Honors Programs

Many students ask, “How long does an honors thesis need to be? How do I know that I am doing ‘honors’ level work?” At Stanford there are no university-wide requirements for acceptable honors projects, no designated number of pages for an honors thesis, no minimum number of data sets or experiments. Research scope and criteria for excellence are determined by the program – and the individual faculty member you work with establishes the guidelines for your particular work.

Each department and interdisciplinary program develops its own entry requirements and criteria, although most departmental honors curricula include a formal honors course or seminar in the junior or senior year. All undergraduate honors programs have a faculty member who oversees honors and is the main contact for both prospective honors students and those completing honors in that program.

Some of the differences in honors programs among departments, even among individual faculty, can be extensive. And the varieties of methodological approaches to critical inquiry are great. Such variety can lead to confusion, especially about standards of excellence, so you must actively seek to understand the dimensions, expectations, and methodological approach of the honors program you are interested in.

Consult the Stanford Bulletin about prerequisites and requirements for admission to each honors program. Then speak with the honors program director for further details. If you are considering doing honors make sure you speak with your advisor. And if you want to discuss all the options and services available throughout the university, contact Hilton Obenzinger at obenzinger@stanford.edu.

Many students ask, “How long does an honors thesis need to be? How do I know that I am doing ‘honors’ level work?” At Stanford there are no university-wide requirements for acceptable honors projects, no designated number of pages for an honors thesis, no minimum number of data sets or experiments. Research scope and criteria for excellence are determined by the program – and the individual faculty member you work with establishes the guidelines for your particular work.

Each department and interdisciplinary program develops its own entry requirements and criteria, although most departmental honors curricula include a formal honors course or seminar in the junior or senior year. All undergraduate honors programs have a faculty member who oversees honors and is the main contact for both prospective honors students and those completing honors in that program.

Some of the differences in honors programs among departments, even among individual faculty, can be extensive. And the varieties of methodological approaches to critical inquiry are great. Such variety can lead to confusion, especially about standards of excellence, so you must actively seek to understand the dimensions, expectations, and methodological approach of the honors program you are interested in.

Consult the Stanford Bulletin about prerequisites and requirements for admission to each honors program. Then speak with the honors program director for further details. If you are considering doing honors make sure you speak with your advisor. And if you want to discuss all the options and services available throughout the university, contact Hilton Obenzinger at obenzinger@stanford.edu.