Honors Program

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We offer an Honors Program through the Honors College that allows majors in RELS to deepen their consideration of approaches to the study of religion and to explore a well-articulated question in a written thesis.

Requirements to receive Honors distinction in Religious Studies:

  • GPA of 3.25 or above in RELS courses
  • Overall GPA of at least 3.0
  • Completion all requirements of the B.A. in Religious Studies degree, including the two course sequence of RELS 4790 and RELS 4791, almost always in the final two semesters
  • Completion of those courses with grades of A
  • Completion of a written Honors thesis accepted by the department

Following successful completion, the Honors notation will appear on a student’s official transcript.

Interested in Honors?

To inquire about admission, please contact our Honors Director, Dr. Julia Moore. Although faculty members ordinarily identify students with exceptional potential as candidates to its Honors Program, any qualifying Religious Studies major may seek admission to Religious Studies Honors by enrolling in RELS 4790 with the permission of the Honors Director.

Please note that admission is contingent upon the availability and consent of a faculty member to serve as advisor along with two readers.

The process for graduating with Honors is laid out in a two-semester sequence with applications forms submitted electronically by the posted deadlines, see Honors College Graduation Process.

Step One, is undertaken the semester before the semester of graduation with enrollment in RELS 4790. In this course students must satisfactory complete of a 4-6-page research proposal with a bibliography, a layperson’s summary, and the approval signatures of the student’s advisor, readers, and the director of RELS Honors by Reading Day.

Step Two is undertaken the semester of graduation with enrollment in RELS 4791. In this capstone course students complete the Honors thesis itself, present an oral defense with representative faculty, and submit the approved thesis with signatures by Reading Day.

Students may be removed from the Honors Program at any time upon their own request or upon recommendation of the thesis advisor. The student will then withdraw from either honors course in accordance with the University policy on withdrawal.