Honors

The Honors Program in Art History, taken senior year, is encouraged for Art History majors who are considering attending graduate school. The program entails a sequence of three courses, 12 units total, in addition to the sixty units required for the major:

1. A course in theory and methods of art historical research, either AHI 100 or 190A-L (or with permission AHI 200A,) and completed by the end of Fall Quarter of senior year. 
2. A 4-unit independent study, AHI 194HA (letter-graded) under direction of the faculty member supervising the Honors thesis. Its purpose is to allow background study and research for the proposed topic, and the production of a preliminary draft of the thesis.
3. In AHI 194HB (also 4 units and letter-graded), the student completes the thesis paper, normally 20-25 pages in length. No later than week seven, a full draft of the thesis paper is read by the faculty supervisor and a second faculty reader. The purpose of the reading is to offer editing suggestions to improve the paper, with time for the suggestions to be implemented.
4. As to scheduling, it is required that the Honors thesis itself be undertaken during the senior year, and that AHI 194HA precede AHI 194HB. AHI 194HA must be taken no later than winter quarter.  The completed thesis must be submitted to the faculty supervisor on or before the last day of the quarter. Scheduling of the thesis work necessarily overlaps with completion of the 60-unit major, which likewise requires a seminar (AHI 190A-L). For honors thesis students, that seminar must be completed no later than winter quarter of senior year.

Interested students who have at least a 3.7 GPA in the major and a 3.5 GPA overall are encouraged to consult with the Undergraduate Advisor and a prospective Faculty Advisor during their junior year. Students participating in this Program are candidates for departmental recommendation for graduation with High or Highest Honors. See the Academic Information chapter, Letters and Science honors section, of the general catalog and consult the department Undergraduate Advisor for more information.