Summary of Requirements for Honors Degree in History

1. Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 and total of six honors courses (18 hours minimum) overall, including at least two honors courses outside the major. (Note: the courses specified in items 3-5 below are all included in these six courses.)
   
2. Minimum GPA of 3.5 in the major.
3. Completion of two History honors courses with a minimum grade of B in each (Note: these courses are in addition to the 390H-391H sequence specified below).
4. Completion of HIST 390H (intensive independent reading in a prescribed area), with a minimum grade of B, normally in the fall semester of the senior year.
5. Completion of HIST 391H (senior honors thesis), with a minimum grade of B, normally in the spring of the senior year.
6. Presentation of the senior honors thesis at the History Department colloquium.
7. Oral defense of senior honors thesis before a committee of three readers.
   
   The department's honors coordinator is Prof. Kate van Liere.

Guide to the Departmental Honors Program in History

Procedure

1. Apply to the Honors Program of the College, preferably by the second semester of your sophomore year (application form available on the Honors Program page). In order to apply, you must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3.
2. Once enrolled in the college program, make an appointment to meet with the departmental Honors coordinator, Prof. Kate van Liere.
3. Make your Honors plans known to your departmental advisor, in order to ensure the best possible selection of courses for your program.
4. Complete the departmental requirements described below.
5. File an Application to Graduate with Honors with the Honors Program by February 15 of your senior year (form available on the Honors Program page).

Course Requirements

1. HIST 390-391 and comprehensive examination (senior year - see below)
2. two other history courses (6 credit-hours) for honors credit
3. two other courses outside the department (6 more credit-hours) for honors credit.

Honors Senior Year

You should consult with the departmental Honors coordinator during the spring semester of your junior year, in order to plan your reading and thesis program and comprehensive exam.

Honors Reading Course (HIST 390H)

The honors reading course (HIST 390H) is a three-credit independent study course tailored to the needs of each honors student.  It will be designed to permit intensified study in an area of special interest, and to prepare the student for the honors thesis (HIST 391H). There are no fixed writing requirements for the reading course, but advisors may require, for example, a series of critical essays on the literature being read, or a bibliographical essay that could be revised in the spring semester to serve as introductory chapter(s) to the honors thesis. Normally students in 390H will meet with their advisors approximately twice per month, and produce approximately 30 pages of written work.

Honors Thesis (HIST 391H)

The honors thesis (HIST 391H), a second three-credit-hour independent study course, should be seen as a continuation of the reading course (HIST 390H) and is normally undertaken in the spring of the senior year. The thesis will be written on a topic closely related to the field of the reading course, so that by the time students begin writing the thesis, they will already be substantially acquainted with the literature, sources, and historiographical problems associated with their thesis topic. The honors thesis will be approximately 40-50 pages in length, i.e. about twice the length of the research paper required of other students in HIST 394.

Presentation at History Colloquium

Toward the end of the spring semester, senior Honor students will present their honors thesis research orally at a History Department Colloquium. The departmental colloquium is a public forum for presentation of scholarly work, to which the entire Calvin community is invited. Honors students will normally offer a presentation of 20 to 30 minutes on their work, followed by questions and answers from the audience. This may occur before the thesis has been fully completed, so it can be seen as a presentation of a work in progress.

Oral Examination

When the Honors thesis is completed, it will be read by the advisor and two other readers (normally members of the History Department). When these readers have read the thesis and made their assessments, they will meet with the student for an oral defense of the thesis. This will last approximately an hour, and unlike the colloquium, will not be open to the public. At the defense the student will be asked to explain the research methods used and the conclusions reached in the thesis, and respond to questions from the examiners.

Students who do not distinguish themselves in the exam will still receive credit for the 390-391 sequence, but will not be eligible for the “Honors in History” designation on their diplomas.