Department Honors and Awards
The Department of Classics recognizes excellent work by undergraduates by conferring Honors in Classics on eligible students who complete a senior thesis, and by awarding annual Joseph Clyde Murley Prizes for Excellence in Greek and Latin, Undergraduate Research in Classical Literature and Culture, and Best Thesis.
Honors in Classics
Overview of the program and instructions for students
1. General Requirements
Majors with outstanding records may be nominated for graduation with department honors. To be eligible for such nomination, a student:
• must complete Classics 395, Research Seminar for Majors. In exceptional cases, students who have not completed this course (perhaps due to a study abroad schedule) may also be considered for honors.
• must submit a short research proposal, supported by a preliminary bibliography, normally by the end of WCAS reading week, spring quarter of the junior year. In exceptional cases, a student may submit a proposal by the start of reading week, fall quarter of the senior year.
• must complete with distinction two quarters of independent study (Classics 399). In exceptional cases students may substitute one or two quarters of a 400-level course.
• must complete a project which culminates in an honors thesis.
• must have a grade point average greater than or equal to 3.3 in courses which satisfy major requirements (in this calculation, courses in the language sequence which are prerequisites for the major are not counted).
2. The Honors Thesis
An honors thesis must be a substantial and original work of classical scholarship demonstrating the student's ability to use both primary sources and relevant scholarly literature, and to develop ideas, judgments, and conclusions based upon this material. Normally the thesis will be an essay of between 7,500 and 10,000 words; the thesis adviser is free to approve work that falls below or above this range.
There are various general forms such a project may take. Please consult faculty as early in the junior year as possible.
In the case of projects that require students to consult material evidence and/or other resources available off-campus (i.e., in Greece or Italy or possibly in a library or museum collection), the Department encourages students to apply for WCAS programs that fund research study for undergraduates, especially those that support summer study following the junior year.
3. The Honors Advisor & Course Credit
A student's work towards an honors thesis shall be supervised by a faculty member of the department (the "adviser"), who helps the student frame the project and provides necessary guidance and motivation. A student must take the initiative to seek out an appropriate advisor who is a full-time member of the faculty of classics. The student may seek the assistance of the Department's Honors Coordinator, if necessary.
Course credit for work on the thesis is obtained by enrollment in two quarters of independent study credit (Classics 399) with the adviser. These are normally the fall and winter of the senior year but, in exceptional circumstances, it is possible to complete them in the winter and spring of the senior year.
4. Procedural Matters
Students interested in pursuing work that may lead to nomination for department honors should speak with the department's Honors Coordinator by the end of the junior year (in exceptional circumstances, they may do so no later than the fall quarter of the senior year). Students should come prepared with some ideas of what they might wish to pursue as a topic for honors work and the name of a member of the faculty with whom the student might wish to work as an honors adviser (this might be someone who has taught the student in a 300-level course, or an expert in the subject which the student wishes to pursue). The first step is to prepare a research proposal for review by the proposed honors adviser.
Students work independently under supervision of the adviser for two quarters (normally enrollment in Classics 399 in the fall and winter of the senior year but, in exceptional circumstances, the winter and spring of the senior year). Should a student have concerns about the supervision he or she is receiving, the student should speak with the Department Honors Coordinator, unless the honors adviser is the Department Honors Coordinator, in which case the student should speak with the Chair of the department.
Two copies of the student's completed honors project must be submitted to the honors adviser no later than three weeks before the end of Spring quarter classes (the exact date will be set annually; be mindful of the deadline for departmental nominations to the WCAS Committee on Superior Students and Honors) to allow adequate time to examine the project and submit a reader's report and recommendation regarding honors to the Departmental Honors Committee (composed of the departmental Honors Coordinator and one other member of the faculty of classics appointed by the chair). The Honors Committee must, in a recorded vote, unanimously agree on the department's nomination and prepare a recommendation to the WCAS Committee on Superior Students and Honors. In the case of a dispute between the project supervisor and the student as to the merits of the project, the Department Honors Committee shall act as a committee of appeal. This two-person group has the final authority with respect to the Department's nomination.
Murley Prizes
The Department of Classics recognizes exceptional work by students by awarding annually a number of different prizes all named in honor of our benefactor, Joseph Clyde Murley, a member of the Northwestern faculty in classics 1921-57.
These may include:
- Excellence in both Latin and Greek
- Excellence in Greek
- Excellence in Latin
- Best Thesis
- Undergraduate Research in Classical Literature and Culture
Faculty members in classics nominate students for consideration for the Greek and Latin prizes, as well as for the thesis prize.
The Murley Prize for Undergraduate Research in Classical Literature and Culture is an open competition. All current Northwestern undergraduates in any year in any department are eligible to submit work for consideration by the prize committee in the department of classics. The prize will recognize the best undergraduate essay on any aspect of ancient Greek and Roman literature and culture and/or the heritage and traditions of classical antiquity. Essays may be of any length, but must have been submitted as part of an undergraduate course in any department at Northwestern during the academic year (including thesis work in departments other than classics). Note: Essays written for a spring-quarter course (that is, papers that are prepared after the submission deadline date for the academic year's competition) may be submitted in the next academic year's competition. Submissions to this competition are limited to one essay per student.
Applicants should submit a brief letter specifying their name, year, departmental affiliation and major/minor (where applicable), contact details (email, campus address), the name, number and year/quarter of the course for which the essay was written, and the exact title of their essay.
Attached to the letter of application applicants are asked to submit a copy of the essay displaying the exact title as specified in the letter, but without the applicant's name.
Applications may be submitted anytime during the year, but no later than the classics department thesis deadline. Please obtain deadline details from the director of undergraduate studies, Jeanne Ravid. Submit the paper itself (printed copy or via e-mail attachment) to Linda Koops, Department Assistant, Kresge Hall 1-535.
All awards are announced at our annual Lamb Roast held on the Lakefront at the end of the spring quarter.
