Departmental Honors

Departmental Honors offers students the opportunity to undertake in-depth, challenging work in their fields of study. The program emphasizes student-led, individualized curricula and encourages the formation of working relationships between students and faculty.

Departmental Honors is open to any UNH student with a qualifying GPA. Students in the University Honors Program must complete Departmental Honors in order to graduate with an Honors distinction, but it is not necessary to be a member of the UHP to pursue Departmental Honors.

Most students begin Departmental Honors in the Junior year. In general, courses eligible for Departmental Honors designation are numbered 600 and above.

Requirements

Departmental Honors

Students who may or may not be in the University Honors Program, but who meet the requirements for honors work in major, are entitled to graduate with Honors in Major on their diploma and academic record. Students who pursue this option must take at least 16 credits of honors work in the selected major.

Requirements for Departmental Honors in Classics

Students must complete the following requirements:

1. Maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 and a 3.5 GPA in coursework for the major (3.4 for students who entered UNH prior to Fall 2017).

2. Complete an honors component consisting of additional readings, research and writing, in a total of three 500-, 600-, or 700-level courses in Classics. No more than two of these courses can be at the 500-level, however.

3. In addition to the three courses listed above, complete CLAS 695/696 (Special Studies) for at least 4 but no more than 8 credits. (CLAS 695 can be taken for up to 4 credits in the fall and CLAS 696 up to 4 credits in the spring). In this course students will undertake a research project supervised by a faculty member in the Classics Program. The project entails developing a proposal in consultation with the advisor, preparing a bibliography, writing and responding to feedback on drafts of the paper, and submission of the completed thesis. The student will also make an oral presentation of the thesis to faculty and students of the Classics Program or in another approved venue such as the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference. CLAS 695/696 can be counted toward the 10 courses required for the Classics major.

For more information please contact the Classics Program Coordinator.

Departmental Honors

Students who may or may not be in the University Honors Program, but who meet the requirements for Departmental Honors, are entitled to graduate with Honors in Major on their diploma and academic record. Students who pursue this option must take at least 16 credits of honors work in the selected major.

Requirements for Departmental Honors in Italian Studies

Students must complete the following requirements:

1. Maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 and a 3.5 GPA in coursework for the major (3.4 for students who entered UNH prior to Fall 2017).

2. Complete an honors component consisting of additional readings, research and writing, in a total of three 500-, 600-, or 700-level courses in Italian Studies. No more than one of these courses can be at the 500-level, however.

3. In addition to the three courses listed above, complete ITAL 799 (Honors Thesis) for a total of 4 credits. (ITAL 799 can be taken for a combined 2 credits in the fall and 2 credits in the spring, or for a total of 4 credits in the spring.) In this course students will undertake a research project supervised by a faculty member in the Italian Studies Program. The project entails developing a proposal in consultation with the advisor, preparing a bibliography, writing and responding to feedback on drafts of the paper, and submission of the completed thesis. The student will also make an oral presentation of the thesis to faculty and students of the Italian Studies Program or in another approved venue such as the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference. ITAL 799 can be counted toward the 10 courses required for the Italian Studies major.

For more information please contact the Italian Studies Program Coordinator at piero.garofalo@unh.edu.

  1. Students are required to maintain an overall grade point average of 3.4, and a 3.5 average in major coursework. This applies to students who entered UNH in the Fall of 2008 or later.
  2. Students must successfully complete two 600- or 700-level courses (8 credits), designated as Honors. At least one of these courses must be a Humanities Program offering.
  3. Students must successfully complete HUMA 700 (Seminar in the Humanities), designated as Honors (4 credits).
  4. Students must successfully complete a senior Honors thesis (HUMA 798 [1 credit] and HUMA 799 [3 credits]) under the direction of a faculty member chosen in consultation with their Humanities advisor. The written thesis will involve substantial and original research begun in the first semester of the senior year. Students will defend their completed theses before a panel of three faculty members.

For more information please contact the Humanities Program Coordinator at william.smiley@unh.edu.