Honors
General Description and Overview of Requirements
Any student with a superior aptitude for and a special interest in English may apply for admission to the honors program in English. The program includes special classes for EN 205 (EN 215), EN 206 (EN 216), EN 209 (EN 219), and EN 210 (EN 220), eligibility for the Junior Honors Seminar in English (EN 399), and the completion of an Honors Thesis (EN 499). Following the publication of the 2010-2012 Undergraduate Catalog, the requirements for graduating “with Honors in English” are:
- complete 12 credits of honors course work, including
- EN 215 and 3 credits chosen from among EN 216, EN 219, and EN 220; 3 credits of EN 399, Honors Seminar in English (students with scheduling conflicts or interests falling outside the scope of the Seminar should contact the Coordinator);
- 3 credits of EN 499, Honors Thesis;
- maintain an overall GPA of 3.3 or greater;
- maintain a major GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Interested students should contact the Department directly (348-5065) to be put in touch with the present Coordinators of the Departmental Honors Program. The Coordinators will register students in the program, keep track of their individual progress, and be available for advice and guidance throughout a student’s undergraduate career.
Students whose graduation requirements are governed by Undergraduate Catalogs published prior to 2010-2012 should also contact the Department in order to discuss with the Coordinators their options for fulfilling the requirements of the new Program.
Honors Program Interest and Application Form
Course Descriptions
EN 215 Honors English Literature I. 3 hours.
Prerequisite: EN 101 and EN 102 (or EN 103 or EN 104).
Honors section of EN 205. [Survey of English literature from the Anglo-Saxon period to 1800, including, for example, work by Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton.]
EN 216 Honors English Literature II. 3 hours.
Prerequisite: EN 101 and EN 102 (or EN 103 or EN 104).
Honors section of EN 206. [Survey of English literature from 1800 to the present, including, for example, work by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Dickens, Eliot, and Yeats.]
EN 219 Honors American Literature I. 3 hours.
Prerequisite: EN 101 and EN 102 (or EN 103 or EN 104).
Honors section of EN 209. [Survey of American literature from its beginnings to 1865, including, for example, work by Poe, Thoreau, Emerson, Melville, and Whitman.]
EN 220 Honors American Literature II. 3 hours.
Prerequisite: EN 101 and EN 102 (or EN 103 or EN 104).
Honors section of EN 210. [Survey of American literature from 1865 to the present, including, for example, work by Twain, Dickinson, Hemingway, Faulkner, and Morrison.]
EN 399 Honors Seminar in English. 3 hours.
Pre-requisites: EN 215 and 3 credits chosen from among EN 216, EN 219, and EN 220; admission to the Honors Program in English.
Among the requirements for students who wish to graduate with Honors in English, the Honors Seminar covers selected topics in English that vary from year to year. Topics are most likely to be thematic and to cut across conventional divisions of literary period and literary form. (During every pre-registration period, students can obtain a list containing a detailed description for each 300- and 400-level course being offered, including EN 399. These descriptions, written by the course instructors, provide specific reading lists and course objectives not found here.)
EN 499 Honors Thesis. 3 hours.
Pre-requisites: EN 215 and 3 credits chosen from among EN 216, EN 219, and EN 220; EN 399 or alternative approved by the Coordinator of English Honors; admission to the Honors Program in English.
The capstone requirement for Honors in English, the Honors Thesis is an individualized directed readings course that culminates in a 30-to-50-page thesis. With the assistance of the Honors Coordinator(s), each student enrolled in this course will select a faculty mentor who will guide that student’s reading and direct his or her research. Each student will work with the faculty mentor to develop a topic suitable for the thesis.
Students must earn a grade of B or above on the thesis to graduate with Honors in English.
