Honors Guidelines

History honors students develop original historical arguments and conduct extensive research.

The process of completing an honors project involves many steps, although the order in which a student accomplishes these tasks will depend on the subject, sources, and methodology.

Students will design a focused research project, articulating a problem or question(s) about a particular subject. They will locate their study in the historiographical literature of the field, broadly defined, in order to show that their problem is worth exploring in relation to the secondary literature and that it will advance the understanding of the subject. Students will conduct extensive research in available sources, both primary and secondary. They will then present their work in a clearly written and well argued essay that consists of two or three chapters, totalling 50 to 75 pages.

Guidelines

Getting Started

Honors projects in the Department of History are two-semester projects.
The History Department recommends that students design a project that will culminate in an essay of approximately 50-75 pages. Essays should not exceed 100 pages.
Students should come to the first semester of the project with a focused subject and a preliminary articulation of a problem or question(s) about the subject. Based on the student’s chosen subject, and on recommendations from the advisor, the departmental honors director will assign committees for each of the honors projects. Along with the advisor as first reader, each student will have a second and a third reader whose geographic and thematic interests complement those of the advisor. The subcommittees will meet with the student each time the student submits new work. Advisors or subcommittees may tailor some components of the honors process individually.
Students must seek permission from all members of their committee for any use of generative AI or LLMs, including translation. Even with permission, students are responsible for any errors introduced by AI and should verify the information they receive.

Completing the Honors Project

Students must meet all deadlines for submitted work. Individual honors project advisors and advisory committees reserve the right to terminate projects at any time if they determine that students are making insufficient progress or have failed to meet established deadlines.
The advisory committee will be responsible for providing ongoing feedback to students on their project. Students are responsible for submitting copies of each of their drafts to all three readers, who will prepare comments on them for scheduled committee meetings. The student and main advisor will meet more frequently to discuss the research and writing.

Honors projects in history must:

present a clearly articulated thesis that advances the understanding of the subject in the context of the secondary literature;
demonstrate a careful analysis of primary sources or a critical reading of secondary sources (for topics in fields where primary sources are especially elusive);
demonstrate a clear methodology and theoretical framework that the student has used to analyze the evidence that the essay presents;
meet scholarly standards of presentation (includes table of contents, proper footnoting, bibliography; no typographical errors); and
satisfy all guidelines and meet all deadlines established by the History department or the advisory subcommittee.

Final Steps

In early May, the committee will read the final project, prepare questions and a preliminary evaluation of the essay for the student, and then engage in a discussion with the student, commonly referred to as the “Honors Defense.” After the discussion, the committee will complete the evaluation for the student, submit the evaluation to the department and recommend grades. The committees will also recommend essays for prizes. The department awards one level of honors for successful projects. Based on the committee recommendations, the department will award grades as well as prizes in history. When more than one essay is recommended for a prize, the department will decide whether to award the prize to one or more students.
After committee discussions are completed, and after grades and prizes have been determined, students will present their research and analysis to the entire department, other honors students, and invited guests.