The Honors program provides an opportunity for Kenyon Art History majors of exceptional academic achievement to work on a research project with a member of the Art History faculty. The project must be chosen in consultation with a permanent member of the Art History faculty, and must be related to the professor's research interests and expertise.
Most students accepted for Honors choose to undertake a research paper, but other options such as a catalogue raisonée, a gallery exhibition and catalogue, or a similar project involving independent field work, may also be of interest. Admission to the Honors Program is dependent on meeting specific academic criteria (see below), agreement of a thesis advisor in the project area, and the approval of the Art History Department.
A minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA for all courses, and a minimum 3.5 GPA for all Art History courses is required. Completion of a Junior Honors project is not a prerequisite for undertaking Senior Honors. Previous completion of a research paper in any area of art history (preferably in the area of honors specialization) is essential. It is required that students undertaking an Honors thesis have had at least one (and preferably two) intermediate or advanced courses at Kenyon in the topic area. Endorsement of the proposed project by the thesis advisor is mandatory before submitting an application for Honors.
Meeting the minimum GPA does not automatically qualify a student for the Honors program. Typically, if a student has written an exceptionally well-researched and well-written art history paper, and meets the other criteria for acceptance in Honors, a professor might suggest that the student undertake a related topic as an Honor's thesis. Alternately, students can discuss pursuing an Honor's thesis with their academic advisor and a potential thesis advisor. The project must be supervised by an Art History professor whose interests and expertise coincide with the proposed project, and they must agree, and be available, to serve as the Honors thesis advisor.
In either case, the student then works closely with the thesis advisor to develop a project proposal to be submitted to the Art History Department. (See due dates below.) Departmental approval must be attained before beginning work on the thesis.
A member of the permanent Art History faculty must agree to supervise your proposed thesis. A written Proposal must be submitted for both Junior and Senior Honors projects, and must be prepared in consultation with the thesis advisor. Compiled in a single packet, the Proposal should include:
Incomplete Proposals will not be considered. The Department will review your completed Proposal and decide on its acceptance before the end of the semester.
Junior Honors may be elected for one or two semesters. One semester is recommended. Junior Honors entails an independent study, usually in connection with an intermediate or advanced art history course. The student will attend class, but receive credit individually for Honors work (ARHS 397 or 398). Junior Honors study does not fulfill a requirement for majors but stands in addition to these requirements.
One of the most common formats for Junior Honors requires that the student work closely with a faculty advisor, prepare weekly critiques of assigned readings related to course material, and write a research paper, the first draft of which will be due in the tenth (10th) week of the semester.
Proposals for Junior Honors must be submitted to the Art History Department the semester preceding the project. For Fall semester Junior Honors, the proposal is due by the Friday of the week following Spring Break. Proposals for Spring semester Junior Honors must be submitted by the Friday following October Break.
Senior honors must be elected for the entire year and must focus on producing a research project. Senior Honors projects are undertaken in addition to the art history major requirements (refer to the brochure for "Major/Disciplinary Minor in Art History"). Senior Honors proposals must be submitted to the Art History Department in the second semester of the Junior year, by the Friday of the week following Spring Break.
To receive the designation "Honors," the project must meet the standards set by the thesis advisor, and also must be judged to merit Honors by an outside examiner. Until that point, it should be understood that a student is working on an Independent Study project which will eventually be considered for Honors. The project remains an Independent Study until it is accepted as Honors-quality work by the advisor, outside examiner, and the Art History Department.
It is suggested, except in the case of students studying abroad during Junior year, that candidates for Senior Honors have completed a successful Junior Honors project. Students studying off-campus during the Spring semester who are interested in pursuing Senior Honors, must discuss Senior Honors with their academic advisor in person the semester before attending their program abroad. Students studying abroad must follow procedures similar to those required of on-campus candidates. (See below for off-campus candidates.)
In application for Senior Honors, off-campus candidates may submit the proposal via email attachment, using Microsoft Word for the prospectus and bibliography. If submitting a paper from a class taken abroad, it can also be sent in Word as an email attachment. However, as a backup, a representative research paper completed at Kenyon before leaving for study abroad should be left with the thesis advisor. The deadline for application is the same as that for on-campus students: Completed proposals must be submitted in mid-March, no later than the Friday following Spring Break. If planning a Spring semester program abroad, application procedures can begin in the Fall semester.
If the proposal is approved by the department, the candidate will be informed via email. If you are accepted for the Honors program, plan to stay in close touch with your thesis advisor to clarify the initial steps to be taken on your honors project.