HONORS WORK IN GENDER AND WOMEN'S STUDIES (rev. May 2005)

Checklist To Apply for Honors

• Senior Gender and Women's Studies majors may conduct independent, original research or a creative project through the Honors Program.
• Consideration for admission to the Honors Program takes place during the second semester of the junior year, by invitation of the Gender and Women's Studies Faculty or by self-nomination. Faculty members are encouraged to urge qualified students to consider applying for the Honors Program. Research funds may be awarded, on a competitive basis, through the Leah Freed Memorial Prize Fund.
• Students accepted for honors must normally have a 3.25 GPA overall at Oberlin College, and a 3.5 average in the major at the beginning of the second semester of the junior year. The student must have completed at least three Gender and Women's Studies program courses, or two program courses and one discipline-focused course. The Feminist Research Methodologies course (GAWS 300) must be completed by the end of the junior year.
• Interested and qualified students should speak to faculty members on the Gender and Women's Studies Program Committee early in the second semester of the junior year to identify an Honors Supervisor for a yearlong research or creative project.  After this, student should work with the Honors Supervisor to submit an honors proposal of 3-5 pages, along with a preliminary bibliography, to the Gender and Women's Studies Program Director by April 15 of the junior year.
• The full Gender and Women's Studies Program Committee will consider applications for Honors. Students will be informed of the outcome by the end of the spring semester of the junior year.
• Students on leave during the spring semester of the junior year should discuss and formulate a proposal with the guidance of an identified Honors Supervisor, and submit the proposal to the GAWS Program Committee by the first day of drop/add period of the fall semester of the senior year.

Checklist for 1^st Semester Honors Work

Register through the Program Director for GAWS 500: Honors, for up to 4 hours credits. Student should approach and get a commitment from a Second Reader for the project early in 1st semester.  The Second Reader should be chosen with attention to gaining inter-disciplinary representation of faculty members appropriate to the student project. Upon getting agreement, student is required to submit the honors proposal to the Second Reader and meet with her/him once well before fall break of 1st semester.  The task of the Second Reader is to provide suggestions and comments on sources, research question, methodology, and direction of the project well before it has solidified.  This early intervention also allows Second Reader to provide informed commentary in the final stages of writing and presentation. First semester work concentrates on preparatory research for the writing of the honors thesis, or preliminary development of the creative project.  All or most gathering of material subject to original analysis should be completed by the end of December.

• At the end of 1st semester class period, the student should turn in to the Honor’s Supervisor and Second Reader a (1) well-developed prospectus, normally of 5-7 pages, outlining the major argument of the project and including an updated bibliography; (2) a portfolio of documents, other material, and analysis gathered or produced during 1st Semester; and (3) a chronological list of all work completed during 1st semester.  These will be used to evaluate student performance and provide guidance for successful completion of the project, particularly by the Supervisor.
• The supervisor, in consultation with Second Reader and the Program Committee, will determine whether the student should continue in the Honors Program. If the student is allowed to continue, the first semester grade will be deferred. If the student is unable to continue, the supervisor will give a grade for a first-semester private reading.

Checklist for 2^nd Semester Honors Work

Register through the Program Director for GAWS 500: Honors, for up to 4 hours credits. Work in the second semester should concentrate on the actual writing or final production of the project. By the end of Winter Term, the student, working in consultation with the Supervisor and the Director of the Gender and Women's Studies Program, will approach a faculty member to serve as a Third Reader for the thesis or creative project. The Supervisor will issue an invitation to this faculty member to join the examining committee. The extended prospectus, portfolio, and chronological list completed during 1st Semester should be provided to this Third Reader.  It is strongly suggested that student schedule one meeting early in spring semester with Third Reader. The student will submit a completed version of the project to the three members of the examining committee by the Friday before spring break.  Members of the examining committee will provide written feedback within a week. Student should consult with the Supervisor and Readers regarding any questions about how to incorporate this feedback.

• The three-person examining committee will evaluate the final written or creative project and make a recommendation to the Gender and Women's Studies Program Committee. The bulk of advising responsibility remains with the Honors Supervisor.
• The length of the thesis project in final form is to be between 40 and 60 typed, double-spaced pages, exclusive of appendices, notes, and bibliography. This guideline should be faithfully followed. For creative projects, the Honors Supervisor, in consultation with the student, will determine the final form or outcome of the project.
• The deadline for submission of the project in its final form is three full weeks before the last day of classes. The student must distribute the final form of the project to each of her/his three examiners. If a thesis, the project should not yet be bound or reproduced in an expensive manner.  It will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: 1) how effectively the student locates the research or creative project in relationship to relevant bodies of feminist scholarship; 2) the originality of the research project and analysis; 3) the extensiveness and thoroughness of the research; 4) the quality of the writing, analysis, and production; and 5) the persuasiveness of the argument and/or compelling nature of the creative project.
• The Supervisor, in consultation with the student, readers, and director of the Program, will set up a time and place for the oral exam. The oral exam is to be held 5 to 10 days after the submission of the project.
• The oral exam will consist of two parts:

The first part will be a 1/2-hour formal presentation open to the public, followed by a question and answer period. All Gender and Women's Studies Faculty will attend the exam and participate in the evaluation. The student will be evaluated based upon the following criteria: 1) how effectively the student translated the project into a half hour presentation; 2) how well the student located the project within current feminist scholarship, laid out the problem, and presented data, observations, and analysis; 3) how he or she handled questions from the audience, including drawing on secondary and primary sources in the answers; and 4) the quality of presentation, including the level of professionalism in the style of presentation, the use of illustrations or other media, etc. The second part of the oral exam will consist of a half hour meeting that includes the student and the three examiners to address the honors project in more detail.

• After the oral exam, the Gender and Women's Studies faculty will meet to decide whether honors should be recommended and at what level. At that time, the examining committee will make a recommendation about the written thesis or other creative project, the public presentation, and the oral exam. The major advisor will also submit a class grade for work done over the period of the honors project.
• Normally, the relative weight given to the project and the oral exam in determining the level of honors recommended will be:
  • Project: 2/3
  • Oral exam: 1/3
• Overall GPA at the end of the 7th semester will also be a factor in determining the recommendation.
• Following evaluation and all revisions, student will provide the Supervisor and the GAWS office a spiral-bounded final version of the project.
• Student will provide to the GAWS administrative technician, Linda Pardee, an attachment that includes the title of the project, author name, date, program name, supervisor and readers’ names & departments, and a 250 word description of the project that includes its methodology, data, and major findings.
• Honors students are not exempt from final exams or papers in any of their classes in their major.

Any questions concerning honors in Gender and Women's Studies should be addressed to the Director of the Women's Studies Program.

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Updated 05/15/2006