Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois

English Honors Program

Departmental Honors

The English Honors Program offers special seminar courses and special senior year independent study options for English majors who have shown high skill and intensive interest in the study of literature and rhetoric. It brings some of the most able and committed students together with their peers in small classes that encourage more challenging study and often provide more opportunity for each student to join actively in class discussions.

Ordinarily, students may join the program when they have completed three semesters, taken two or three English courses, and maintained a 3.33 grade point average. Students who qualify may join the program by enrolling in an honors seminar. To enroll in an honors seminar, qualified students must come to 200 English beginning on the first day of advanced registration and sign up for the seminars they wish to take (students may sign up for two seminars a semester). The first 18 eligible students on a specific course’s sign-up page will be given permission to add the seminar. Once they are able to register, students with permission to enroll in an honors seminar must add the class themselves. No special permission is required for students who meet the qualifications described above. To enroll in the English Honors Program, students do not need to be part of the Campus Honors Program or any other honors program.

English Honors Courses are small seminars, usually no larger than eighteen students. These courses are open to students in the English Honors Program and to other English majors who meet the Honors Program requirements of a GPA of 3.33 or above who can write well and do independent work in English. Honors seminars and tutorials count as advanced-level courses and may be used to meet the LAS Advanced Hours requirement.

To complete the Honors Program, students must complete three honors seminars and complete an Honors Thesis (a one-semester project, English 391).

For more information, see this handout on The English Honors Program.

English Honors Thesis: The senior honors thesis is a scholarly and critical essay of 20-25 pages, written for English 391 (Honors Independent Study Tutorial). The thesis will be evaluated by the thesis director and by two other faculty readers selected by the director and the student.

To graduate with Distinction in English, a student must complete the honors thesis. Levels of distinction will be decided by the Honors Advising Committee, which will consider a student's overall GPA, record in honors seminars and English courses, and the recommendations of the readers of the honors thesis. Distinction is normally awarded for a GPA of 3.33, meritorious work in the honors seminars and English courses, and an honors thesis of merit (two out of three readers recommend Distinction). High Distinction is normally awarded for a GPA of 3.5, meritorious work in the honors seminars and English courses, and an honors thesis of superior merit (two out of three readers recommend High Distinction).

For more information, please see the following handouts:

Questions? See Maureen Airsman, 200 English Building, or email Professor Lori Newcomb, Director of the Honors Program.