Honors Program
Honors Seminars
Each semester the English Department offers one or two Honors seminars under the course number ENG 4936. The topics covered by these seminars vary, and the number of seats are limited. Consequently, registration for these courses is controlled by the department. Students with an upper-division GPA of 3.5 who wish to register for a seminar must see the academic advisor in 4012E Turlington.
Requirements for “Honors” Designation
- To graduate with a designation of “Honors,” students must have an overall upper-division GPA of 3.5.
- To graduate with “High Honors,” students must have an overall upper-division GPA of 3.5, have earned an “A” or “B” in at least one semester of ENG 4936 (Honors Seminar); and have completed one semester of ENG 4970 Honors Thesis, earning at least a “B+.”
- To graduate with “Highest Honors,” students must have earned no less than a “B” and at least one “A” in no fewer than two semesters of ENG 4936, as well as an “A” in one semester of ENG 4970.
- Permission to register for the seminars or for thesis hours must be obtained from the undergraduate advisor in 4012E Turlington Hall.
The Honors Thesis
Students who want to write the Honors Thesis need to ask two professors to be their readers. One is designated as the director, and the other as the second reader. Ordinarily, both are English Department faculty, and the director must be a Department faculty member. Students and director(s) should sit down together at the start of the semester and agree to the guidelines of the thesis. A form for outlining the work may be picked up from 4012E Turlington. This form should be signed by the professors and returned to 4012E in order for the student to be registered for the thesis hours. ENG 4970 Honors Thesis helps meet the requirements for the English major.
Students should obtain an abstract form from the Honors Office (140 Tigert) or from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Academic Advising office on Fletcher Road. The abstract should be submitted to Academic Advising at least 10 days before graduation to insure that students be given the honors recognition they have earned. A copy of the thesis should be given to the Associate Chair of the English Department (4012E Turlington).
Theses are normally between 30 and 50 pages long. They can be an extension of a paper written for another course or a new paper written just for the thesis project. At the end of the semester the two professors should get together and determine what grade will be given. The grade will then be recorded by the instructor with the English office at 4008 Turlington.
