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In order to pursue departmental honors in Jewish Studies, you must:

• Be a declared Major in Jewish Studies.
   
• Have a 3.3 or higher cumulative GPA and a 3.3 GPA in Jewish Studies and maintain these GPAs throughout the duration of the honors process. Students with a GPA below 3.3 may submit a formal petition to Jewish Studies’ Honors Council Representative for consideration. If you intend to do this, please consult with Professor Samuel Boyd before you begin.
   
• Declare your intention to complete an honors thesis to Jewish Studies’ Honors Council Representative by submitting the “Jewish Studies Thesis Agreement" (pdf).
   
• Successfully complete the  course during the final semester of your senior year. Students writing and defending an honors thesis may submit this thesis as their final Capstone project. Additional coursework will be assigned at the discretion of the instructor of the Capstone course.
   
• Write an honors thesis.
   
• Defend your honors thesis in an oral defense.
   
• Fulfill all requirements, complete all necessary paperwork, and meet all deadlines outlined by the Program in Jewish Studies the Arts and Sciences Honors Program.
   
• Consistently meet with your Honors Thesis Advisor. If you are having trouble meeting with this person, it is your responsibility to contact Jewish Studies’ Honors Council Representative.
   

It is your responsibility to complete your thesis and all related administration in a timely and professional fashion.

Students typically begin working on an honors thesis during their Junior year and defend their thesis during their Senior year. You must plan to work on your thesis for at least two semesters; three semesters is preferable. Students who do not begin the process at least two semesters in advance will not be permitted to pursue departmental honors in Jewish Studies.

Recommended Timeline

Second semester of Junior year (i.e. three semesters prior to your anticipated graduation date)

• Declare your intention to complete an honors thesis in Jewish Studies to the Program in Jewish Studies’ Honors Council Representative by submitting the “Jewish Studies Thesis Agreement.”
• Select an Honors Thesis Advisor (see section “Honors Thesis Advisor” for details).
• Select a Defense Committee (see section “Defense Committee” for details).
• Begin working on your thesis, with the guidance of your Honors Thesis Advisor.

​First semester of Senior year (i.e. two semesters prior to your anticipated graduation date)

• Complete a prospectus, bibliography, and timeline for your project, select your committee, and submit your registration form* to the Honors Program by the deadline designated by the Honors Program.

*These materials must be approved by your Honors Thesis Advisor and Jewish Studies’ Honors Council Representative prior to submitting them to the Honors Program.

• Optional: Enroll in  course. This course is meant to teach you advanced research and writing methods.
• Continue working on your thesis, with the guidance of your thesis advisor. It is advisable for you to complete at least a rough draft of your thesis by the end of the first semester of your Senior year, so that you might focus on finalizing and editing your project during your final semester.

Second semester of your Senior year (i.e. the semester you plan to graduate from CU)

• Enroll in the  course.
• During the first month of the semester, finalize a date and time for your defense with your Defense Committee and request a room for your defense from the Program in Jewish Studies Executive Manager.

​For December graduates:

• Complete a final version of your thesis by late September/early October.
• Defend your thesis to your Defense Committee the second to last week of October, prior to the final deadline set by the Honors Program.
• Bring a final copy of your thesis to the Honors Program by the set deadline (generally the last week of October).
• Submit your thesis to CU Scholar by the deadline set by the Honors Program.
• Fulfill any other requirements designated by the Honors Program by set deadlines.
• You will receive notification from the Honors Program of any awarded honors designation in early November.
• Alert the Program in Jewish Studies Executive Manager of any honors you have received by no later than the last week of November, so that we might include your honors on our website. As Jewish Studies does not host a December commencement ceremony at this time, we will also include your honors in our May graduation program.
• Attend Honors’ winter convocation ceremony (December) and Program in Jewish Studies’ graduation ceremony (May) to celebrate your achievement with your family and friends.

For May graduates:

• Complete a final version of your thesis by early to mid March, prior to Spring break.
• Defend your thesis to your Defense Committee the first week of April, prior to the final deadline set by the Honors Program.
• Bring a final copy of your thesis to the Honors Program by the set deadline (generally the second week of April).
• Submit your thesis to CU Scholar by the deadline set by the Honors Program.
• Fulfill any other requirements designated by the Honors Program by set deadlines.
• You will receive notification from the Honors Program of any awarded honors designation in late April.
• Alert the Program in Jewish Studies Executive Manager of any honors you have received by no later than the last week of April, so that we might include your honors in our graduation program.
• Attend Honors convocation ceremony and Program in Jewish Studies’ graduation ceremony (both in May) to celebrate your achievement with your family and friends.

If you complete the thesis and pass your oral defense, you will be awarded one of three honors designations explained below. The designation you receive is dependent on the quality of the thesis, the quality of the defense, and your GPA. Please note that these are not rigid guidelines; for example, a person with a GPA of 3.3 could be awarded a magna if the thesis is especially outstanding.

• cum laude (“with honors”): generally awarded when you have an overall GPA of 3.3
• magna cum laude (“with high honors”): overall GPA of 3.5
• summa cum laude (“with highest honors”): overall GPA of 3.8

Your defense committee will submit their recommendation for your honors designation to the Honors Council, which will make the final decision regarding any awarded honors designation. Your Defense Committee is prohibited from sharing their decision with you at your defense. You will learn about any honors you earn via email after the Honors Council meets to confer honors designations.

The current Jewish Studies Honors Council Representative is Professor Samuel Boyd, Samuel.Boyd@colorado.edu.

The Jewish Studies Honors Council Representative serves on the Arts and Sciences Honors Council, the committee that oversees honors designations. The Jewish Studies Honors Council Representative will:

• approve your Jewish Studies Thesis Application and Registration to Graduate with Honors form
• provide additional information about the process of writing and defending a thesis
• possibly serve as your Honors Thesis Advisor or as a member of your committee
• help you identify a Honors Thesis Advisor, if needed
• represent your interests at the Honors Council Meetings, where final designations are awarded

You must have an Honors Thesis Advisor. The choice of your Honors Thesis Advisor is crucial to the success of your project as your Advisor will help you create a challenging and coherent personal course of study.

• This person must be a member of the Jewish Studies faculty and agree to serve as your advisor. This person must meet the Thesis Committee Policy outlined by the Honors Program.

*In rare cases, a faculty member from another department may serve serve as your advisor. This person must be approved by the Jewish Studies Honors Council Representative prior to you beginning your thesis process.

• Your Honors Thesis Advisor will help you determine an appropriate topic for your thesis and will supervise your progress on your thesis throughout the duration of the process.
   
• Your Honors Thesis Advisor is also responsible for submitting the committee recomendation letter and defense form to the Honors Program by set deadlines after your defense.
   
• You will need to consult regularly with your Advisor as you design and complete your project. You must meet the deadlines designated by your Advisor in order to successfully complete your thesis.
   
• If you are having trouble meeting with your Honors Thesis Advisor, it is your responsibility to contact Jewish Studies’ Honors Council Representative.

You must select a Defense Committee, who will read your thesis and ask you questions about it at your oral exam, called a defense. All members will vote on the honors recommendation after your defense.

• This committee consists of at least three professors:
  • your Honors Thesis Advisor
  • a member of the Arts and Sciences Honors Council
  • a member from a department outside of Jewish Studies
  • You may have additional committee members if desired
• At least one of your committee members must be a faculty member in the Program in Jewish Studies. All committee members must meet the Thesis Committee Policy outlined by the Honors Program and formally agree to serve on the your committee.
   
• The Jewish Studies Honors Council Representative and/or your Thesis Advisor may have suggestions about who could serve on this committee. You will need to contact these people at least by the beginning of the semester in which you plan to defend your thesis (preferably sooner).

You will be required to inform Jewish Studies’ Honors Program Representative of your committee members prior to turning in your registration form to the Honors Program. You must have a committee selected prior to submitting your registration form to the Honors Program. The form will require that you list your committee members.

The thesis is a significant, extended essay – usually 35-50 pages – on a topic of your choice in Jewish Studies, but often building on work you have already done in one or more of your classes. Your thesis should demonstrate ability in the following areas:

• interdisciplinary
• extensive research
• critical analysis
• excellent writing skills

You and your Honors Thesis Advisor should choose what form of citation is best (MLA versus Chicago; endnotes versus footnotes, etc.). Please consult with your Thesis Advisors to ensure that expectations appropriate to the discipline and project regarding citations/references are met in the thesis.

After you complete your thesis, you will need to “defend” your thesis in an oral exam conducted by your Defense Committee.

• During the first month of your final semester, you will need to finalize a date and time for your defense with your Defense Committee.
  • For December graduates, defenses are held the second to last week of October
  • For May graduates, defenses are held the first week of April.
  • No defenses will be held during the summer.
• You will need to request a room for your defense from the Program in Jewish Studies Executive Manager during the first month of the semester.
   
• The defense generally lasts one to two hours.

Questions will focus on your honors thesis, but the Defense Committee may also expect you to explore clearly and critically some ideas, authors, and texts not specifically covered in the thesis but pertaining to wider knowledge of the field in the area of the thesis.

If you are planning to conduct research involving human subjects for your thesis, you are required to meet all requirements and deadlines outlined by CU's Human Research and Institutional Review Board (IRB): /researchinnovation/irb.

The IRB process can take extensive time. If you intend to conduct research with human subjects, please begin your IRB process early. Per IRB regulations, you may not begin human subject research without IRB approval. You will be required to submit IRB approval documentation when you submit your thesis.

Please consult with your Thesis Advisor early in the thesis process to determine whether human subject research will be needed to successfully complete your thesis.