Developing your own in-depth research project and writing an honors thesis can be an excellent way to prepare for graduate training in anthropology and many other post-graduation career paths for which strong research and writing skills are needed.

If you think you might be interested, then the first step is to schedule an appointment with our Honors Advisor, Professor Jane Goodman, at any point during your junior year. She will go over the requirements of the program and help you to formulate a plan. And it is never too soon to reach out to potential faculty mentors and find out if they are interested and available to work with you on your project.

To earn the honors distinction, you must graduate with a GPA of 3.3 or higher. You must also register for ANTH-A 399 (Honors Tutorial in Anthropology) at least once (you can enroll in A399 twice, for up to 6 credits). You will form a three-person committee consisting of one faculty mentor plus two readers, one of whom must be someone from outside the department. Under their supervision you will design and carry out a research project and then write a thesis. There is no set page limit for the thesis, but students typically produce journal-article length manuscripts. In your final semester of classes, once all three members have read and approved your thesis draft, you will schedule a one-hour hearing to present and defend your research.

Students are selected to honors on the basis of their academic record, strength of interest, and commitment to the study of anthropology. The department chairperson or honors advisor accepts students into the program, and assigns each student a faculty tutor.