How It Works

Honors Coursework:

Honors students meet the same requirements as other English majors, but five of the courses in the major will be designated honors courses.  The five courses together amount to 12 credits.

• Three of the five courses are related to the Senior Honors Project: ENGL370 (1 credit), ENGL373 (2 credits), and ENGL495 (3 credits). 
• The other two courses are honors seminars: 428X and 428Y (3 credits each) on varying topics. Depending on their content, honors seminars will meet existing requirements for the major.  These seminars will be offered each semester and they are limited to 20 students.

Senior Honors Project:

All honors students do a Senior Project—a thesis, or (for students who have done extremely well in the department’s creative writing workshops) a creative writing project. A senior thesis is at least 25 pages, but students may be able to write more than 25 pages if they desire.  It is, in fact, recommended that a creative writing project be at least 40 pages. 

Planning for the thesis is as follows:

• In the spring semester of the junior year, students enroll in ENGL370. By the end of that course, students select their topic, arrange for a faculty thesis director, and begin work on their project.
• In the fall semester of the senior year, students enroll in ENGL373, a research, writing and editing workshop.  
• In the spring semester of the senior year, students enroll in ENGL495, an independent study in which they complete their project and discuss it in a colloquium with three or four faculty readers.
• Every effort will be made to accommodate students who wish to study abroad for a semester while pursuing English honors.