The Honors Program in English begins with the student's application in the second semester of the junior year and extends through the senior year.  A challenging intellectual adventure, the process involves proposing, researching, writing, revising, and defending a thesis or project.  Students in the program also take two honors courses (English 498 and English 499) in the senior year and work consistently with the Program Coordinator, a specific Director, and also, in the spring semester, an assigned Reader.

The ten Honors projects for 2008-09 included a collection of poems, a one-act play with music, a medical memoir, a geography of the Seattle Central Library and its discourse, as well as critical studies of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and of works by Geoffrey Chaucer, Junot Díaz, Philip Larkin, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and Mark Twain. 

Specific Requirements

• 3.5 major GPA at the time of application and graduation and 3.2 overall GPA
• 10 courses in the major, including ones required of all majors
• 2 additional courses:  English 498 and 499
• creative thesis writers are expected to take a writing course in the appropriate genre if one is offered in the senior year (e.g., an advanced course from the McGee Professor); critical thesis writers are also expected to take courses relevant to their fields of inquiry
• to earn honors, students must achieve a grade of at least B+ in both English 498 and 499

 Prerequisites for application


• GPA 3.5 in major; 3.2 overall
• Course work in proposed field

Form of application for critical thesis

• maximum 2-page (double-spaced) topic proposal
• writing sample (max. 5 pages)
• due May (date TBD)

Form of application for creative thesis

• maximum 2-page (double-spaced) document in which candidates identify the genre or genres in which they propose to write, those contemporary writers whose works inform their own, and briefly detail their aesthetic concerns and literary interests
• writing sample (max. 5 pages poetry; 10 pages prose)
• due May (date TBD)

Evaluation of applications


• conducted by Program Coordinator with an identical process for each
• departmental vote using the following criteria:
 prerequisites, quality of proposal and writing sample, willingness of a director,  and oral comments from faculty

Thesis Length Requirements

• Critical thesis-- article-length, based on PMLA guidelines
  maximum 9,000 words including notes but not works cited or works consulted
• Creative thesis--maximum 45 pages for poetry, maximum 90 pages for prose, maximum 60 pages for drama,  maximum 30 minutes for films

English 498 project requirements

• Roughly 1/3 of project completed by end of fall semester (content determined by Director)
  498 Fall Colloquium held December 2 and 3, 2009.
  • Students give 10-minute presentations, followed by formal question and answer period for each project
  • Audience: all thesis directors, Program Coordinator, honors students 

English 499 project requirements

• Critical thesis
  Complete rough draft submitted to Director and Reader in the second week of March
  499 Spring Colloquium: Mini-Conference in early April
  • Students give 10-minute papers in panels, followed by a question and answer period
  • Audience:  thesis directors, readers, Program Coordinator, honors candidates, members of the department, English majors

Final Thesis due after the Colloquium in April to Director and Reader; Reader responds with a  written report
Private, one-hour defense in late April with Director, Reader, and Program Coordinator; examiners may ask candidates to situate the work(s) under consideration in their projects (there is no longer a formal field list)

• Creative thesis
  Rough draft of at least one-half of the project submitted to Director and Reader in the first week of February
  One-hour, private oral field exam, in early February (Conducted by Director, Reader, and Program Coordinator)
  Complete draft submitted to Director in early April
  • Public reading from the work after complete draft has been submitted; includes question and answer session
  • Audience: thesis Director, Reader, Program Coordinator, honors candidates, members of the department, English Majors

Final version of thesis submitted to Director and Reader in late April; Reader responds with a written report

Evaluation 

• Thesis Director awards grades for 498 and 499
• Grade based on thesis and public presentations
• Director, Reader, and Program Coordinator vote on whether Honors shall be awarded

Honors Program Coordinator 2009-10:  Dr. Suzanne Churchill

Tasks for Applicants

0. Review your current transcript, including coursework and calculations for minimum GPAs.  Consider what you have studied, what you wish to pursue more deeply and independently, and how your intellectual and creative interests might benefit from the Honors process.  Imagine the possibilities.
0. Talk with your advisor about your cluster plan and the way Honors will complement your development as an English major.  Seek guidance from your advisor and from the current Program Director, Dr. Churchill.
0. Discuss your emerging ideas with potential Directors of your thesis or project.  A Director should have expertise in the area you want to pursue and should be available for the yearlong project.  Department faculty look forward to talking with you and will suggest an appropriate Director if they are not available for the job.
0. Attend the Honors Colloquium in early April, and send Dr. Churchill a one-sentence statement of intent via email by April  (date TBD), 2010.
0. Construct a 2-page topic proposal (for the critical thesis) or descriptive document (for the creative project) that adheres to the application requirements.  Contact Dr. Churchill with questions or for advice as you compose this document.  It should be written for the members of the English Department, many of whom will not be familiar with your work or your proposed project.  Present your proposal in clear and concrete language that informs your audience of your project.
0. Select a writing sample to accompany your 2-page document.  This work should indicate to all members of the department your verbal ability.  Choose an essay or collection of work that shows you at your intellectual and creative best.
0. Turn in application materials (hard copy) to Dr. Churchill, May (date TBD), 2010.