Honors Program

The Department encourages those students in the French majors with initiative and independence of mind who desire an enriched individualized course of study to apply for the honors program. If interested, please contact the departmental undergraduate advisor.

The honors program is designed for French majors who have fulfilled their lower division requirements and have a 3.5 departmental grade-point average. Students whose GPA falls between 3.3 and 3.5 should submit a composition from an advanced language or literature course to the undergraduate advisor. If the work submitted meets with approval, students are admitted to the program.

To graduate with departmental honors, students must complete a minimum of two honors projects in the context of non-honors upper division courses (French 115 and above) taken for honors credit. They must do an honors project (a research paper of 12 to 15 pages) in addition to the regular course requirements. An honors contract must be signed before the end of the third week of the term. After completing the project, students fill out a completion form.

On the basis of their coursework and field of interest, students are expected to formulate a research topic they wish to pursue in greater depth. They take course 198 where they receive regular personal supervision from a faculty member in the research, methodology, and writing of their approximately 20- to 25-page honors thesis (honors projects and the honors thesis are not to be confused).

Students may begin the honors program toward the end of their junior year or during their senior year. Students are allowed to enroll in graduate courses with the consent of the instructor but cannot use those courses to replace an honors project. Departmental honors are recorded on the final transcript if students fulfill all requirements for the program. They may submit their final honors thesis for the departmental prize.

To qualify for graduation with departmental honors in German, students must earn a cumulative grade-point average of 3.6 or better in upper division German courses and a 3.3 overall GPA, and complete German 199 with a grade of A. Contact the departmental honors adviser for procedures, special arrangements, possible exceptions, and other information.

Admission

The honors program provides exceptional students an opportunity for advanced research and study, under the guidance of a faculty member, that leads to the completion of an honors thesis. Majors in Italian with an overall grade-point average of 3.25 and a 3.5 GPA or better in Italian courses are eligible to participate in the honors program. Applications should be made during the last term of the junior year or early in the senior year. Consult the department adviser for more information.

Requirements

To qualify for graduation with honors, Italian majors must complete all requirements for the major and Italian 198 in the last term of the senior year in which they write a 15- to 20-page thesis in Italian on a subject expanding on one or more of the upper division courses they have taken. The thesis is written under the guidance of a departmental faculty member.

Successful completion of the honors program is indicated on the transcript and diploma.

A number of honors and awards, including the Dean’s Honors List, Phi Beta Kappa, and Honors at Graduation, are conferred by the University. They are administered by the Honors Programs (Murphy A-111) from the College of Letters and Science. Interested students should consult the UCLA General Catalog or call the Honors Division 310-825-1553 where they can pick up an enrollment form.

A number of other competitive programs are open to outstanding students. The Mellon Fellowships in the Humanities, for example, under the auspices of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, are open on a competitive basis to undergraduate students who show extraordinary promise for success in graduate studies and who plan a career in teaching and research. Applicants must be nominated by a faculty member.