Welcome from the Chair
FTT Honors Program
Majors who have excelled during their first two years at school are invited at the end of their sophomore year to participate in the FTT honors program. This two year program is for upperclassmen and is supervised by Professor Christine Becker.
Application Process
Applicants will each submit a resumé and letter of application, and will ask a member of the FTT faculty to write a brief (one paragraph) statement of support. Applications will be reviewed by the Honors Committee. Applicants may participate in junior year study-abroad programs.
Curriculum and Requirements
In the junior year, students will be asked to participate in a zero-credit honors colloquium, in which they will be introduced to members of the faculty and areas of study, as well as attend films, lecture, plays, and other events. In the junior year, students will also take a one-semester 3-credit honors seminar on research and writing methods.
One seminar course will be offered each semester that meets the requirement for all concentrations within the department. If a student will be abroad for all of junior year, he or she may, with permission, take the seminar course senior year.
At the end of junior year, students will propose a specific area of study and choose faculty advisor to supervise their thesis project. Projects will be evaluated on the basis of merit, viability, and faculty availability.
In their senior year, honors students would continue to participate in the honors colloquium, and would be encouraged to take designated capstone courses and other upper-level courses. Seniors would also take a 6-credit honors thesis course, which would consist of independent study with a faculty advisor. The student would produce either an approximately 50-page thesis or a creative project in film, TV, or theatre, which would be accompanied by a written paper of approximately 15 pages. This thesis would be graded by the advisor and one other member of the FTT faculty.
Honors students will be required to take 33 credits in the major, rather than the usual 30 and will be expected to fulfill all regular requirements for the major. Failure to maintain a satisfactory GPA, attend colloquium, take the seminar, or produce a thesis will result in a student’s dismissal from the Honors Program.
Timetable
The program timetable is as follows:
Sophomore year
Invitations sent to students at end of year
Applications evaluated and students accepted, early summer
Junior year
Honors Colloquium— both semesters
Honors Seminar— fall or spring semester
Thesis Proposal— submitted and evaluated middle of spring
Senior year
Honors Colloquium— both semesters
Honors Thesis— both semesters
Thesis due— late spring