Any number of topics or creative projects constituting honors work is possible, not limited to types based on examples of other students' work you may have seen previously. Both creative and scholarly projects may be considered. Creative projects may or may not include, or take the usual form of, a fully produced show in one of the department's technical theater spaces. Alternatives include a portfolio of creative collaborations across the senior year, site-based performance work, or community-based projects. Playwriting projects should focus on the written play, whether or not a production is contemplated or approved.
Honors projects must be formally proposed by a pre-determined deadline in the junior year.
Students interested in proposing a creative project must do so in concert with the department’s season planning process, which is a collaborative endeavor. Approval for honors projects depends upon a specific, substantive, and feasible proposal that demonstrates adequate preparation in prior coursework in the major. As such, academic success in courses comprising a well-planned focus area is required. Majors contemplating a senior honors project should make sure that at least two 200-level courses and at least one 300- or 400-level course are directly relevant to achievement in the area proposed. Majors pursuing honors should also consider taking an additional 300- or 400-level course and/or an additional course in a related, complementary area.
Not all honors projects may be approved. Honors project proposals are considered in the context of the department’s season planning, which includes other programming priorities, along with time and resource limitations, and the availability of appropriate faculty advising.
Majors intending to pursue honors work should be prepared to begin the proposal process early in their junior year. Students planning to study away in either semester of their junior year should speak to the chair during sophomore year to determine if and how honors eligibility may be possible. Students expecting to graduate in January (i.e., have an "E" class year), should follow a schedule in which their proposal is due in what would be the first semester of their junior year, and should expect any performances to take place in the first -- spring -- semester of their senior year, since planning for the following year may not yet have been completed.
A significant written component is required to accompany creative projects. More information is available here:
Thesis Guidelines and Honors Information
Scholarly honors work is also possible, including either research-oriented or critical work. However, depending on the nature of the project, support for such projects may not always be available, or may require advising participation from a faculty member in a different academic department.
Senior Honors courses do not count toward the 11-course minimum requirement for the major; majors pursuing honors will therefore complete at least 12 courses in the Theater and Dance major.