Admission to the program is limited. Decisions are based on a student’s academic performance, background in history, demonstrated ability to write, and recommendations by faculty or GSI. The usual applicant is a first-term junior. Applicants do NOT need to be a member of the LSA Honors Program, nor do they need to be planning on a career as a professional historian. To be considered for admission, students must have at least a 3.5 GPA in history courses and a 3.4 GPA overall. This rule may be waived in exceptional cases, however high GPA alone does not guarantee admission.
The Honors Committee strives to ensure that many different topics, places, languages, and time periods are represented among accepted applications.
The History Honors Application opens in mid-September and is due the Wednesday following Fall Break. All History majors will receive an email with this announcement. While good grades and a positive recommendation are a necessary part of a successful application, the research statement and the writing sample are the most important parts of the dossier because they show how you think as an historian.
The Fall 2024 History Honors Application deadline is Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
We will require the following for a complete application:
- Recommendation letter. You will need to request a letter of recommendation evaluating your work and preparation for undertaking an honors thesis. Keep in mind that your recommender will need a reasonable amount of time to compose a letter; we suggest you make the request at least 2 weeks in advance of the application deadline. The recommender can be from any department, though someone with a background in history can often write a stronger letter. A letter from a History GSI is acceptable if they know your work best. The letter does not need to be in any specific form and should be addressed to the History Honors Committee. You may begin the Honors Application to request a recommendation letter simply by adding their name and email address, even if you’re not ready to complete and submit the application. Recommenders will receive an email with a direct letter submission link specific to your application.
- Statement of Research Interests. In two double-spaced pages, please tell us about your experience doing research—describe what you learned from it and discuss in some detail a topic that you would like to pursue in your honors thesis. Although we recognize that, if admitted to the honors program, you may choose a different topic, we strongly recommend that you be as specific as possible in describing your current research interests. The more specific the statement of your interests, and the more convincing the demonstration of the feasibility of your research (access to primary sources, knowledge of the necessary languages, and so forth), the stronger your proposal will be.
- Writing Sample. Select a writing sample that best exemplifies your work in history. Ideally, this will be a research paper (perhaps one written for a history course) of 8-15 double-spaced pages that preferably, but not necessarily, engages with primary sources. If you do not have such a paper, you may submit one that deals with history or an historical issue in some extended way. Other sorts of writing—e.g., literary criticism, fiction, book reviews, etc.—cannot be used as writing samples.
The Honors Committee meets in early November to consider all applications. Students are notified of the committee’s decision by mid-November and those accepted begin their training by taking HISTORY 498 during the upcoming winter term.
Please direct specific History Honors questions to histhonors.questions@umich.edu.
