The departmental honors program is designed to offer highly motivated students pursuing one of the International & Area Studies IDP majors (African & Middle Eastern Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies, Latin American Studies) the opportunity to design and conduct their own independent research under the guidance of a faculty adviser and consists of a three-term directed-study series of courses — International and Area Studies 198A, 198B, 198C — culminating in an honors thesis.

Admission

To enter the departmental honors program, students must

• have completed all preparation for the major requirements with a minimum 3.5 grade-point average in those courses,
• have a 3.5 GPA in all upper division coursework for the major,
• obtain agreement from a faculty member to supervise their honors thesis, and
• formally submit an application to the honors program.

Application should normally be made during the junior year so as to best plan for completion of the honors thesis during the senior year. Consult the academic counselor for further details about the application, thesis requirements, and guidelines regarding the selection of a faculty thesis adviser.

Application and Guidelines

I A STD Honors Program Application

Requirements

Departmental honors are awarded to students who

• complete all requirements for the major with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or better in upper division courses required for the major,
• successfully complete courses 198A, 198B, and 198C, and
• produce an honors thesis (approximately 35 to 50 pages) determined to be of honors quality by a committee of two faculty members — the chair of International and Area Studies and the faculty adviser of the student.

Highest honors are awarded to students who (1) complete all requirements for the major with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.75 or better in upper division courses required for the major, (2) successfully complete courses 198A, 198B, and 198C with an A grade, and (3) produce an exceptional honors thesis (approximately 35 to 50 pages) determined to be of highest honors quality by a committee of two faculty members — the chair of International and Area Studies and the faculty adviser of the student.

Departmental honors and highest honors are recorded on the final transcript and diploma after students successfully complete the program.

To give a sense of the kind of research past students have done, here is a list of thesis titles from recent I A STD  graduates who participated in the Honors program:

• Bolsa Familia: The Cause of Lula's Changing Voter Constituency?

• The Role of Contractors in U.S. Antinarcotic Foreign Policy

• How American Evangelicals and Scientists Can Find A Common Ground on the Issues of Climate Change

• Sitedness, Agency and Mutual Hybridization: Rethinking Chinese Assimilation in Southeast Asia Prior to World War II

• La agencilidad de los personajes femeninos dentro de una sociedad patriarchal en Balun Canan de Rosario Castellanos y Los recuerdos del porvenir de Elena Garro

Resources

International and Area Studies Library Resource Guide 

International Institute Writing Mentorship Program (available in Winter and Spring)

College Inquiry Labs

CPO Writing Success Program

Undergraduate Writing Center

Published: Thursday, July 21, 2016