Undergraduate Thesis (Honours Thesis)
Undergraduate Thesis (Hist 4995 – 6 Credit Hours)
Revised: 2021
Senior students majoring in History may be eligible to complete an Honours Thesis, a single work that represents the pinnacle of achievement of an undergraduate student in History.
The thesis is written over the course of an academic year and is worth 6 credits. The entire thesis, including introduction, conclusion, and bibliography, should be approximately sixty pages in length. Students who write an Honours Thesis will be required to give a public presentation on their research at the end of the spring semester. Once the thesis has been completed, it will be added to the collections of the University library. If the final grade is B+ or higher they will earn the corresponding designation on their official transcripts and degree parchments.
The prerequisites for enrolling in an Undergraduate Thesis include:
Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90.0 credit hours)
AND A cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher
AND A cumulative GPA of 3.30 on the last ten History courses
AND A minimum of 10 courses (30.0 credit hours) in History
AND History 2222
AND One Independent Study (3.0 credit hours) in History at the 3000 or 4000 level
AND Application to the Department of History
Students who satisfy these criteria should discuss potential thesis topics with a professor who may agree to supervise them. Please note that the prerequisites listed above will not be waived under any circumstances.
*History 4995 CANNOT be used to complete either of the two 4000-level course requirements for the History major.
Honours Thesis Applications:
To demonstrate their intent to engage in the research and a sufficient background in the field, students must submit the following items to the prospective supervisor no later than the end of May prior to starting in September:
(1) An Application form (available below)
(2) A two-page proposal, with a description of the proposed study and an outline of the steps by which it will be completed.
(3) A preliminary two-page bibliography
(4) A transcript