which culminates in a major scholarly project. It is a means by which a student may do more independent, intensive, and individual work than can be done in the regular degree program.

Requirements for Honors in History

1. Completion of all requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, as well as a minimum overall grade point average of 3.50 and a minimum History grade point average of 3.50.
2. Completion of History 495-496.
3. Completion of a major research project, culminating in a research paper and an oral presentation.

Students considering Honors normally take a Directed Inquiry in the second semester of the junior year with the faculty sponsor. Emphasis in the Directed Inquiry will be topic/project selection, preliminary research, and thesis, research question(s), or project definition development. Students are also expected to begin the Honors proposal and application in the Directed Inquiry, both of which are due early in the first semester of senior year. Otherwise, such preparatory work will have to be done during the summer before the senior year.

The Honors proposal is submitted to the faculty sponsor and the Department in the first week of classes senior year. The proposal should outline the project, its significance, and the methodology chosen for the study or creative activity. The Honors proposal must be accepted by the Department before the student can submit an Honors Registration form to the Registrar’s Office in order to be officially registered for Honors.

The final Honors project must be completed and approved by the supervising committee by April. Honors cannot be awarded until the Registrar has been notified by the Department that all Honors work has been completed satisfactorily and that an overall average of at least A- has been earned for the Honors credit attempted.