The Honors Program in Women's Studies enables superior and highly motivated students to engage in an in-depth study of topics within Women's Studies of interest to them and to develop their scholarly abilities in this interdisciplinary field of study.
To enter the honors program in Women's Studies, a student must be a Women's Studies major, be a junior or senior with at least 30 credit hours completed towards the Women's Studies major, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 overall and 3.5 in the major, and apply to the Director of the Women's Studies Program for admission no later than the beginning of their senior year.
The application for admission must include a brief statement of eligibility and a 1-2 page summary of the proposed honors research paper (including a thesis statement, proposed methodology, and brief sample bibliography for a 25-30 page paper) and the name of an affiliated Women's Studies faculty member who has agreed to serve as the advisor for the paper which can be completed through registering in WMS 4990. Students should meet with the Director of Women's Studies prior to submitting the application for discussion of the proposal and identification of potential advisors. Once the application is approved by the Director in consultation with the faculty advisor who will oversee the work and the honors subcommittee of the Women's Studies Committee, the student will be given permission to register for WMS 4990. If a student needs two quarters in which to complete the paper, an incomplete can be assigned for the first quarter if the advisor thinks the work is progressing satisfactorily.
Honors will be awarded if a letter grade of A or B is assigned by the advisor for WMS 4990 and if, in addition, candidates for Women's Studies Honors complete at least one University Honors Seminar (preferably on a Women's Studies-related topic, but this is not required). If a student fails to meet these grading and course requirements, s/he will not graduate with Honors in Women's Studies, but can still count WMS 4990 (and a Women's Studies approved University Honors Seminar, if taken) toward her/his Women's Studies major if completed with a minimum grade of C. Students who are not eligible for honors or who withdraw from honors and who complete WMS 4990 for the Women's Studies major are expected to produce only a 15-page research paper with a minimum grade of C.