Hutton Honors College

Contact:
Carolyn Lipson-Walker
Academic Advisor
Assistant Director for Communication & Student Affairs
Jewish Studies
Goodbody 308
856-6012
clipsonw@indiana.edu

1. How is your honors degree program administered? Is there a specific person who acts as coordinator? Is there a faculty committee?

Carolyn Lipson-Walker, academic advisor and assistant director. The standing committee consists of Steven Weitzman, director, and Jeffrey Veidlinger, associate director. Each student puts together his/her own committee in consultation with the thesis director. The committee is made up of the thesis director and two additional Jewish Studies faculty members.

2. What are the requirements for admission into your honors program? How are students recruited for your program? May students recommend themselves?

Enrollment in the Jewish Studies honors program requires a 3.5 GPA in Jewish Studies and a 3.5 GPA overall. Students must be pursuing a Jewish Studies major and all students entering the Jewish Studies major are informed about the Honors Program option. Outstanding students are encouraged to participate, particularly those planning an academic career. Students may recommend themselves for the program, and in all cases thus far have done so. They must be approved by the program director or honors advisor.

3. How does a student graduate with honors from your department?

To receive an Honors degree in Jewish Studies, a student must present a 25-50 page thesis judged acceptable by his/her thesis committee. Following the oral defense, the thesis committee will submit written reports to the thesis director. Based upon these reports, the thesis director will determine whether the candidate should graduate with Honors in Jewish Studies. The thesis director is responsible for assigning a grade.

4. What courses do students take as juniors and before in order to prepare for working on the senior project? How are these honors seminars and courses typically conducted? What are the usual requirements in such courses?

Honors students enroll and complete both JSTU-H 399 Readings for Honors in Jewish Studies (3 cr.) typically in the penultimate semester before graduation and JSTU-H 499 Honors Thesis (3-6 cr.) in the final semester before graduation. During JSTU-H 499, the honors student completes the thesis representing a significant proportion of original research. Before being authorized to register for JSTU-H 399 Readings for Honors in Jewish Studies a student fills out the Honors Thesis Contract. Filling out the thesis contract entails a decision concerning the general focus of the thesis, discussion with a Jewish Studies faculty member who agrees to serve as the thesis director and approves the perspective of the project, compilation of a bibliography of readings for H 399, the writing of a one page description of the thesis project, and the approval of the thesis director who signs the thesis contract. Students who plan to take JSTU-H 399 in the fall should ask their thesis director to recommend summer reading. During H 399, the honors student, in consultation with the thesis director should conceive a method and structure for the thesis. By the middle of the semester of H 399, the candidate must complete a brief (2-3 page) prospectus which should be accompanied by a bibliography of completed and projected reading.

5. Are there departmental resources available to support internships or research projects related to the senior project?

We have a research internship and in some years students have written their theses under the direction of those faculty members for whom they were interning. This is not always the case though. Most of our academically outstanding students apply for and receive annual Jewish Studies scholarships.

6. How might the work required for earning an honors degree be particularly beneficial in future endeavors?

It is quite beneficial, particularly for those students who plan to pursue graduate degrees, to prepare a thesis.

7. What are the advantages for students who pursue the honors degree compared to a regular degree in your area?

Certainly, the close mentoring with a faculty member and the chance to engage in research, some primary research, and the thesis writing process--with its drafts, corrections, and exchanges with faculty--is tremendously advantageous for serious students.