Undergraduate Information
Student Research & Resources
Individual Faculty Research Interests in the Department of English.Areas of Research in the Department of English.
The Honors Thesis for English Majors
This is the major opportunity available to English Majors for independent research and writing. As the culmination of the Honors program for the degree with distinction, the thesis is a paper of approximately 8,000-10,000 words. The student defines his or her topic, usually one on which he or she has done preliminary work in a course, and, in consultation with his or her Honors adviser in English, selects a professor to serve as the project director. The thesis must show skill in expression, organization, and methods of literary study expected of a student graduating "with distinction" in English.Some completed English Honors theses are available online through the OSU Knowledge Bank.
Others are kept by the Director of Undergraduate Studies in English and may be consulted upon request.
Latest Listing of Honors Advisors.
Individual Studies (English 693)
All English majors may count 5 hours of English 693 as part of the 35 hours of English classes they must complete at the 400-500 level. Individual Studies are designed to cover texts and materials that are not taught in classes regularly offered by the Department of English. An Individual Study allows a student to do reading, research, and writing on a topic that he or she selects with the help of a faculty member. It is the student’s responsibility to find a faculty member willing to act as director of the 693. Students needing guidance about which faculty member to approach can consult with the Director or Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies.Awards and Scholarships for English Majors.
Study and Research Abroad Opportunities for English Majors.
Useful Research Tools for English Majors
Language and Literature Research Databases available through OSU Libraries.These databases provide a wealth of material. If you are conducting research in Renaissance literature, for instance, you would want to use the Early English Books Online database (EEBO): here you will find a full digital facsimilie of every book printed in Britain between 1475 and 1640 (some 96,000 titles). To find critical articles and books you might also want to consult the World Shakespeare Bibliography and the Modern Language Association (MLA) International Bibliography.
Rare Books and Manuscripts Library at OSU
The Rare Books and Manuscripts (RBMS) collection contains primary source materials and supporting published works that do not circulate, but are available for advanced study and research in the James Thurber Reading Room of the Rare Books and Manuscripts and Library. RBMS has several collection strengths. The Talfourd P. Lynn Cervantes collection is an historical collection of editions of Don Quixote through the ages in various languages from the first Madrid printing to contemporary editions. RBMS' English Renaissance holdings include the Stanley Kahrl seventeenth-century drama collection; a rich, historical collection of multiple copies of different editions of John Foxe's Book of Martyrs; and, Anglican, Puritan and Catholic religious books. The Harold Grimm History of Reformation Collection contains important writings of early Protestant reformers, especially Luther and Melanchthon. Other named collections include the Peter D. Franklin Cook Book Collection of contemporary cook books with an historical focus on Ohio, midwestern, German-American, and fish, fowl and game cooking. The Emanuel Rudolph Children's Science Collection contains over 8,000 volumes of nineteenth- and twentieth-century children's science books. The Donald B. Cooper Brazilian Medicine Collection covers public health issues in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.Other collecting areas include voyages and travels of the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys; UFO materials; and medieval and Renaissance manuscripts.
