The English Department requires that students aspiring to graduate with Honors complete in their two final semesters at Wesleyan a thesis, usually no shorter than 60 and no longer than 100 pages.  While theses are ordinarily written over the course of two semester-long tutorials in the senior year, between September and April, students begin their development of a thesis topic and their search for a faculty thesis tutor/adviser in the spring of their junior year.

(It is the student's responsibility to consult additional guidelines developed by the Honors Coordinator in the Registrar's Office [http://www.wesleyan.edu/registrar/honors.html].)

Theses can be of two types.  Critical theses must be original works based on research in both primary and secondary texts.  They must meet high standards of style, organization, and argumentation, with full notes and a bibliography of works cited.  Creative writing theses may be in any of the major genres (short story, poem, play, novel, essay); should demonstrate skills in technique; and should be sustained and coherent imaginative acts.  Olin library and the Department, as well as some individual faculty members, have recent theses on hand; students are strongly advised to consult some.

Eligibility and Qualification for Honors

Students who wish to write a critical thesis must also have completed a substantial research paper, at least 6000 words long, in a departmental course designated “research” or “research option” and received a grade of B+ or better in the course.  The research paper must advance a coherent argument, demonstrate the appropriate mastery of college-level English, and draw on both primary and secondary sources, which must be properly cited, with footnotes and endnote prepared according to the MLA style-sheet.

Students wishing to do a thesis in creative writing need not fulfill the research requirement, but in order to establish eligibility, they must have the same A-/91.7 average and must have received As in two creative writing courses that count towards the major, at least one taken at Wesleyan.  If a student wants to offer for consideration an ungraded credit/noncredit course that counted towards the major, s/he must present to the departmental Honors Coordinator (HC) a copy of the instructor’s “report.”  The HC will determine whether it testifies to excellence equivalent to an A.

In order to qualify to write a thesis, students must 1) secure the agreement of a faculty member to serve as the thesis adviser/tutor 2) submit a proposal (the prospectus) outlining the thesis project to the HC and 3) have the prospectus approved by the tutor and the HC.  Samples of model prospectuses for creative and critical theses may be obtained from the HC.  In the spring term of the junior year, students consult with several faculty members (by e-mail if they are away) on a range of possible topics, do some background reading, and settle on a subject and approach.  It is important to get faculty advice at this stage, so that one does not develop a project that is unsuitable for an English thesis, or that no faculty member on duty is competent to advise.  After such consultation, students should fill out the honors Application Form, which includes a brief description of the proposed topic, and submit it to one or more potential tutors.  After securing the signature of a tutor, students put together a more detailed plan for the reading and research they will need to do.  The signed honors Application Form must be turned in to the HC by the last day of classes in the Spring semester of the junior year.  (Students who are abroad can obtain the honors Application Form online through the English Department website; an email confirmation sent by the tutor to the HC can serve in place of a signature.)  Students who have difficulty finding a tutor may consult the HC for advice.  However, the department does not undertake to provide a tutor for every student who fulfills the GPA and prerequisite requirements for honors.  Students who are unable to secure the signature of a tutor may hand in an unsigned form to be kept on file by the HC for possible matching with visiting faculty hired over the summer.

Schedule

On the first Monday of the first term of the senior year (normally Fall, but in a few cases January), students submit the polished prospectus to the HC.  The prospectus should demonstrate that the student has done some work in preparation for writing a thesis and offer an outline of the topic:  What questions will be asked?  What issues will be explored?  What primary texts will be read?  What secondary (critical, scholarly) texts have already been consulted?  (Previously consulted secondary texts should be listed in an annotated bibliography.)  Critical theses are normally outlined in 4-5 pages and a bibliography.  Creative writing theses can usually be outlined in one page and do not need a formal bibliography, but should indicate the genre, structure (poem cycle, linked short stories, novel), topics and styles of the thesis, and should name literary models, if any.

Also on this date, students must fill out and submit to the HC a copy of their transcripts, together with two forms:  (1) an Eligibility Form obtained by the English Department secretary and (2) a Tutorial Form for English 409, the first semester of the Honors Tutorial, signed by the tutor.  A Tutorial Form may be obtained at the Registrar's Office.  The HC (instead of the Department Chair, as is usual with other tutorials) will then sign the Tutorial Form.  Once this Form has been handed in to the Registrar, the student officially qualifies as a candidate for Honors.

When forms and prospectus are approved, students are admitted to candidacy for Honors for the first semester.  After completing the first semester of the tutorial, students must submit to the HC, on the last day of classes, a substantial draft of around 20 pages from the thesis.  In consultation with the tutor, the HC will determine whether the student is likely to complete the thesis in a satisfactory and timely manner.  At this point, students whose work does not seem likely to meet those criteria will receive course credit and a grade for the semester’s work from their tutor, but will not be permitted to go on to complete the Honors thesis during the second semester.

If, by the end of the Spring term of your junior year or, at the latest, by the first Monday of Fall term, you are not eligible for candidacy because you do not meet one of these criteria, you may still petition.  To do so, you need to have the support of a prospective thesis tutor who believes in your ability to complete the work satisfactorily.  Under such circumstances, after consultation with the HC, and through him or her, you may petition the Department to waive the eligibility requirements that is at issue.  The Department does not automatically grant petitions.

Evaluation

When you complete the second semester thesis tutorial, your thesis will be read by two readers appointed by the HC.  Ordinarily, they will be members of the English department.  Your tutor will not serve as a reader of the completed thesis, but will assign the letter grade for the tutorial.  The readers independently rank the thesis as deserving of High Honors, Honors, or Credit with no honors.  Writing the thesis does not automatically entitle you to receive one of the two Honors designations.  Even when your tutor grades your work as an A, this does not entitle you to receive Honors.  It is possible to write a thesis worthy of a course credit and an A from the tutor, and yet not be awarded Honors.  The standards for Honors are high.  The Department alerts you to this not to warn you away from writing a thesis, but to emphasize the distinction between receiving credit and a letter grade for the tutorial and receiving Honors.  The readers will convey their decision, and a written evaluation, to the HC.  Should their recommendations differ, the HC will appoint a third reader, who renders a judgment but does not submit a written evaluation.  At the end of the entire process, the HC will make the written evaluations available to the candidate.

 Requests for further clarification should be addressed to the Honors Coordinator.