Honors

All students, especially those with plans to continue their academic careers beyond the BA, are encouraged to consider pursuing honors. You can earn honors at William & Mary by engaging in a year-long process of researching and writing an honors thesis and by defending the thesis in an oral examination. Graduating with honors can add to the value of your William & Mary diploma and make you a more attractive candidate for jobs, graduate schools, and professional programs. Working on an honors thesis also gives you practice in professional-level research, writing and revising, and provides you an opportunity to get involved with the scholarship relating to your field of concentration at a higher level than students normally do as undergraduates.

In the Department of Classical Studies you can pursue honors in Greek, Latin, or Classical Civilization. Once you are admitted to the honors program you will be enrolled in the two-semester course sequence GREK, LATN, or CLCV 495 and 496. Majors in the department are also free to pursue honors in other departments as well as interdisciplinary honors involving two or more fields.

The Charles Center, which is the office that supports and coordinates student research and interdisciplinary studies, oversees the Honors program in Arts & Sciences. Learn more about their guidelines and procedures. The Charles Center also offers scholarships that can be used for honors research, and the department can often provide you some funding to help you research your honors thesis in the summer before your senior year.

Details of the process, along with deadlines and requirements, are described on the following pages.