Honors in Major

History major and honors student Elizabeth McFadden worked with Prof. Gregory McMahon to research the Staffordshire Moorlands Pan and life along Hadrian's Wall in northern England. Her work received an Undergraduate Research Award.

Honors for students in the History Major

The History Honors-in-Major program provides History majors the opportunity to work closely with faculty members, to pursue their interests in history in greater depth, and to research and write a thesis. Upon completion of the requirements, students will receive an Honors-in-Major designation in History on their transcript, indicating their academic excellence to future employers or graduate school admissions committees.

History Honors-in-Major is a departmental program; it is NOT restricted to students in the University Honors Program. Majors in history with an overall grade point average of 3.4 or better and a departmental grade point average of 3.4 or better are eligible for Honors-in-Major in History.  (Students admitted prior to September 2008 must maintain a 3.2 overall GPA average). History majors in the University Honors Program must complete the History Honors-in-Major program as the second half of their 32-credit requirements.

Students in the History Honors-in-Major program complete 16 credits of Honors course work within the department (or four, four-credit courses). These four courses count toward the ten-course requirement for the History major. Students must maintain a 3.4 grade point average both in the department and in the university (except for those students admitted prior to September 2008 as outlined above).

1. Students will designate two 600-level, four- credit history courses as “Honors.” That requires the submission of an “Honors Designation” course form, to be signed by the Honors advisor and submitted to the Registrar’s Office during the first three weeks of the semester. The student and the professor of the course will agree to additional reading and/or writing that will allow the student to pursue the subject of the course in greater depth. Students are encouraged to complete these courses during their sophomore or junior years.

2. Students will take one of the following 700-level, four-credit courses: Historiography, Historical Methods or Quantitative Methods. Students should be aware that these courses are not taught every semester and should plan in consultation with the Honors advisor for the History department.

3. Students will sign up for History 799 and complete a four-credit Senior Honors Thesis during their senior year. The thesis agreement form must be signed by the student, by the faculty supervisor, and by the Honors advisor as part of the registration process.  Students will work closely with a faculty advisor in planning, researching, and writing their thesis. For the thesis, some students will choose to continue the work they began in History 797, the Senior Colloquium. Other students will build on course work from a 600-level class or a UROP or IROP.  They will defend their thesis before a panel of three faculty members designated by the student and advisor. Professor Jessica Lepler is the faculty advisor.