Honors Requirements

The English Department's Honors Major provides an opportunity for students with unusual academic ability and interest in English to devote extensive time and effort to a research project, or in the case of a creative writing specialization, a creative writing project. The Departmental Honors Program is not the same as the University's Honors Program; check under Honors Program for details about the latter. The University Honors Program has a specialization in creative writing.

Admission to the Honors major program

To qualify, students must have:

• A grade point average of at least 3.0
• A grade of B or better in GSR 102H and ENG 208.

To apply, students must submit the materials listed for admission to the major, along with:

• An essay explaining why the student wants an honors degree in English and what the student's interests, strengths, and weaknesses in English are (see the chair or major/minor coordinator for more information).

Continuation in the program

To remain in the program, students must achieve a 3.3 average in English major-level courses.

Curricular and Extracurricular Requirements

• Take ENG 399 with Honors Option.

For the creative writing specialization, in addition to the regular course content, students will begin or continue creative work with an eye toward analysis of the work using critical methods learned in the course.

• Take three one-credit reading list sections. The student and the instructor will develop a reading list for the chosen topic that then needs the English Major/Minor Coordinator's approval. Usually a student would take one credit per semester for three semesters because of the reading load in each section; however, two sections may be taken together with the permission of the advisor and the English Major/Minor Coordinator.

• Choose two extracurricular experiences, one on campus and one off-campus. For creative writing, select five extracurricular experiences.

• Take ENG 493 with an Honors Option.