English Honors Program
The English Honors Program is a selective track within the English major for students with strong academic records and demonstrated achievement in the discipline. The program offers small classes (15–18 students), close faculty mentorship, advanced coursework, and the opportunity to complete an independent honors thesis based on original research.
The program is designed to provide qualified students with a more rigorous course of study while supporting the development of advanced analytical, research, and writing skills.
Students who complete the program graduate with Honors in English, a distinction noted on their diplomas. To earn this designation, students must maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA in the major, complete the required honors coursework, and successfully finish a capstone honors thesis.
Questions
If you have any questions please contact robert.kaplan@stonybrook.edu who is the current Honors Program Director.
Admission to the English Honors Program is by faculty nomination only.
How has graduation from the Honors Program helped alumni?
We asked Courtney Taylor ('19), "What in particular from your time at SBU – coursework, projects, fellowships – has impacted your path post-graduation?" Read her response below.
The skills I developed through the English Honors program - especially while developing and writing my thesis - have helped me at every step of the way. Speechwriting requires the ability to research effectively, often on a short deadline. Especially when starting out as a speechwriting intern, I was so grateful for the research experience I had coming into that role. Finding the perfect anecdote or statistic for a speech was in a lot of ways similar to finding an obscure source on Victorian sexology for my thesis!
Likewise, the playwriting courses I took with Professor Ken Weitzman had a huge impact on my path post-graduation. I approach the speeches I write in much the same way I approach the plays I wrote for his courses. It’s also been exciting in job interviews to explain that a play I wrote for one of those courses has gone on to be performed across the U.S. and Off-Off-Broadway.
The other element that’s impacted my path post-graduation is my Edward Guiliano Global Travel Fellowship experience. In the summer of 2019, I researched and developed a new play at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, and The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. In every single job interview I’ve had since graduation, I’ve been asked about this fellowship and am so glad that I went for that opportunity as an undergrad. It was an incredible experience that opened doors for me (in addition to helping me write a new play!).