What is the History Honors Thesis Program?
The History Honors Thesis Program is the most advanced program of study offered by the History Department and the only route to graduating with Honors in History. History Honors students select their own topic for their thesis. Under the supervision of the Honors Director and a Faculty advisor, students research and write a significant piece of historical scholarship based on primary and secondary sources. History Honors theses range from 70 – 200 pages. Through these projects, students develop and advance a historical argument based on their research.
Over the course of their senior year, Honors students enroll in a three-course sequence. This sequence commences in the fall term with HIST 98, Honors Seminar, a seminar in historical methods and historiography, and continues with HIST 99.01 and HIST 99.02, Honors Thesis, in winter and spring terms. Students receive one course credit in the major for HIST 98; HIST 99.01 and HIST 99.02 do not count towards the ten credits required for the history major, but each carries one course credit. Students are required to take all three course credits to complete the Honors program.
To receive Honors, students must successfully complete their thesis and maintain a B+ average in the Honors Program. Awards of Honors and High Honors in History are made by vote of the History Department faculty as a whole.