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Honors Program

 

The Senior Honors Program in History

The Senior Honors Program is for outstanding history majors who wish to take on the challenge of actively investigating and writing history. In three years of classroom learning, students will have acquired a great deal of historical information and a variety of interpretive skills. But for those with a passionate interest in how history is "made," there is no substitute for actually doing a sustained piece of historical research and writing. The Senior Honors Program is for students who want to do original research and fashion their own interpretation of the past.

The rewards they reap are many: the chance to work closely with a faculty advisor, to craft an original research project, to sample the pleasures of sustained intellectual study, and to sharpen their skills in writing and research. Students who have participated in the program in the past have consistently viewed the Senior Honors Seminar as the most exciting and rewarding intellectual experience of their college years. We hope you will take the time to think about the program, contemplate your interests and ambitions, and apply.

The Honors Program

The program requires students to take the three-quarter 398 Senior Honors Seminar in their senior year. The seminar honors program is administered by the department's Honors Committee, which is composed of the Director of the 398 Senior Honors Seminar (Chair), the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and a third faculty member appointed by the department's Chair.

Applying for the 398 Seminar

Outstanding History majors are encouraged to apply to the seminar in the spring of their junior year. Those admitted are generally expected to have a cumulative GPA above 3.5. However, no one will be admitted solely on the basis of a strong GPA, and we will occasionally admit candidates with a GPA below 3.5. The Committee is particularly on the lookout for candidates with imagination, analytical acuity, verbal fluency, and personal initiative. How can students demonstrate these qualities: by submitting a brief research proposal by the specified due date. The Honors Committee will notify students of admission in time to register for 398 for the fall quarter.

Writing a Research Proposal

Topic: Before they can begin, students will need to choose a topic, one that will hold their interest over the long haul. Think of the problems that have gotten under your skin in previous classes. What issues have interested you most? Do you have any special language skills? What kinds of materials do you most enjoy working with? Do you feel a special affinity with a particular place or epoch? What sort of question would you like to answer?

Advisor: All students must secure, in advance, the agreement of a faculty member to act as their advisor. This faculty member should be knowledgeable in the student's area of interest. After having given some thought to potential topics, students should approach a prospective advisor and work with her or him to define a compelling, but workable project. (While History honors projects are ordinarily sponsored by professors from within the Department of History exceptions may be made.)

Statement: Based on this process of thinking, reading, and discussion, students should prepare a short (2-page) statement outlining their proposed topic. It is important to prepare as concise and coherent a statement as possible at this preliminary stage. Be sure to identify a specific historical problem or question the thesis will address. Indicate the sources that will be brought to bear on this problem. If possible, set your approach within the context of what other scholars working in related areas have written. A short bibliography is often helpful. Your objective is to demonstrate that you have begun to think through the research process, that you have acquainted yourself with your material and are aware of the issues at stake in your project. The proposal should also speak to your abilities, drawing attention to relevant course work, previous research experience, language skills, or other factors relevant to the project. Be certain to include the name of a proposed advisor. No one will be admitted to the seminar without faculty sponsorship.

Letter of Recommendation: A formal letter of recommendation from your proposed faculty advisor shall accompany the proposal.

Cover: Proposals shall have a cover sheet indicating the following:

  • Student Name and email address
  • Student EmplID
  • Proposal Title, Advisor and email address

Students Abroad

Many students who go abroad during their junior year discover that they are interested in joining the Honors Seminar. These students sometimes find it difficult to consult with potential advisors, prepare proposals or submit them on time. The department therefore reserves a few places in the seminar for these students. Students in this position should write to the Committee as soon as possible and do their best to identify a potential faculty advisor and to prepare and return a full proposal by the due date indicated in the invitation email. A formal letter of recommendation from the proposed faculty advisor shall either accompany the proposal or be forwarded directly from the instructor to the department. If possible, a decision as to seminar admittance will be made based on the returned proposal. When this is not possible, students will be provided with further instructions.

The 398 Seminar

The 398 seminar is a three-quarter sequence taken in the senior year in which honors students prepare a thesis and meet regularly as colleagues to discuss problems of common interest under the guidance of a faculty member. Subjects for discussion include methodology, approaches to primary and secondary sources, problems of objectivity and subjectivity, and the use of narrative and analysis. Included on the reading list are superior senior theses from previous years. These theses are also available for consultation by juniors interested in applying to the seminar. In the fall, students complete a variety of short assignments relevant to their topic, as well as a revised and expanded thesis proposal. In the winter and spring, they begin to submit drafts of chapters for comment and revision. Students will receive "K" grades at the end of the fall and winter quarters and then three letter grades at the end of the spring quarter; these three letter grades need not be the same. Students also meet regularly with their faculty advisor throughout the year.

392/395 Substitution

One unit of the 398 may be applied as either a 392 or the 395 (as long as the 395 evaluation criteria have been met) on the student's major worksheet.

The Thesis

A thesis is an historical analysis based on a student's individual research using primary materials that makes some original contribution to the field. The variety of methods and approaches currently used in the discipline of history means that no single type of thesis can be set as a model. The originality of the thesis may lie in its explication of untapped sources, its reinterpretation of familiar sources, its new synthesis of existing interpretations, or some other novelty. A thesis will almost invariably include: 1) an introduction to set out the problem, limit the scope of the inquiry, and position the thesis in relation to the current state of historical opinion on the topic, 2) a set of chapters to present and analyze the relevant sources, and 3) a conclusion to summarize these findings and suggest future avenues of research. Theses are typically 40-60 pages in length and include a thorough bibliography.

The final version is due several weeks prior to the end of the spring quarter. The student submits three bound copies: one for his or her advisor, one for the Director of 398, and one for the department's files. Costs incurred for printing shall be borne by the student. The thesis must include a title page, acknowledgments, a one-page summary with five keywords, the core text, endnotes (or footnotes), and a bibliography. The thesis must be carefully proofread and the references prepared carefully and in a consistent style.

Undergraduate Research Grants, Hurd Prize

The Undergraduate Research Grants Committee awards up to $3000 for research/creative projects during the summer. Under a WCAS program to support undergraduate research, students can apply for grants, up to $500, to subsidize travel to research sites, purchase books, photocopy in archives, etc. Additionally, the department frequently recommends to WCAS one student from the incoming honors class as a Hurd Scholar. This scholarship carries considerable prestige, as well as a $500 award. At the Committee's discretion, the prize may be split. The recipient(s) will be notified at the end of the spring quarter of his or her junior year.

The Recommendation for Honors

Completion of the 398 seminar does not assure the granting of Honors. The Honors Committee makes a recommendation on Honors, and its recommendation is subject to approval by the WCAS Committee on Superior Students and Honors. The departmental Honors Committee uses the following criteria in its deliberations:

1. Two readers of the thesis must judge it to be of very high quality. One will be the faculty advisor; the other is the Director of the Senior Honors Seminar. In all cases, both readers must submit a written evaluation of the thesis, explaining their recommendation for (or against) the granting of Honors, and commenting on the originality and quality of the work. In cases where there is a division of opinion a member of the departmental Honors Committee will report on the thesis as well.

2. The candidate should have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in history courses.

3. The candidate should have a minimum GPA of 3.5 overall.

4. Exceptions will be made to the minimum GPA requirement in items 2 and 3 if the thesis is judged to be of extraordinarily high quality.

A majority vote of the Honors Committee then ensures a recommendation for Honors, and the candidate's name is forwarded to the WCAS Committee on Superior Students which makes the final determination of honors.

The Johnston Prize

The Grace Douglas Johnston prize is awarded to the student whose honors thesis is judged to be of the highest quality. The award is made by the third member of the Honors Committee who is neither the student's advisor nor the Director of 398. At that reader's discretion, the prize may be split two ways.

Mechanisms for Student Complaints

The department's grades ombudsman will hear cases in which a student feels that he or she has received unsatisfactory consideration from the department's Honors Committee.

Questions and Further Information

If you have any questions about the program, or simply wish to discuss possible topics, feel free to contact the Chair of the department’s Honors Committee. Professor Bradley Zakarin is currently scheduled to oversee next year’s Honors Seminar. For further information concerning the 2008-2009 academic year please address all queries to <history@northwestern.edu>.

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