Any student with a double major who is interested in doing honors in both subjects should say so to each department or program at the point of application. (In cases in which the departments have different deadlines, the student should raise the issue with both departments at the earliest opportunity, typically in the spring of junior year.) Two options are available.
Two Separate Honors Projects
Some students will propose projects that are quite distinct. These
students should meet with the honors coordinator in each of the two
departments to discuss their plans for completing two separate honors
projects, and they should complete the "Statement
for Dual or Interdisciplinary Senior Honors Projects" with each
honors coordinator to document the substantial difference between the
two planned projects. The statement should be signed by the research
adviser and the honors coordinator in each department and then
submitted to The honors coordinator should then send the signed form to
the Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising , 1922 Sheridan Road,
for review by the college Committee on Superior Students and Honors.
Forms should be submitted by November 10th of the student's senior
year. If such a student meets both departments' honors requirements, he
or she can then be nominated for honors in each department.
Honors in Interdisciplinary Studies
If a student proposes to write two papers that will overlap and inform
each other (much as chapters in a book do) or, more dramatically, to do
a single, synthetic project to be submitted jointly, a conversation
must ensue between the appropriate members of both departments. It
would be up to these faculty members to determine whether they were
prepared to support such a project and, if so, to set some guidelines
for the student (the length and scope of the paper, bibliography,
research methods, and participation in the honors course work in each
department would be addressed, among other things). Because the
finished project will be considered for honors in two departments, it
should be somehow more ambitious than a regular honors thesis-for
example, in the number and variety of the sources consulted, the
analytical methods used, or the sophistication of the problem being
addressed. However, this does not necessarily mean that the finished
paper or papers must be longer than a normal honors thesis. Supporting
a request to write an interdisciplinary honors thesis (or theses) would
also oblige the mentors in both departments to stay in touch with each
other periodically during the preparation of the paper(s), especially
in cases in which a single synthetic thesis is envisioned. Normally,
students will be expected to register for and to complete successfully
the honors sequences in both departments.
Once the departments and the student agree on terms, the student should complete the "Statement for Dual or Interdisciplinary Senior Honors Projects" to document the ways in which the planned project will integrate the two disciplines. The statement should be signed by the research adviser and the honors coordinator in each department and then submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising, 1922 Sheridan Road, for review by the college Committee on Superior Students and Honors. Forms should be submitted by November 10th of the student's senior year. If the committee has any questions, it will ask them, but the main purpose of requiring a written proposal is to encourage the student and the faculty members to clarify expectations about the project.
When the paper or papers are finished, they should be evaluated through the ordinary department channels, and if the work passes muster in both departments, the student should then be nominated for honors for interdisciplinary studies in the two subjects. For example, a student could be nominated for graduation with "honors for interdisciplinary studies in Sociology and Political Science," rather than for separate honors in each department. If the departments disagree in their assessments, it would be possible to nominate the student for honors in one subject only.
