Comparative Literature Honors Program
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.