Honors Programs in English and Creative Writing

Honors in English allows students to work on a critical thesis in their chosen periods or areas of theoretical focus during their senior year, under the guidance of a faculty advisor.

Students are eligible if they meet the following requirements:

•have completed at least six major courses by the end of their junior year, and

•have a grade point average (GPA) in the major of 3.5 or higher, and an overall college GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Students apply by submitting the Literary Studies Honors Application 2024-25 to the Department Administrator and Vice-Chair. For the 2024-25 honors cohort, this application is due May 10, 2024.

For 2024-25 there is an Honors Seminar, ENGL 097, which students enrolled in classes in 24F on campus are required to take. This course will be mandatory for the honors sequence beginning in 2025-26. ENGL 97 will count as one of the eleven courses in the major.

The thesis is to be completed during two terms of ENGL 98 and ENGL 99. ENGL 99 constitutes a twelfth course in the major.

Students must satisfy two further requirements in order to graduate with Honors in English:

•must complete a senior-level seminar in English and Creative Writing (ENGL 71-75) prior to the first term of ENGL 98/99 or advanced workshop (CRWT 60, 61, or 62) before CRWT 98/99, and

•must satisfy the theory requirement of the major (Course Group IV) before the term in which they complete the Honors thesis and submit it for evaluation.

For more information, including sample proposals, deadlines, and advice, please consult the Directors of English and Creative Writing Honors and the Guide to Honors in the department of English and Creative Writing.

2023-2024 Honors Directors: Professors George Edmondson and Matthew Ritger

2024 Honors Director: Professor Matthew Ritger

The Literary Studies Honors Application 2024-25 is to be submitted to the Department Administrator and Vice Chair no later than 4 PM on May 10, 2024.

Honors in Creative Writing in the English major allows a student concentrating in Creative Writing to work on a creative thesis in their chosen genre during the senior year, under the guidance of an advisor in creative writing. The creative thesis may take the form of a short story collection, novella or novel, poetry collection, literary nonfiction collection, mixed media, or a hybrid project as approved by the Director of Creative Writing.

Students who have completed at least four courses in the creative writing concentration and six major courses by the end of their junior year and have a grade point average in the major of 3.5 or higher (and a college GPA of 3.0 or higher) are eligible to apply for Honors in Creative Writing.

The advanced workshop (CRWT 60, 61, or 62) is a requirement for the completion of the Concentration in Creative Writing and is a prerequisite for Honors in Creative Writing.

Creative Writing faculty evaluates honors thesis proposals based on a) the creative potential and breadth of the project; b) a high level of ability in craft, exhibited in the student's writing submission that speaks directly to the proposed project; c) the project's practical feasibility: can the project be completed in a fully realized and successful way. 

Applicants will be notified of their status by the end of fall classes. Students who are approved for Honors work will be paired with an advisor from Creative Writing and, over the course of two terms, will work toward the successful completion of a manuscript-length body of work. During the first term of Honors work, the student will enroll in CRWT 98. This course is the culminating experience in the major. During the second term of Honors work, the student enrolls in CRWT 99. This course may count as a twelfth course in the major.

Students should submit their completed application along with a writing sample (15-20 pages of fiction/creative nonfiction; 6-8 poems) to the Department Administrator and Creative Writing Director. Note: the writing sample should speak to the writing strengths and potential of the proposed thesis. As only the strongest proposals are approved each year, this should be your most polished work. Submissions that do not speak to the proposed thesis project will not be considered.

2023-24 Creative Writing Honors applications are due by 4 PM on Monday, October 23, 2023

2023-24 Creative Writing Director: Professor Thomas O'Malley

More information about the Creative Writing Concentration

• Department of English and Creative Writing Guide to Honors
• Creative writing application

2023-24 Honors Thesis Deadlines and Due Dates

• May 22, 2024, 4:00 PM: Digital copy (PDF) of honors thesis due to the Department Administrator, Katherine Gibbel, and to the student's advisor.

• May 28, 2024, 4:00 PM: Three (3) printed and bound copies of the thesis are due to the Department Administrator, Katherine Gibbel, in Sanborn 202. Printing instructions will be sent to students in April 2024.