The English Honors program is offered by the Department of English and is designed for outstanding English majors. In their senior year, qualified students write a senior thesis under the supervision of an Honors Thesis Committee. Students who successfully complete an Honors thesis will simultaneously satisfy the requirement for a Capstone course in the department of English.

Benefits

Benefits of participating in the Honors Program in English include individual mentoring by exceptional faculty and useful practice in undertaking extended work in the area of English, American, African American, and world literatures; creative writing; linguistics; or professional writing and public discourse. Writing the thesis gives students the chance to work one-on-one with outstanding research faculty in all fields of English study. Our honors students thus gain valuable writing and critical experience, personalized writing instruction, and the opportunity to acquire especially strong letters of recommendation from committee members. Students completing the program are recognized at the English Department Awards Reception and will graduate from UAB "With Honors in English" at their UAB commencement.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Honors Program in English, a student must be enrolled full-time as a UAB English major, have earned a 3.5 GPA in English courses taken and a 3.0 GPA overall, and have completed EH 301.

Requirements

Qualified students electing to enter and complete the Honors Program in English must do the following:

• Meet with the Director of Departmental Honors to discuss the possibility of entering the Honors Program.
• Select a member of the English graduate faculty to serve as faculty mentor and one other member of the English graduate faculty to serve with that mentor and the Director on the Senior Thesis Committee.
• Submit a completed English Honors Program application form to Dr. Daniel Siegel, the Director of Departmental Honors for approval. Students must secure permission of the Director in order to enter the English Honors Program. To download the Honors application form, click here.
• Be enrolled in EH 494: English Honors Research and EH 495: Honor Capstone Thesis  in consecutive terms.
• During EH 494: English Honors Research, compile a thesis proposal or work in progress (for creative writing students) and have it approved by the Honors Thesis Committee. Once approved, a paper copy and an electronic copy or the proposal or work in progress should be given to the Director.
• During EH 495: Honors Capstone Thesis, write the thesis under the committee's guidance.
• Obtain final approval of the thesis from all members of the Honors Thesis Committee and submit a completed copy to the Director in both paper and electronic forms.
• Complete a final, one-hour public defense of the thesis.

For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Director of Department Honors, Humanities Building 206; (205) 934-8574.