The Honors program in the Philosophy Department gives our majors the chance to do independent research and write a thesis while working closely with a faculty mentor. Majors who are considering graduate study should strongly consider a thesis project.
There are different types of Honors in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
- The LSA Honors Program is a four-year program that students are admitted to as incoming 1st-year students. There is a core curriculum these students complete in addition to their thesis project.
- University Honors Designation is awarded to students who earned a 3.5 grade point average or higher during a term. The student must have taken a minimum of 14 credit hours during the term, including at least 12 credits elected on a graded (A-E) basis.
- Degrees with distinction are awarded based on class ranking. Distinction levels are noted on the diploma and the official transcript. Students who have been approved for graduation, have completed at least 45 graded in-residence credits, and rank in the top 3% of their class will receive a degree "with Highest Distinction." Those who rank in the top 10% of their class but not in the top 3% will receive a degree "with High Distinction." Those who rank in the top 25% of their class but not in the top 10% will receive a degree "with Distinction." Degrees with distinction may be awarded to students who have not participated in the LSA Honors program or a departmental Honors program.
- Departmental Honors in Philosophy will be awarded to students who have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or more, a 3.5 average in completed courses in philosophy, and have successfully defended a Philosophy thesis.
Student pursuing Departmental Honors in Philosophy are required to complete 28 (rather than 25) credits in the major, including Philosophy 401 (the Undergraduate Honors Seminar), which is taken in the fall semester, and 499 (Senior Honors Independent Study), which is taken in the winter semester.
In PHIL 401, the honors candidates refine their thesis topics, identify the texts relevant to these topics, read these texts, and begin drafting their theses. They may also look at past Honors theses archived in the Tanner Philosophy Library. As they develop their ideas, they present them to each other for feedback. In an independent study course, which is taken the following semester, students work with a thesis advisor to develop their ideas into a thesis of appropriate length (usually 50-60 pages, double-spaced). At the end of this process, they defend their theses at an oral exam, conducted by a committee of two professors, one of whom supervised the thesis. The award of the honors degree requires successful defense of the thesis and the level of honors (honors, high honors, highest honors) is determined on the basis of thesis and defense.
A typical timeline would be:
Spring of junior year,
- Complete our thesis application
- If your application is approved, register for PHIL 401 for the following Fall
Fall of senior year
- Complete PHIL 401
- Throughout the course you will hone your writing skills and focus the topic of your thesis.
- By the end of the term, identify a faculty member (not necessarily in Philosophy, but if outside, get approval from the Honors advisor) that you would like to have advise you through your thesis
writing.
Winter of senior year
- Register for PHIL 499 with your faculty advisor as the instructor.
- You and your advisor will determine meeting times and any additional readings, etc.
- Discuss with your advisor whether or not you plan to meet the April 1 deadline for submission of a near-finished draft of your thesis to be considered for Honors Program
- You and your advisor should decide on a second reader for your thesis. This second reader will participate in the defense but does not have much more to do until then.
- Submit your final thesis to your advisor and your second reader by date you all decide and schedule your defense.
If you are interested in working on an Honors thesis in Philosophy, schedule an advising appointment with our Honors advisor at this link.
