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Honors

CLAS 1115 (3). Honors--Masterpieces of Greek Literature in Translation.
Students read about mythological heroes and historical individuals from Achilles to Socrates in Greek literature. Class discusses why the Greeks told stories the way they did and what those stories might have meant to them and might mean to us. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Graduation with Honors in the

Department of classics

(revised Fall 2004)

I.  Requirements for Honors in Classics.  The Department of Classics offers undergraduate majors the opportunity to earn their B.A. with honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, cum laude).  To be eligible for graduation with honors students must

-maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3

-maintain a GPA in Classics of at least 3.7

-complete and submit the Application Packet for Graduation with Honors to the Honors   

  Office in Norlin M400L by the posted date (see Graduation with Honors Deadlines);

  this includes a thesis prospectus, approved and signed by the thesis advisor and the

  Classics Honors Council Representative, Prof. Andrew Cain: ac@colorado.edu

-write an acceptable honors thesis and defend it in an oral exam

II.  General Information

1.  Thesis Director.  The honors thesis is normally a significant extended essay (usually 30-50 pp.) on a topic chosen by the student and approved by the thesis director.  The thesis director, whose responsibility it is to supervise the writing of the thesis, will be a faculty member chosen in consultation with the Honors Council Representative.  The director and student will decide mutually on a schedule of meeting and handing in drafts to ensure that the thesis is completed in a timely fashion.  But it is entirely the student’s responsibility to abide by the deadlines decided upon, to do a significant amount of independent work at his or her own initiative, and to keep the director updated on the progress of the thesis.  Experience has shown that it is often most useful to enroll in CLAS 4852, which may be counted toward the 36 hours of required course work for the Classics major, in the semester before the one in which the thesis is to be defended.

2.  The Oral Defense of the Thesis. The thesis defense will be an oral exam conducted by an examination committee.  The committee consists of the student’s thesis director and two other members approved by the Honors Council Representative for Classics.  One member must be an Honors Council Representative, and one member must be from an outside department.  Candidates are urged to contact prospective committee members early in the semester in which they plan to defend the thesis, both to confirm their willingness to serve on the committee and to discuss whether or how they wish to be involved in reading and commenting on preliminary drafts of the thesis.  The student consults with the members of the committee to determine the date and time of the oral defense.  For December graduates, defenses are held the first week of November; for May graduates, the first week of April (no defenses are held in the summer). Students should be in touch with all members of their committee a month before the defense to discuss its scheduling. 

In order for a thesis to be accepted, defense copies, accompanied by an abstract not to exceed 250 words, must be submitted to committee members at least two weeks before the date agreed on for the defense. This draft of the thesis will be the one considered for the degree of honors awarded the student. During the defense, which will normally last around one hour, committee members question the student about the thesis and related issues.  Following the defense, the committee will recommend an Honors designation to the College Honors Council: the student's thesis advisor will write the discussion of the thesis and of the oral defense in the recommendation, while the Honors Council Representative will craft the final letter and include such details as the student's GPA and performance over the course of the major.  Ultimately it is the decision of the Council to determine the level of honors granted.

3.  Honors Designations. There are three honors designations: cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude.  Following the oral defense, the examination committee, in consultation with the thesis director, recommends the designation.  The honors designation depends on four areas of academic achievement: 1) GPA (cumulative and in Classics); 2) demonstration of ability to do research; 3) quality of the thesis (style, clarity of argument, and synthesis of material); 4) quality of the thesis defense.

III.  Criteria for Honors Designations

1.  summa cum laude

To be eligible for a summa cum laude designation, the student must

-maintain a cumulative and Classics GPA of at least 3.8

-demonstrate exceptional ability at working with and synthesizing a wide range of

  primary and secondary sources

-produce a thesis that is exceptionally well argued, stylistically sound, and well organized

-be able to defend the thesis intelligently, understand and accept critiques, demonstrate

  well rounded knowledge of the subject beyond what is in the thesis itself

2.  magna cum laude

To be eligible for a magna designation, the student must

-maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and a Classics GPA of at least 3.7

-demonstrate an exceptional ability at working with primary and secondary

  sources

-produce a thesis that is well argued, stylistically sound, and well organized

-be able to defend the thesis intelligently, understand and accept critiques, demonstrate

  some knowledge of the subject beyond what is in the thesis itself

3.  cum laude

To be eligible for a cum laude designation, the student must

-maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 and a Classics GPA of at least 3.5

-demonstrate an ability to work with primary and secondary sources

-produce a thesis that presents a good argument

-be able to defend the thesis intelligently, understand and accept critiques

N.B.  No honors will be awarded if the above criteria are not met