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THE HONORS THESIS IN HUMANITIES

Thinking about writing an Honors Thesis?

(More details are provided below.) If you are considering writing an Honors Thesis, the best place to start is to think about what you would want to write about and whom you’d want to work with as you do. Writing a thesis allows you to pursue an independent project (with the guidance of your Thesis Advisor) that you develop based on a humanities-focused topic that interests you.

If you decide to pursue an Honors Thesis, you’ll write it over the course of two semesters. Most students defend the thesis in their final undergraduate semester. You will enroll in HUMN 4950, which counts toward your HUMN upper-division requirements. It’s styled as an independent study course that accounts for the work you will do as you research and write the thesis.

An Honors Thesis in Humanities must include an interdisciplinary approach and close analysis of one or more works of human expression in the context of an original argument. A thesis in Humanities typically ranges from 50 to 75 pages long. At the defense, you will answer questions from your Thesis Committee. The Committee members will then decide on a recommendation for the level of honors based on your GPA, the thesis, and the defense.��The Honors Council will then discuss and vote whether to approve or change the designation.

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Why write an Honors Thesis in Humanities?

The benefits of writing a thesis include taking on an original, independent project and seeing it through to completion, which can be a challenging and rewarding experience in itself, especially if there’s a subject you are interested in that you want to pursue on a deeper level than a single course would allow. It also looks good on your resume and on graduate applications because it shows strong time management, research, critical thinking, writing, and oral communication skills. As such, it sets you apart from other applicants. It can also help you gauge whether you want to go on to graduate or professional school.

Writing an Honors Thesis in Humanities

To be eligible to write an Honors Thesis in Humanities and to graduate with Honors, you should:

• be a Humanities major
• have a general GPA of at least 3.3
• have a GPA in Humanities of at least 3.5

[Note: The GPA limits are recommendations. Reach out to the Humanities Honors Council Representative for more information.]

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

• Speak with the Humanities Honors Council Representative about your interest in writing an Honors Thesis in Humanities.
• Submit��the Humanities Honors Thesis Agreement to the Humanities Honors Council Representative for approval.
• This Agreement (an internal HUMN form) will allow you to be enrolled in the course HUMN 4950 Honors Thesis (an independent study for students writing a HUMN Honors Thesis). The course fulfills three credit hours of your upper-division HUMN requirements. It can be taken either the semester you will defend your thesis or the semester prior to the defense.
• Work with your Advisor and the Honors Council Representative to prepare your Honors Thesis Registration packet as well. The packet requires a prospectus, initial bibliography, timeline, and Committee member information. See this sample registration form for more information.
• Submit the by the required date (during the semester before the semester during which you will defend).
• Once submitted, be sure to send a copy of your registration form to the Humanities Honors Council Representative so that they can verify departmental approval.
• Maintain a suitable GPA during the year of your thesis writing.
• Work closely with your Honors Thesis Advisor as you write and edit the thesis. You should meet consistently throughout the process. If you are having trouble meeting with this person, contact the Humanities Honors Council Representative as early as possible.
• Defend the thesis in an oral examination.

(Also see the Honors Program’s instructions on The Basics and Getting Started.)

The Honors Thesis Committee

This Committee consists of at least three professors:

• your Honors Thesis Advisor
• the Humanities Arts & Sciences Honors Council Representative
• a member from a department other than Humanities who will serve as the outside reader

The Committee will read your thesis and ask you questions about it at the Defense. The Humanities Honors Council Representative and/or your Thesis Advisor may have suggestions about who could serve on this Committee. All members read the thesis, attend the defense, engage in questions and discussion, and vote on the recommended honors designation.

Humanities Honors Council Representative

The Humanities Honors Council Representative serves on the Arts and Sciences Honors Council, the group that oversees honors designations. The Humanities Honors Council Representative will:

• approve your HUMN Honors Agreement and Honors Registration Forms,
• provide additional information about the process for writing and defending a thesis,
• possibly serve as your Honors Thesis Advisor or will serve as a member of your Committee,
• help you locate an Honors Thesis Advisor, if needed, and
• represent your interests at the Honors Council Meetings, where final designations are awarded.

The current Humanities Honors Council Representative is Dr. Annje Wiese annjeanette.wiese@colorado.edu

Honors Thesis Advisor

You must have an Honors Thesis Advisor. This person must be:

• a Humanities Program faculty member, or
• someone who has taught a Humanities course (HUMN), or
• in rare cases, someone from another department who doesn’t meet these criteria (must be approved by the Humanities Honors Council Representative)
• available during the entire time you will be working on the thesis and able to meet with you regularly during that time.

The choice of your Honors Thesis Advisor is crucial to the success of your project as your Advisor will help you create a challenging and enriching personal course of study. You will need to consult regularly with your Advisor as you design and complete your project. Reach out to your prospective Advisor early to discuss the possibility of working with them.

�Թ��� the Honors Thesis

The Honors Thesis is a significant, extended argument – typically 50+ pages – on a topic of your choice. It often builds on work you have already done in one or more of your classes, which also helps with the selection of a Thesis Advisor.

Your thesis should demonstrate ability in the following areas:

• interpretation of different forms of human expression with an interdisciplinary focus*
• extensive research
• critical thinking and close analysis of sources
• sophisticated, well-supported argumentation
• excellent writing skills

*A Humanities Thesis must be interdisciplinary. That means bringing together content and methodologies from multiple disciplines and integrating them into one cohesive and well-supported argument. Students should be able to speak to and incorporate relevant material from the areas of scholarship they bring together. For example, one might bring together an analysis of film, art, and psychology; or philosophy and science fiction; and so on. We encourage you to be creative and ambitious as you put together your topic and formulate the argument you will support.

Mechanical Guidelines

The Honors Department has a required format for the title page. See for details. Talk with your Honors Thesis Advisor or the Humanities Honors Council Representative in order to choose what formatting and citation styles should be used (MLA versus Chicago; endnotes versus footnotes, sections and subsections, headers, etc.).

Thesis Deadlines

A rigorous schedule of deadlines must be established with the Thesis Advisor. In addition to the Honors Program deadlines, the following are some general guidelines to be observed. You should begin planning and researching the project prior to your final year at CU (assuming you will defend the thesis in your final semester) so that you can start writing by the beginning of the semester before your defense. The bulk of the thesis should be completed during this semester, with the first part of the semester during which you will defend spent finishing up the writing and editing. If it becomes necessary to postpone or withdraw from writing the Honors Thesis, talk with your Advisor and reach out to the Humanities Honors Council Representative to discuss the best options.

Defending the Thesis

After you complete your thesis, you will need to defend your thesis in an oral examination conducted by your Thesis Committee. The Defense details are as follows:

• It generally lasts around an hour.
• Fall thesis defenses are held around the first week of November; Spring defenses are held around the first week in April. There are no defenses held in the Summer.
• Questions will focus on the thesis but will also ask you to explore related ideas to show how you can apply your thinking beyond what you have already written. Your responses should be clear, exhibit critical thinking, and illustrate your wider knowledge of the fields your thesis covers.

Talk with the Humanities Honors Council Representative for more details about the Defense process and about scheduling and reserving a room for the Defense. Be sure to reach out to your Committee early to schedule the Defense since schedules fill up quickly.

Honors Designations

If you complete the thesis and defense, you will be considered for one of three honors designations (explained below). The designation you receive is dependent on the quality of the thesis, the quality of the defense, and your GPA. Please note that these are not fixed guidelines and the Committee may recommend an honors designation other than what the guidelines suggest (either higher or lower); for example, a person with a GPA of 3.6 could be awarded summa cum laude if the thesis is especially outstanding. See more information here.

• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3 qualifies a student to be considered for honors, cum laude
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 qualifies a student to be considered for high honors, magna cum laude
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.8 qualifies a student to be considered for highest honors, summa cum laude

Each semester there is an Honors Convocation celebrating the achievements of students graduating with Latin honors.

The Key to Success

Most students who elect to write and defend an Honors Thesis find it an intellectually challenging and rewarding experience. Success depends on starting early, working steadily, and meeting regularly with your Honors Thesis Advisor.

More information about the Honors Thesis process can be found at the Honors Program website. This site provides general guidelines and requirements, frequently asked questions, registration information, graduation deadlines, and thesis guidelines.