The Honors Program at Wesleyan

If you are planning to write a thesis or essay for honors consideration, we advise you to familiarize yourself with this website which contains important information and deadlines for honors candidates. The Honors Committee would also like to emphasize that students who intend to produce a thesis that involves human subjects research need to seek IRB approval from the Institutional Review Board prior to commencing research.  Information concerning IRB approval has been added to the Honors Program Handbook and can be found here.

Honors recognizes a BA attained with distinction, either in the major or in General Scholarship. Honors recognizes the successful completion of a mentored, independent, honors capstone project that has been evaluated by qualified examiners and that meets the standards of excellence in the major or those of the Honors Committee when completed in General Scholarship. A student may receive no more than 2.0 credits for the thesis. Students who major in more than one department, program, or college may submit a thesis in one of their majors or separate theses in more than one major. With the agreement of each of their departments, programs, or colleges, students may submit the same thesis for honors in more than one major. 

A degree with honors can be earned two ways: (1) Departmental honors will be awarded to the student who has done outstanding work in the major field of study and met the standards for honors or high honors set by the respective department or program; (2) Honors in General Scholarship will be awarded to the student who is a University major or whose thesis topic or methodology is outside of the domain appropriate for the award of Honors in the student's department(s) or program(s). The candidate for honors in general scholarship must have a minimum Grade Point Average of 90.00 or must meet the minimum Grade Point Average requirement for Honors set by the student's major department (whichever is highest), fulfill general education expectations, and submit a senior thesis that meets the standard for honors or high honors set by the Honors Committee.

In the fall semester of the senior year, all candidates for departmental honors must either enroll in a senior thesis tutorial or, if they are pursuing an alternative route to honors, must ask their department to forward their names to the Honors Committee as candidates.

The Honors Committee has developed a formal policy related to the Honors Thesis Deadline.  This policy relates to both an extension of the honors thesis deadline requested in advance, as well as late submissions of completed theses.  Please click here to review the official policy.

Departments and Programs are responsible for administering the rules governing eligibility for departmental honors in their field, and most issues concerning students' eligibility for departmental honors arise and are adjudicated at the departmental level. Students who seek exceptions to University-level rules governing eligibility for departmental honors or Honors in General Scholarship must petition to the Honors Committee. Such petitions must include the student's rationale for the requested exception, and must be accompanied by letters of support from the student's tutor and the chair of the student's major department or program. All petitions should be directed to the Honors Committee in care of Amanda Daddona in the Office of the Registrar.

The Honors Program Handbook outlines detailed information about writing an honors thesis or essay, including formatting instructions. 

Questions about the Honors Program can be directed to the Registrar's Office.