The Department of English Honors Program is designed for English and American Literature and Culture majors interested in pursuing the extra challenges and rewards of the honors curriculum--a course of study that culminates in a substantial critical paper, the honors thesis. The program allows honors candidates to work individually with faculty members who are experts in the student's field of interest. It is a particularly appropriate choice for those interested in graduate study in English.

The program is open to departmental majors with a 3.5 departmental and a 3.25 overall GPA. Students with a lower GPA may petition for admission to the program, but the GPAs must be achieved by the time of graduation in order to qualify for departmental honors. Completion of at least one Critical Theory course (English 120-128) no later than the Winter quarter in which the student applies for the departmental honors program is mandatory.

All honors program students must take the English 191H Honors Seminar in the Spring quarter of their Junior year. During the following two quarters, students research and write a thesis under the direction of a faculty member (as English 198A and 198B). After the thesis is completed, the faculty advisor and a faculty reader review the thesis and award it highest honors, honors, or no honors.

Students interested in completing a Creative Writing honors project are required to have completed or been accepted into their third workshop in a single genre prior to or concurrent with enrollment in English 191H.

Interested students should apply for the honors program in the Winter quarter of their junior year. Applications are available at the beginning of Winter quarter in the Undergraduate Counseling Office (Humanities 158/160) and should be returned there for submission.

For more information on the program, please contact the Director of Departmental Honors, Lowell Gallagher.