Undergraduate Information

Honors English Major

Students who fulfill the basic requirements are strongly encouraged to enter the English Department Honors program. You should first meet with an Arts and Sciences Honors Counselor in Enarson Hall (http://aschonors.osu.edu/advising.cfm). The English Department offers a wide variety of Honors classes—from special sections of regular course offerings to special seminars. All Honors classes are small and challenging.

There are three Honors options available to English majors. Students can work toward (1) graduation with honors in the Liberal Arts with a major in English; (2) graduation with distinction in English; or (3) both of the above.

Requirements for graduation with honors in the Liberal Arts with a major in English:
1. Upon entering the Honors Program in English, each student should contact the Department Honors adviser to develop an Honors major. The student must also meet with the ASC Honors adviser to develop an Honors Contract, a Liberal Arts curriculum of superior strength and breadth.
2. The Honors major consists of a minimum of 60 hours in English beyond 110 and excluding the second GEC writing requirement (i.e., 367), with a minimum of 40 hours at the 400-level or above. The student will work with the Department Honors adviser in planning a well-rounded and demanding program that meets the following requirements:
  1. coursework covering at least two discrete historical periods, with at least one and normally two courses in pre-1800 literature at the 500-level or above (Note: one 500-level course in pre-1800 literature is acceptable for students who have already taken 201, 220, or H220);
  2. coursework in at least two of the following areas of English studies: literature, film, folklore, writing and rhetoric, creative writing, language, critical theory;
  3. at least three 500-level Honors seminars.
3. English 398 is required of Honors students. Because Honors students are expected to take more upper- than lower-division courses, they are not required to take English 201, 202, and 290 or 291. They should follow a well-rounded program worked out with their Honors adviser and should take Honors versions of 200-level courses whenever possible. It is not necessary to take the Honors version of 398.
Requirements for graduation with distinction in English:
1. The Department Honors program, leading to graduation with distinction in English, may be pursued with or without entering candidacy for graduation with honors in the Liberal Arts. In either case, the Department Honors adviser will help the student shape a well-rounded major program and will act as the student’s adviser.
2. Students are required to take a minimum of 60 hours in English beyond 110 and excluding the second GEC writing requirement (i.e., 367). In addition, the student must complete 8-10 hours of Honors Thesis Research (H783), resulting in a minimum of 68 hours of coursework. The non-thesis hours may be freely chosen, but should include a minimum of 40 hours at the 400-level or above. The student is expected to plan for a demanding and well-rounded major that meets the following requirements:
  1. coursework covering at least two discrete historical periods, with at least one and normally two courses in pre-1800 literature at the 500-level or above (Note: one 500-level course in pre-1800 literature is acceptable for students who have already taken 201, 220 or H220);
  2. coursework in at least two of the following areas of English studies: literature, film, folklore, writing and rhetoric, creative writing, language, critical theory;
  3. at least three 500-level Honors seminars; and
  4. 8-10 hours of H783 Honors Thesis Research.
3. English 398 is required of Honors students. Because Honors students are expected to take more upper- than lower-division courses, they are not required to take English 201, 202, and 290 or 291. They should follow a well-rounded program worked out with their Honors adviser, and should take Honors versions of 200-level courses whenever possible. It is not necessary to take the Honors version of 398.
4. The student must complete an Honors Thesis, to be written under the supervision of two faculty members chosen by the student, one of whom will serve as director, the other as second reader. The second reader may be chosen from faculty outside the English department if that is appropriate to the subject of the thesis. The thesis will also be read by an outside examiner. Eight to ten hours of course credit are normally given for work on the thesis. When the thesis has been completed, the student will be required to take a one-hour oral exam covering the thesis and its context. All three readers of the thesis will participate in this exam.
5. To graduate with distinction in English, the student must have an overall CPHR of 3.3 with a PHR of 3.6 in the major.
Requirements for graduation with honors in the Liberal Arts with a Minor in English:
The Honors minor consists of a minimum of 25 hours in English beyond 110 and must include one of the following upper-division writing courses: 304, 398, 405, 467. English 367, the second GEC writing requirement, may be counted as one of the minor courses. Coursework must include at least one literature course. Coursework must also include 10 hours at the 400-level or above and 5 hours of honors courses at the 200-level or above. See the regular English major for additional ASC guidelines.

Honors Courses
Honors Worksheet