About the Program
The Department of History’s Honors Program offers students the opportunity to engage in challenging courses, research, and sustained historical writing.
The program is a total of 6 credit hours. In the fall semester, students enroll in HIST 42100 - Honors Historical Methods . This course introduces students to the tools of the historian’s craft. They investigate various interpretative approaches to history and discuss the work of several leading historians, examining how they build their arguments, the sources they use, and their contributions to our knowledge of the past. It is also during this semester that students choose their Thesis topic, their faculty mentor and begin their research.
In the spring, students register for HIST 42200 - Honors Thesis In Historical Research , which offers them 3 credit hours but is not actually a class. Rather, students work closely with their faculty mentor and write a 45-to-50 page historical essay based on their research. At the end of the spring semester, students provide an oral defense of their thesis and present their work to their families and to the History faculty at the annual History Honors Forum.
The History Honors Program has much to offer aspiring History Majors:
- fellowship with other like-minded students
- the opportunity to work one-on-one with a faculty member
- special opportunities to join conferences, seminars, and faculty receptions
- road trips to conduct research at major libraries and archives
- assistance with graduate school applications, statements, and letters
Our Honors students have earned prestigious fellowships and admittance to first-rate graduate programs across the US and abroad, including the doctoral programs in history at The College of William and Mary, University of North Carolina, Emory University, New York University, and The London School of Economics. Many of our Honors alumni have earned degrees in Law, Public History, and Foreign Service.
Visit History Honors for more information.
Degree Requirements and Supplemental Information
The full Program Requirements for 2016-17 History Honors include all Supplemental Information and selective lists of those categories which a student must fulfill in order to earn their degree. These are intended to be printer-friendly, but include less descriptive course detail.
Please see below for program requirements and the necessary degree fulfillments.
HIST-BA
HISH
120 Credits
History Honors must earn a “B” or better in HIST 42100 and HIST 42200
A grade of “C-” or better is required in all other HIST courses