Honors Program
Women's Studies Honors Class of 2009
The Women’s Studies Honors Program provides an opportunity for concentrators to complete a comprehensive, original independent project under the guidance of a faculty mentor as the culmination to their undergraduate studies. Students should choose topics on which they have already done some academic study. Those interested in pursuing honors should begin to consider it in their sophomore year and discuss their interests with a concentration advisor. Students learn methodology in WS 389 (the Junior Honors Seminar) during the winter term of their junior year. The thesis is researched and written in the second semester of the student’s junior year and in their senior year. Students present their theses orally at the Honors Colloquium held in April. The Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) serves as the Honors Concentration Advisor in Women’s Studies. Titles of previous honors theses are found here. Students may review previous WS Honors theses in the WS reading room in Lane Hall.
THE HONORS THESIS
The thesis may take a variety of forms, for example: an activism project, a research project, or a creative or performance piece. Whatever the form of the thesis, it must include a piece of scholarly writing that reflects the student’s engagement with Women’s Studies. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the Women’s Studies Department, the honors thesis faculty advisor has the responsibility of determining the appropriate methodology, length, and format of the thesis, based on disciplinary norms and expectations. These expectations should be established clearly, and the specific plans for the thesis (kind of supervision and form of thesis) should be discussed and agreed upon by the primary faculty advisor and the student early on.
Early selection of an appropriate thesis advisor (in the junior year) is crucial to the success of the Honors thesis. Only tenure track members of the Women’s Studies faculty may serve as Honors thesis advisors in Women’s Studies. Upon occasion, exceptions to this policy may be made in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Women’s Studies faculty listing can be found at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/women/faculty/listing.asp.
back to top
Eligibility
Women's Studies concentrators who have maintained an overall G.P.A. of at least 3.4 and a 3.5 G.P.A. in Women’s Studies (including the pre-requisite) may apply for an honors concentration. Applicants must have completed or plan to complete WS 240 (Introduction to Women’s Studies) and WS 330 (Feminist Thought) by the end of their junior year and applicants must demonstrate both the interest and capacity to carry out the comprehensive independent work required to complete an honors thesis.
Students who graduate with Women’s Studies honors will have met all the requirements for the concentration in addition to the honors credits (WS 389, WS 490, WS 491, and WS 441, WS 442), have a cumulative G.P.A. of at least 3.4 and a 3.5 in Women’s Studies, and will have completed the thesis with an honors notation.
back to top
WS 389 Junior Honors SEMINAR
Students interested in writing an honors thesis are expected to take WS 389 (Junior Honors Seminar) in the winter term of their junior year. This course, offered winter term only, is designed to help students to develop the research and analytical skills necessary to complete an honors thesis in Women’s Studies. In this course, students learn about research methods, argument formulation, and standards of evidence in different disciplines. The course focuses on helping each student to formulate a thesis topic, conduct a literature review, identify sources, and write a research proposal outlining the problem or hypothesis and research design for the thesis. Through individual meetings, the instructor assists each student in identifying an appropriate faculty member to advise the thesis research and writing during the junior and senior year. Students also read and comment on the research proposals of their peers in the class.
Honors students who plan to study abroad should plan to be in Ann Arbor during the winter term of their junior year so they can take WS 389.
back to top
WS 490, WS 491, Honors Thesis
As soon as students are accepted into the Honors program, they are expected to identify and begin meeting with their primary faculty advisor on a regular basis. Students are thus strongly encouraged to find a faculty advisor at the beginning of the winter semester in their junior year. During the senior year, honors concentrators register for WS 490 in the fall semester and WS 491 in the winter semester. In these independent study courses, they conduct the research and writing for the thesis under the close supervision of their primary faculty thesis advisor. At the beginning of the fall semester, the student should provide their faculty advisor with a plan of study that includes 1) a research proposal, 2) a list of research and writing goals for the fall semester 3) a research schedule indicating when and how the student will accomplish his/her research and writing goals, and 4) a preliminary bibliography.
In WS 490, the student may receive a letter grade or a "Y" grade until the thesis is completed. In the case of a “Y” grade, the thesis advisor submits a Supplemental Grade Report when the thesis is completed or the student formally exits the Honors Program.
back to top
WS 441, WS 442, senior honors seminar
In the fall and winter semesters of their senior year, all WS honors students will register for one credit of WS 441 and WS 442 (Senior Honors Seminar I and II respectively) respectively. This seminar will consist of biweekly meetings with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) for all WS honors students as a group. In this seminar, students will have an opportunity to think about and discuss issues related to conducting independent research. Seminar topics may include all aspects of conducting independent research such as writing a literature review, seeking Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, working with faculty advisors, collecting data, researching archives, and presenting research findings. This seminar is intended to provide students with support and guidance throughout the process of writing an honors thesis in their senior year. Additionally, students will prepare and practice their oral presentations for the Honors Colloquium in April.
The WS staff will issue electronic overrides so that students may register for all of the above courses. Students will be notified about their overrides via email.
THE SEcOND READER
The second reader of the thesis is a faculty member chosen jointly by the student and the thesis advisor by the end of the fall semester of the senior year. The second reader need not be affiliated with the Women's Studies Department, but his or her area of expertise should be relevant to the thesis topic. The contribution of the second reader may vary, but the student should consult with the second reader while s/he is writing the thesis, and the second reader should comment on thesis drafts as well as contribute to the final evaluation of the thesis.
back to top
Completing the Honors Thesis
Final WS honors theses are due on April 1st. Students should submit one copy of their thesis to their primary faculty advisor, one copy to the second reader, and two copies to the Women’s Studies undergraduate office on April 1st. The two copies submitted to the Women’s Studies office should be accompanied by the required cover sheet (providing the student’s name, email, and telephone number; thesis title; primary thesis advisor’s name, email, and telephone number; and second reader’s name, email and telephone number). Graduating seniors should also complete an Honors Concentration Release with a Women’ s Studies academic advisor, an Honors Thesis Card through honors, an application for graduation online, and a distribution worksheet with an Honors Advisor.
All honors theses are read by 3 faculty members: the student’s primary faculty thesis advisor, the second reader, and one faculty member from the Women’s Studies Undergraduate Committee. All 3 readers complete an evaluation form. The faculty members of the Women’s Studies Undergraduate Committee determine the final honors declaration of "Honors," "High Honors," or "Highest Honors," for each thesis. The Director of Undergraduate Studies will inform the student, the advisor, and the second reader of the Honors notation awarded to the thesis. The Director of Undergraduate Studies then forwards the student’s name, thesis title, and Honors notation to the Honors Program.
The Honors notation is recorded on the student's diploma and transcript. There will be no notation on the diploma or transcript if the student receives no honors.
back to top
Exiting Honors
A student who is unable to complete the honors thesis must exit the Honors Program by informing the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The student will then be transferred out of Honors to LS&A. There are no consequences for exiting the Honors Program. If the student has enrolled in WS 490 and/or WS 491, the work for those courses must either be completed or the student must withdraw from the course(s).
back to top
How to Apply
Students should submit the following materials by December 1 of their junior year:
- The Women’s Studies Honors application.
- A brief one-page description of your proposed thesis topic. (This can be a tentative idea of what you would like to do for your honors thesis.)
- A copy of your academic transcript.
- A paper you wrote for a class at U-M that represents your best work (minimum of 8 pages in a 12-pt font, double spaced.)
Applications can be downloaded at the following website: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/women/undergraduate/WS_HonorsApp.doc
The application will be reviewed by the faculty members of the Women’s Studies Undergraduate Committee. The student will be notified of the decision within three weeks of submission of the materials.
back to top
Dual Honors Concentrations
Some students are interested in pursuing double honors by submitting a single thesis to both units in which they are concentrating their studies. In such cases, the Honors Advisors of both units must agree that the topic is intellectually viable from the perspective of each unit, and that the thesis advisor is qualified to supervise it. A dual thesis should be substantially longer or more demanding than that required by a single unit. After obtaining approval from both units, the student should submit the Dual Honors Concentrations Form. The form must include a thesis proposal (3-4 paragraphs) in which the student indicates how the thesis meets the requirements of both concentrations and how, in depth and length, it is of larger scope than a thesis submitted for only one concentration.
back to top
