Honors in English

Why an English Studies Honors Thesis is Valuable for Student Success

 In an era of rapid technological transformation and expanding artificial intelligence, the English Studies honors thesis offers students a culminating experience that foregrounds the uniquely human capacities of interpretation, sustained inquiry, and original expression.

While all fields train students in tools, systems, and problem-solving, which remain vital to innovation, the English Studies thesis also cultivates equally essential capacities: ethical reasoning, narrative intelligence, and the ability to make meaning across complexity. This immersive, project-based experience allows students to identify complex questions, conduct independent research, navigate ambiguity, and articulate insights with clarity and purpose.

As social and technological change continues to reshape communication, knowledge work, and professional discourse, and as many traditional jobs evolve over the next five to ten years, the most in-demand skills will be those in which human insight guides, critiques, and collaborates with technological systems. As a culmination of undergraduate preparation, the thesis signals not only intellectual maturity but also the kind of high-level, integrative experience that complements and enhances the technical expertise cultivated in other fields. It also demonstrates real-world readiness.

Understory

Requirements and Guidelines

  • A student wishing to take and write an honors thesis should coordinate the process in advance, ideally by their junior year, with a faculty member who is a tenure-track or term member of the Department of English, who will act as the thesis advisor and is the instructor of record for the course. 
  • The student is responsible for locating the thesis advisor and securing their agreement to become involved in the project.
  • The thesis will also be reviewed by another faculty member who acts as a second reviewer, who may be from another department with the approval of the thesis advisor.
  • The project should be undertaken in a student's senior year.
  • The student will meet regularly with the thesis advisor to ensure that the project remains on track.
  • The student may benefit from concurrent enrollment in .
  • The anticipated length of the thesis is 7,500–10,000 words.
  • Theses centered around the production of creative writing should include both that product and an introduction that provides a discussion of the creative work with reference to appropriate scholarly literature.
  • The final version of the thesis needs to be submitted to the faculty advisor and faculty reviewer at or before the end of the last week of instruction in the semester during which the student graduates.
  • A passing grade in is given upon acceptance of the thesis by both faculty members.