Spanish Honors Program

The Spanish Honors Program provides an opportunity for students to pursue a year-long independent project under the guidance of Department faculty.  The Honors program is open to Spanish majors who, at the beginning of the second semester of their junior year, have maintained a 3.6 in Spanish and a 3.0 overall GPA.

Requirements

To graduate with departmental honors in Spanish, students must:

  • Maintain overall university GPA of at least 3.0
  • Maintain upper division Spanish GPA of at least 3.6
  • Complete 3 additional credits, beyond Major Requirements, of a Research Seminar in Spanish and in the Spring Semester of a student’s junior year
  • Complete the Honors Thesis with grades of A (A- is not acceptable).
  • Complete an Honors Thesis examination (mini defense).
  • Participate in Honors Colloquium.

The major factor, beyond overall GPA, is a student’s performance in Spanish courses. In considering your application, the Director of Honors reviews your overall transcript and may consult with your instructors. In addition, the DH reads the critical papers that you submit with your application to get a sense of the way you do critical analysis.

Application Process

Students interested in joining the Honors Program should follow the following steps:

  1. Contact Professor Prospero N. Garcia (pg289@camden.rutgers.edu) and apply to this division of the program using this form.
  2. Once accepted at the end of the Fall semester, an admitted student should register in required Research Honor Seminar for the Spring semester of his/her junior year.
  3. Before the end of the Spring semester as junior, the student should send a thesis proposal to an advisor of her/his choice.
  4. The advisor would accept officially this student and his/her project and they will sign up for the independent study for the senior year (for three credits each semester).

Senior Honors Thesis

  • The topic of the thesis is proposed by you and approved by the faculty member who has agreed to direct the thesis.
  • The thesis is a critical paper of 12,000-20,000 words (approximately 30-50 pages).
  • Subject and treatment vary widely.
  • Typically, an honors thesis includes some close reading of a text or texts, as well as engagement with published   criticism. The thesis is the single most important component of the program. The desire to horn your critical skills during the senior year should be the major factor in the decision to apply for this program.
  • Students will normally choose a second reader; if appropriate, the second reader may be outside the Spanish program.