Drama Department Undergraduate Honors Program

HONORS PROGRAM
The Honors Program is intended to recognize those students who have done work above and beyond the requirements of the Drama major—core and specialization requirements, Senior Project, and successful academic and artistic progress—and who have also displayed the ability to work at a high level within the field of Drama both theoretically and practically.

APPLICATION
Drama majors interested in receiving Honors as part of their degree upon graduation must apply to the Drama Department for acceptance into the Honors Program no later than the fifth quarter before graduation (i.e. winter of Junior year if one plans to graduate in the spring of one's Senior year). The application involves a written submission that includes the following elements:

1. an official transcript of the student's work-to-date in the department;
2. a description of the student's proposed Senior Project, as well as a description of the studentís proposed Honors Project (see more on this below);
3. a calendar detailing the student's plans to accomplish both the Senior and Honors projects
4. a list of two advisors who have agreed to act as mentors on the student's projects; that is, the student needs to find one advisor for the Senior Project and one advisor for the Honors Project (see more on this below).

No student will be admitted to the Honors Program with a grade below B- in a course that constitutes part of the Drama major.

HONORS PROGRAM
Once admitted into the Honors Program, students must meet the following requirements to continue in the Program. Upon successful completion of the program as described below students will receive Honors upon graduation.

1. Students must complete the Drama core requirements by the end of their junior year (three quarters before graduation). The Department strongly encourages all students to fulfill these requirements earlier, by the end of their sophomore year. Only in exceptional cases can this requirement be waived. Transfer from another university, extended overseas study, or temporary withdrawal from the major due to illness might constitute extenuating circumstances.
   
2. Students must have completed half of the courses in their specialization by the end of their junior year (three quarters before graduation).
   
3. Students in the Honors Program must complete 4 consecutive quarters in the Honors Colloquia (DRAMA 201 A-D, described below). Participation in the Colloquia must begin in the fourth quarter prior to graduation. Each quarter's Colloquium is offered for 1 unit, S/NC. In extenuating circumstances (overseas study, for example), an Honors Program student may substitute other equivalent work for one quarter of the Colloquium, with the approval of the Honors Program Advisor.
   
4. Students must have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or above in courses counting towards the major at the time of graduation.
   
5. Honors students must successfully complete an Honors Project (DRAMA 202, described below) by the end of the 7th week of the quarter of their graduation. The Honors Project will be offered for 2-4 units and will be given a letter grade. A committee of two, including the Honors Project Advisor and the Senior Project Advisor, will grade the Honors Project, with the final grade for the project being the average of the two advisors' grades. In the event of a major discrepancy between the two advisors' grades, the Honors Program Advisor will act as or appoint a third reader to resolve the discrepancy. Final grades for the Honors Colloquia are the decision of the Honors Program Advisor.

THE HONORS COLLOQUIA - Drama 201 A, B, C, D
Students should register for the Honors Colloquia in each successive quarter of their involvement.

The Honors Colloquia aim to engage Honors Program students in an ongoing discussion of important issues in the field, with particular focus on the students' areas of specialization and research. The Honors Program Advisor will convene the Colloquia three times per quarter and set the agenda for meetings and discussion. The Colloquia will also offer a venue for students to discuss, collaborate upon, and workshop their Senior Projects as well as their Honors Projects.

HONORS PROJECT - Drama 202
Students should register for the Honors Project in the quarter that they expect to complete the project.

Since the Honors Program aims to promote students' ability to integrate practical and theoretical work, the Honors Project is designed to supplement their work on the Senior Project. Students who wish to pursue Drama Honors should structure their Senior Project and Honors Project in the following manner: In terms of the Senior Project, students should devise a practically-related project, for example the writing of a play, the directing of a play, the costume designs for a hypothetical or actual production, or other possibilities. In terms of the Honors Project, students should then devise a theoretically-related research project vis-à-vis the practical work done on the Senior Project. For the purposes of this program, theory should be understood largely as a process of critical inquiry through which one attempts to recognize the assumptions that underlie one's thinking and that place it in relation to others'.

Ultimately the Honors Project should take the form of a 25-50 pg. argumentative essay that provides a theoretical context for one's arguments. In certain instances, that theoretical context may also imply the use of historical contexts. As one example (and not a definitive one), a student who had decided to design costumes for Verdi's Aida might write an essay discussing historical research into clothing in ancient Egypt, in conjunction with research on the construction of gender through costume in late 19th-century Italy. One of the theoretical assumptions underlying such a project might be the belief that knowledge and behavior are historically situated so that understanding how to design Aida today might entail comparing and contrasting contemporary notions about elements in Aida to the ideas and practices of other periods.

Students are strongly encouraged to pursue Honors Projects whose material is related to that of their Senior Project. In some instances, however, the two projects may be unrelated. In such instances, a petition should be made to the Honors Program Advisor.

Additionally, the subject of the Honors Project should be designed in consultation with the Honors Project Advisor and be approved by the Honors Program Advisor. Senior Projects are to be advised by members of the Academic Staff or Faculty in the divisions of Drama and Dance. Honors Projects are to be advised by members of the Academic Faculty. In preparing to pursue the Honors Program, students should acquire the advance consent of both projects' advisors to read the final Honors Project essay. In certain instances, the Honors Program Advisor may act as the Senior Project or Honors Project Advisor.