WGSS Honors Program
Eligibility
To be eligible to earn honors in the WGSS Program, a student majoring in WGSS must have the following:
- a grade-point average of 3.5 or above in WGSS courses by the beginning of the first semester of their fourth year.
- a 3.0 or above overall GPA by the beginning of the first semester of their fourth year.
In order to complete honors in WGSS, the WGSS major must take a two-semester sequence of WGSS 498 (Honors Thesis Preparation) and WGSS 499 (Honors Thesis). The WGSS major must receive a grade of “A” in WGSS 499.
Note: WGSS 498 and 499 will count toward the major as “general topics” courses. Exceptions to this can be made at the discretion of the WGSS director/WGSS undergraduate director.
Process
WGSS majors interested in pursuing WGSS honors should declare their intent to the WGSS director and the WGSS undergraduate advisor by the end of the second semester of their junior year in order to allow for adequate planning of the independent research project.
- Majors interested in honors should approach a potential advisor by the second semester of their junior year. All WGSS-affiliated faculty are eligible, if willing, to serve as honors advisors. The honors advisor should be available for the two semester WGSS 498/499 sequence.
- Once an agreement between the WGSS major and the advisor has been made, the student should inform the WGSS director and the WGSS undergraduate advisor of who the honors advisor will be, and the director and/or the undergraduate advisor should confirm this agreement with the honors advisor.
- The student should work to complete the honors project during the last semester of their senior year in time for a second reader to read the completed paper (or review the completed project) and approve it for honors. Honors students should note that papers/ projects need to be finished before the last month or so of the semester, to leave time for revision and for informing Harpur of their honors status. As noted above, the student must receivea grade of “A” for the 499 semester course.
Why do WGSS honors? What kinds of honors projects can be done?
The opportunity to focus on an honors project with an advisor can be very fulfilling for students who want to take a deep dive into a WGSS-related topic. Honors is a great option not only for students planning to pursue post-graduate studies in WGSS-related fields; pursuing an honors project can help majors develop research and writing skills that are highly valued by employers, professional schools and programs, and PhD. programs. The key to a successful honors project is that students have agency in choosing the subject, immersing themselves in it, and (normally) writing, revising and preparing the results of independent research that is guided by the honors advisor.
WGSS honors projects can be done in a variety of disciplines as well as in an interdisciplinary manner. Majors can follow their interests into the fields of literary/cultural critique and analysis; library research into the history of gender/sexual topics, debates, and discussions; fieldwork in local or other communities that is related to WGSS concerns; data collection through survey and/or participant observation; and auto-ethnography. If appropriate, majors can build an honors project based on internship work completed for WGSS 495 (Internship). If necessary, honors students will go through Binghamton University human subjects research review. Honors students will be encouraged to apply to research money if needed (i.e. via the Office of External Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards Undergraduate Research Awards (up to $200) or other funds available on campus.
Majors interested in honors should expect to have a number of conversations with honors advisors about potential topics, their link to WGSS concerns, the feasibility of doing the research etc. While the honors paper will normally resemble a term paper – that is 25 to 35 pages of writing, outside of notes and bibliographies – other formats for honors can be considered in consultation with the honors advisor. Successfully completed honors papers/projects will be kept on file by WGSS.
