A Major in Humanities

The Humanities Program offers the highly motivated and able student the opportunity to fashion his or her own course of study as a major for the B.A. degree. Each applicant to the program consults with the Humanities adviser to design a major consisting of forty-two credit hours beyond The University's basic education requirements.

Each course in the individual program of study must clearly contribute to a coherent major with a focus on a particular theme, idea, or question. That interdisciplinary subject may be as specific as Health Care Policy, or as comprehensive as Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

Each humanities major writes a senior thesis that addresses a particular aspect, case, application, or interpretation of the chosen topic. On occasion the thesis may be an original creative work such as a novel, a drama, a collection of poems, or a piece of music. Humanities seniors present their thesis findings at a conference for the academic community each semester.

Humanities Special Honors

Humanities majors who plan to seek special honors in humanities should apply to the humanities advisor for admission to the honors program no later than the first semester of the junior year. The requirements for graduation with special honors are:

• a major in humanities;
• Humanities HMN 679H, Honors Tutorial Course with a grad of A in both HMN 679A and HMN 679HB;
• a grade of "Recommended for Special Honors" on oral examination, conducted and graded by faculty members qualifies in the student's area of work, covering the thesis and a reading list;
• a University grade point average of at least 3.0 and a gpa of at least 3.5 in the Humanities major coursework;
• completion at The University of at least sixty semester hours of coursework counted toward the degree.