Honors | Honors Thesis | 蘑菇视频

Pursuing honors in history involves writing an honors thesis, an intensive and challenging process that offers students the chance to do original research, take a fresh look at important historical events, and delve more deeply into a historical topic than a typical independent study would require. Doing an honors thesis is a great choice for students who are considering continuing the study of history in graduate school, or who just love research. We strongly recommend that students who are considering pursuing honors in history take a look at past history honors theses, some of which are available online at . Perusing the work of students who have achieved honors in history is a great way to better understand the scope of this work. (A full list of history honors theses is available on Dickinson Scholar; if the full text is not available for download, any thesis may be looked at in hard copy, either in the College Archives or in the History Department office, Denny 219B.)

There are two possible pathways for majors who wish to pursue honors in history, which are described in greater detail below as "Option 1" and "Option 2." Both these options involve writing a 50-75 page honors thesis during the senior year. The completed thesis should either advance a fresh approach to a topic or test a hypothesis. While most students will proceed with an honors research project based on primary sources, we also encourage students to consider comparative topics that engage the secondary literature across various fields and time periods. Both options for pursuing honors have the same eligibility requirements: honors candidates are expected to have a GPA within the major of 3.4 (B+) or higher, and to have completed History 204, a 300 level history course, and at least three history courses in the field in which the student intends to write the thesis.

Students for whom pursuing honors may entail a financial cost are encouraged to apply for the Carson Research Award, which helps to defray such costs.

Option 1

This option is for majors who know by the end of their junior year that they wish to devote their full senior year to pursuing the independent researching and writing of an honors thesis. Under Option 1, students will receive two course credits for completing the thesis -- one for History 500 (Independent Study) in the fall semester of the senior year, and one for History 550 (Independent Research) in the spring semester. (Honors is a separate designation on a transcript, so a student who does not receive honors for their thesis under Option 1 will still earn these two history course credits for completing it.)

Students pursuing honors under Option 1 will begin the process in the spring of their junior year. At that time, candidates for honors will identify a departmental advisor willing to supervise their project, and will submit a prospectus for their thesis no later than the last day of classes in their junior year. (In some rare cases, students may request and receive an extension for this deadline if they face serious obstacles in organizing their initial work.) The prospectus is a detailed proposal that includes an annotated bibliography of both primary and secondary sources. Those students who receive an extension or those whom the department requires to submit revisions for their initial work will ordinarily have until the end of the first week of fall classes to produce a final version of their prospectus. All honors candidates under Option 1 must receive formal approval of their prospectus from the History Department in order to proceed.

Under Option 1, honors candidates will present a progress report on their work to the entire department, including fellow students, at a departmental common hour in the second week of classes in the spring semester of their senior year.

Option 2

This option allows students to decide to pursue honors midway through their senior year, if, during the senior fall semester, they produce exceptional culminating work in either History 404 or History 500 and receive formal departmental approval to expand that work into an honors thesis in the spring semester [see the timeline and criteria below]. To pursue honors under Option 2, a student (in addition to meeting all the other eligibility criteria for pursuing honors) must be nominated by the professor of History 404 or History 500 taken in the fall semester. (Students must also meet all the other eligibility criteria for pursuing honors.) The entire History Department will then read the student's nominated work, and if the department approves it to be extended into an honors thesis, the student will select a departmental honors advisor to supervise their thesis and a secondary reader and then register for one course credit of History 550 for the spring semester. (Honors is a separate designation on the transcript, so a student who does not receive honors for their thesis will still earn one course credit of independent research for completing it.) Students approved to pursue honors will also prepare an honors thesis prospectus (a detailed proposal for the extension of their fall semester work that includes an annotated bibliography of both primary and secondary sources), which must be submitted to their advisor no later than the first day of classes in the spring semester.

Under Option 2, honors candidates will present a summary of their fall semester paper and their work plan for the spring semester to the entire department, including fellow students, at a departmental common hour during the second week of the spring semester.

Procedures Common to Both Options 1 and 2:

Advising/Grading: In addition to choosing a departmental advisor, at the outset of the thesis project each candidate must also choose a secondary reader from within the department. Where appropriate, a third advisor external to the department might be arranged. In consultations with the thesis advisor, the student will agree to the major components of the thesis project (normally including a strict research schedule, various preparatory essays and a timetable for drafts). The primary advisor, in consultation with the department faculty, will assign one grade at the end of the spring term for all honors credit (students pursuing Option 1 will receive one credit each for History 500 and History 550, and students pursuing Option 2 will receive one credit for History 550.)

Oral Defense for Theses Receiving Provisional Honors: After an honors candidate submits a completed thesis, all History Department faculty will read it and meet to discuss whether it meets the criteria for honors in the major (criteria are listed below). If a majority of the department approves it, the thesis will be granted provisional honors and the student will be invited for an oral defense. During the oral defense, faculty will ask questions probing, for example, the source base, evidence, methodology, and conclusions. Faculty will also offer advice for editing and revising the thesis in preparation for its submission (if approved for final honors) to the 蘑菇视频 Archives. Honors will be conferred upon a student's successful completion of the oral defense.

Honors Criteria

When they assess the merit of your honors thesis, your committee members and the history faculty will be looking for:

A clear thesis
Explanation of the significance and originality of the topic
Demonstrated understanding of historiography and how your thesis contributes to this historiography
Evidence of the ability to find appropriate sources
A thorough engagement and familiarity with primary and secondary sources
A clear methodology for research and analysis
A well-written and structured essay that is argued and supported with appropriate evidence
Scholarly standards of presentation (i.e. lucid writing, correct formatting, Chicago citations).

For an interesting first-person account of the rewards of writing an honors thesis in history by a Dickinson alumna, see this by Becca Solnit '12.

Timeline for Honors

For Option 1:

Last day of spring semester classes junior year -- Prospectus (about 7-10 pages with select annotated bibliography) due to history department
End of first week of fall semester classes senior year -- Revised or extended prospectus due
Various intermediate steps, such as research deadlines, preparatory essays and drafts due over the course of both fall and spring semesters will be set in consultation with advisor
During the second week of spring semester classes, students will present to department students and faculty summaries of their work the previous semester and their intended development of the project during the spring semester
Two weeks before end of spring semester classes senior year -- Thesis paper (about 50-75 pages with bibliography) due
Final exam period senior year -- Oral examination where faculty will explore critical aspects of the paper with the candidate
Prior to graduation -- Students will be required to make final directed revisions essential for formal submission of approved honors projects. Whether approved for honors or not, students will receive a separate grade for the year's work from their advisor.

For Option 2:

By the final day of exams in the fall semester, students must submit their paper to their supervising professor in History 404 or fall History 500 course. That professor must then nominate exceptional senior work to be approved for extension into honors theses, and the entire history department must read and discuss the student's paper to approve the nominations. Supervising professors may require a short, informal proposal for extending the work for the following semester; this should not be more than two pages.
If approved for honors, the student must submit a formal prospectus (about 7-10 pages with select annotated bibliography) to their thesis advisor by the first day of classes in the spring semester of their senior year.
During the second week of spring semester classes, students will present to department students and faculty summaries of their work the previous semester and their intended development of the project during the spring semester.
Various intermediate steps, such as research deadlines, preparatory essays and drafts due, will be set in consultation with the thesis supervisor.
The student will submit the final thesis paper (about 50-75 pages with bibliography) to the History Department faculty two weeks before the end of classes senior year. During the final exam period senior year, students whose papers the faculty deem possible for honors status will sit for an oral examination where faculty will explore critical aspects of the paper with the candidate.
Students approved for honors will be required to make final directed revisions essential for formal submission of approved honors projects. Whether approved for honors or not, students will receive a separate grade for the year's work from their advisor.

Again, we highly recommend that students considering honors take a look at previous history honors theses, either via , where many theses are available for download, or as hard copies, which are kept in the main department office in Denny 219B as well as in the College Archives.

Course numbers to be used by students when registering for honors:

History 500, Independent Study
This course is an advanced investigation of the methods and critical perspectives on the history and historiography of a major topic. If the study culminates in a substantial research paper (approximately 25-30 pages) based in significant part on the interpretation of primary sources, it will fulfill the requirement of History 404, Senior Research Seminar. Independent Studies that do not produce this final writing requirement will not fulfill the student’s requirements for History 404. The topic will be chosen, and permission to take the course will be given, only in consultation with the instructor. Students approved by the department for the two-semester departmental Honors project (Option 1) should sign up for this course in the Fall semester.
Prerequisite: Permission by Instructor.

History 550, Independent Research
This course is an advanced investigation of the methods and critical perspectives on the history and historiography of a major topic. It will culminate in a substantial research paper (approximately 25-30 pages) based in significant part on the interpretation of primary sources, and thereby fulfills the requirement of History 404, Senior Research Seminar. The topic will be chosen, and permission to take the course will be given, only in consultation with the instructor. Students approved for the two-semester departmental Honors project (Option 1) should sign up for this course in the Spring semester. Students approved for the one-semester departmental Honors project at the end of the fall semester of their senior year (Option 2) should also sign up for this course in the Spring semester of the senior year.
Prerequisite: Permission by Instructor.