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Honors Program

The International Development Studies Honors Program consists of taking a three-quarter, directed-study course series (IDS 195 A-B-C: Directed Study for Honors) under the guidance of the student's IDS faculty advisor, who is selected from the list of IDS Affiliated Faculty.

International Development Studies 195A will be devoted to research, discussion and planning of the honors thesis, and will carry four units of credit and a letter grade. IDS 195A may count as an elective for the major (Part 5), either as a regional or general elective as decided by the undergraduate counselor. The IDS 195B course is used for research investigation and data collection, and will be graded "In Progress" when completed. The IDS 195C course is graded and worth eight (8.0) units, thus carrying credit for both the 195 B & C courses combined. Therefore, students working on the IDS Honors Thesis course series receive credit and grading for the second (IDS 195B) and third (IDS 195C) courses only when the thesis is completed and submitted. IDS 195B and 195C constitute work over and above the regular requirements for the International Development Studies major, and thus cannot count for any of the major's requirements.

Admission to the Honors Program in International Development Studies will occur when the student has completed the following prerequisites:

  • Become a member of the Letters & Science Honors Collegium (A-311 Murphy, 825-1553)
  • Maintain a 3.5 GPA in courses taken for the IDS major.
  • Meet with her/his faculty advisor to develop a mutually agreed upon IDS Honor's Thesis project.
  • Apply to enroll for the IDS 195 series classes with the IDS counselor.

The application form to enroll in the IDS 195 series is available from IDS office. At the time when the student wishes to enroll in the IDS Honors Thesis series, her/his status in regards to the prerequisites will be reviewed by the IDS undergraduate counselor. In order to enroll in successive quarters, the student must demonstrate satisfactory progress in the previous quarter's IDS honors thesis course.

In order to graduate with "Honors Distinction" in the International Development Studies major, the student must:

  • Complete the IDS major's required classes maintaining a 3.5 GPA.
  • Must complete the IDS Honors Thesis (IDS 195 A-B-C).
  • Must be graduating with an overall GPA of 3.0.

Please see the IDS counseling office for details about both of these programs.

Highest Honors Distinction in International Development Studies

The International Development Studies program may also award the "Highest Honors" in the Major upon a graduating senior if the student completes the major's regular requirements plus IDS 195 A-B-C with a 3.75 grade point average, and produces an exceptional IDS Honors Thesis. In order to be eligible for the International Development Studies "Highest Honors" distinction, the thesis must:

  • Be approved & signed by a committee of three faculty members from at least two, preferably three, different disciplines.
  • This committee must include one or both Co-Chairs of the IDS Program.
  • Also, one of the three signatories must be the faculty member who directed the student's IDS 195 A-B-C Honors Thesis.

This distinction is extremely rare, but if you believe that you may qualify for IDS "Highest Honors" by the time you graduate, please contact the IDS counseling office for more details about this program.

College Honors

Learn more at the College Honors Website

Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2004

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