Honors & Awards

Honors

The only route to honors in the major is writing a thesis and passing an oral examination. To be admitted to the thesis program, a student must have a grade point average of at least 3.5 in all work related to the major field above the 100 level; the department may petition on her behalf if her GPA in the major is between 3.0 and 3.5. To see some topics on which past American Studies majors have written honors theses, please see the section on Student Research.

Ethel L. Hersey Prize

The Hersey Prize is awarded annually to the best essay written for an American Studies course. 

Read the most recent essays to receive this award:

2011:  The 1978 “A Lesbian Show” Exhibition: The Politics of Queer Organizing around the Arts and the Fight for Visibility in American Cultural Memory by Anna Weick '12

2010:  Eminem: Minstrel, White Negro, or American Hero? by Emily Zia '10