Departmental Honors

Honors in sociology

Please see the department Chair for details.

honors in anthropology

Rising senior anthropology majors who have at least a 3.5 GPA in their major courses and a 3.5 GPA overall are eligible for department honors candidacy in anthropology. (In rare cases, upon application by the student, the anthropology faculty may elect to waive this requirement.) Departmental honors is awarded primarily on the basis of an honors thesis written mainly
under the supervision of a committee chaired by that member of the anthropology faculty with the greatest expertise in the student’s area of interest. Throughout the course of the candidate's research, she or he must satisfy the committee that the project is worthwhile, that it is going forward in a timely way, and finally that it deserves departmental honors.
A successful honors thesis presents an original, informed, persuasive argument based on extensive, sound, imaginative scholarship; broad knowledge of the topic and understanding of the theoretical framework within which the candidate discusses the topic; and competent writing. An honors candidate should expect to work independently for the most part, with minimal guidance
from the advisor(s). Ideally, a successful honors project should be publishable in a minor anthropological journal.
College support is available to allow qualified students to travel in connection with research projects and to pay for expenses such as photocopying and inter-library loan. The student should consult the honors advisor about deadlines for submitting grant requests.
Working toward honors in anthropology typically takes at least one calendar year. The steps outlined here must be followed, or the committee may decline to examine the candidate's thesis for honors.
A candidate interested in pursuing honors should develop a project no later than the late spring of the penultimate undergraduate year and approach a qualified member of the department about acting as advisor, and also inform the instructor for ANTH 480, 481 for the following academic year of her or his plan to submit an honors thesis.
If the project shows promise, the candidate, in consultation with the advisor, will organise the honors committee who will oversee the project. The committee consists of between three and five faculty members. It may include one or two members from outside the department, but the majority of the committee must be from this department. The candidate must request the
participation of potential committee members in writing, using a form available from the honors advisor. By signing the form, the faculty member agrees to be a part of the committee. The candidate should provide a duplicate of the signed form to the appropriate member of the committee. A candidate must have the committee membership in place by the end of the fourth week of classes in the fall semester.
Anthropology honors candidates prepare for and write their theses while taking the required courses ANTH 480: Senior Research (Fall semester) and ANTH 481: Senior Thesis (Spring semester). In addition to the regular course requirements, the honors candidate must submit a proposal for the final thesis to the members of the committee by no later than Friday of the last full week of the Fall semester. The proposal will, at the least, state the nature and importance of the project, show what work the student has done towards completing it, demonstrate the student’s familiarity with the literature and theory relating to the project, and suggest probable conclusions of the project. Proposals must be in formal academic style, with citations and a bibliography. Usually such a proposal is between 2500 and 3000 words. If the proposal is not approved, the project is no longer eligible for honors, but the candidate will receive three credits for ANTH 480 (if appropriate. The chair of the committee will inform the candidate of the committee's reaction by the end of the first week of the Spring semester. If the committee passes the proposal, the candidate will write the thesis during the Spring semester while enrolled in ANTH 481. During that time, the candidate should feel free to consult the members of the committee for advice, and should let them know how the project is developing.
By the second Friday Monday before final exams begin, the candidate will submit the thesis to the committee for reading. Before the last day of classes, the candidate will defend the thesis orally before the committee and any others who wish to attend. The committee will decide at the conclusion of the defense whether to award honors. The committee may ask a candidate to
make modifications to the thesis before sending it to the library; or it may ask the candidate to revise and re-submit the thesis, withholding the award of honors pending successful revision. Others besides the committee and the candidate who attend the defense have no official part in this decision. Should the candidate fail to satisfy the committee, she or he will receive
three credits for ANTH 481 (if appropriate).