Comparative Literature Honors Program
College of Letters and Science Honors Program
Students who meet the grade point requirement for graduation with honors,
and who complete the Honors Program of the College of Letters and Science,
may be recommended by their departments for graduation with high honors or
highest honors on the basis of an evaluation of their academic achievements
in the major and in the honors project in particular. A notation shall
appear on the student's official transcript indicating that the 194H Honors
Thesis was completed. Graduating students will not be awarded honors with
the bachelor's degree if more than eight units of grade I (Incomplete)
appear on their transcripts. The College Committee on Honors may consider
exceptions to this condition. Petitions for this purpose should be
submitted to the deans' office.
The Honors Program in the College of Letters and Science permits students to pursue a program of study in their major at a level significantly beyond that defined by the normal curriculum. It represents an opportunity for the qualified student to experience aspects of the major that are representative of advanced study in the field. Successful completion of the College Honors Program is a necessary prerequisite to consideration for the awarding of high or highest honors at graduation.
Entrance into the honors program requires that a student have completed at least 135 units with a minimum grade point average of 3.500 in courses counted toward the major. Other prerequisites for entrance into the program are defined by the major. The program consists of a project whose specific nature is determined by consultation with the student's major adviser. It may involve completion of a research project, a scholarly paper, a senior thesis, or some comparable assignment depending on the major. The project will have a minimum duration of two quarters and will be noted on the student's record by a variable unit course number or special honors course designation. Successful completion of the honors program requires that a minimum of six units of credit be earned in course work for the project.
Comparative Literature Honors Program
Candidates for high or highest honors in Comparative Literature must write a senior thesis under the direction of a faculty member approved by the Program Director. For this purpose, in
addition to fulfilling all other major requirements, honors candidates must enroll in 6 units of Comparative Literature 194H during the first two quarters of the senior year. Only students who have
attained a cumulative GPA of 3.500 in all courses satisfying the major (except elementary foreign language courses) at the end of the junior year will be eligible for the honors program.
How to plan and complete a senior thesis
1. Meet with the undergraduate advisor to discuss your plans by the end of the quarter before your final year of study.
2. With help from the undergraduate advisor as needed, suggest to the undergraduate advisor one or more possible thesis advisors. Meet with the one who is the best match for your project and ask
her/him to be your thesis advisor. If he/she does not agree, notify the undergraduate advisor.
3. If the prospective thesis advisor agrees to supervise your project, decide on the subject of your project, a schedule of meetings, and a deadline for the complete draft of your thesis. The deadline
should be the first week of the last quarter of study at UC Davis or earlier.
4. Take six units of COM 194H over two quarters. You may not add any of these units to your final quarter of study. COM 194H is a Pass/Fail course. Obtain the form from the COM office, have the thesis
advisor sign it, and return it to the office.
5. Notify the undergraduate advisor that you are moving forward with the project.
6. Meet with your thesis advisor, normally once a week during the first quarter of work on the project and twice a month during the second quarter.
7. Turn in your thesis, normally about fifty double-spaced pages (this may vary as arranged by the student in consultation with the advisor) by the deadline, usually during the first week of your
final quarter of study.
Suggested timeline to ensure evaluation of the senior thesis within one quarter
Week 1: Student turns in complete draft to thesis advisor and notifies the undergraduate advisor. The complete draft should be typed double-spaced in Times Roman twelve-point font (unless otherwise
arranged by the student in consultation with the advisor) with one-inch margins on each side (allowing space for binding), a title page, page numbers on all but the first page, a table of contents,
footnotes or endnotes in the format agreed upon with the thesis advisor, and a bibliography in the format agreed upon with the thesis advisor. At this time, the undergraduate advisor arranges for two
readers, at least one of whom is normally a faculty member in Comparative Literature.
Week 3: Thesis advisor suggests any revisions necessary.
Week 5: Student turns in the revised draft to the thesis advisor, the thesis advisor approves the final draft, and the student turns in two bound copies (copy-shop binding with one-inch margins on each
side after binding) to the undergraduate advisor, who distributes them to the two readers.
Week 7: Each reader sends a reader's report, including a recommended grade of Highest Honors, High Honors, Honors, or no honors, to the undergraduate advisor and the thesis advisor. The thesis advisor
meets with the student and provides copies of the readers' reports. The thesis advisor recommends a thesis grade to the director.
Week 8: The director reviews the readers' reports and the thesis advisor's recommendation and assigns Honors, High, Honors, Highest Honors, or no honors based on the GPA and the recommended thesis grade.
One bound copy is returned to the student and the other bound copy is placed in the Comparative Literature Library.