The German Department strongly encourages all qualifying majors to write an Honors thesis. Ideally, students should start planning to apply to the Honors Program by the end of their junior year. To be admitted to the program students should have at least a 3.5 GPA in all upper-division courses taken to fulfill the major requirements, and a 3.3 GPA overall.
Within their senior year, students in the Honors Program are required to complete satisfactorily an honors thesis under the supervision of a faculty member. The honors thesis, which should be at least 35 pages in length, may grow out of any upper-division course, independent study, or directed research, and is evaluated with a letter grade.
Typically, the work on the thesis is spread over two semesters. For the first semester, students should enroll in the appropriate section of German 199: “Supervised Independent Study” with their thesis adviser (2 units; Pass/Fail). In the second semester, students enroll in German H196 (4 units (or 6 units in special circumstances and with the approval of the undergraduate adviser); letter grade). Those who have completed the thesis will graduate with Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors in the Major.
To submit the application for the Honors Program, or for more information please contact Nadia Samadi (Undergraduate Student Adviser).
Funding for Undergraduate Research and Honors Thesis Projects
The Department of German and the university offer various opportunities and funding for undergraduate students of all levels who are interested in research, field-study, or creative projects. Please visit Undergraduate Research at Berkeley and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships for more information and application forms.
Prospective students for the Honors program should apply in their junior year to be eligible for summer research funding.