French
The French Honors and Awards Program provides academically talented and highly motivated undergraduates opportunities to engage in research with premier research faculty and to develop mentoring relationships focused on research. Faculty members who participate in the honors program consider students as partners in a learning community and the exercise of writing an honors thesis an invaluable opportunity to contribute to your intellectual and personal growth.
1. French Honors Program
French Honors Thesis Application & Guidelines
Participating in Honors-directed undergraduate research contributes to the intellectual, professional, and personal growth of the student. Honors students will explore interests they have developed during their regular coursework at UCSB or during their Junior Year Abroad.
Admission in the FHP is highly selective. Seniors with a GPA of 3.5 in the major and 3.5 overall will be invited to participate in the French Senior Honors Program, which entails writing a 20-page senior honors essay as an Independent Study Project (up to 4 units course credit). Those who successfully complete this project (with a grade of A- or higher) will graduate with honors; their diplomas and transcripts will read “Distinction in the Major."
To participate in this program, you should seek the guidance of a faculty member as soon as possible, and by early in the winter quarter at the latest. We strongly encourage you to start in the fall quarter of your senior year. Please submit a written proposal to the professor whom you would like to supervise your thesis. Once he/she has agreed to supervise your work in French literature and/or French interdisciplinary studies, please enroll in a French 199 with this professor (for a maximum of 4 units). These 4 Upper Division units are in addition to the 44 Upper Division Units for the French major and do not count toward these minimums. You will then begin preparing a Senior Honors Essay, which should be at least 20 pages long and in French. Up to 4 units will be awarded upon completion of your project.
2. The Hermione Chevallier Prize
Senior honors students who complete their projects by mid-May may submit their essays for consideration for the Hermione Chevallier Prize, a special recognition awarded annually to the best Honors essay dealing with French and/or Francophone topics in language, literature and culture. The Prize comes with a modest cash award. It is awarded at the annual Pi Delta Phi reception every Spring.
3. Pi Delta Phi
Pi Delta Phi is a nation-wide French honor society. Founded at the University of California, Berkeley in 1906, this honor society is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. Its goals are:
- to recognize outstanding scholarship in French language and literature
- to increase knowledge of the contribution of French-speaking countries to world culture
- to stimulate and encourage such cultural activities that will lead to a deeper appreciation of these countries
In 1976, our Department became the Theta Lambda chapter of Pi Delta Phi. Juniors and seniors with a 3.5 GPA in French and a 3.50 GPA overall will be invited to join. There is an annual initiation reception in May. At the lower division level, we also recognize the achievements of our best students. Every year, we award a small prize to the most outstanding non-major lower division students and invite them to participate at the annual Pi Delta Phi reception.
Italian
The Italian Studies Honors and Awards Program offers exceptional undergraduates who study Italian and Transnational Italian Studies the opportunity to work with renowned faculty members and to develop mentoring relationships focused on research. The Awards program also annually recognizes the superior creative activities of students in Italian, whose language proficiency and analytical skills are honored in yearly essay and short story competitions.
1. Italian Honors Program
Italian Honors Thesis Application & Guidelines
Students who undertake honors thesis research explore intellectual interests developed during their regular coursework at UCSB or while studying abroad in Italy. They work closely with faculty members over the course of two quarters to identify and develop research topics concerning Italy and Italian language, literature, and/or culture.
Admission to the Honors Program is highly selective and is open to students majoring in Italian and/or Transnational Italian Studies. Seniors with a GPA of 3.5 in the major and 3.5 overall will be invited to participate in the Italian Senior Honors Program, which entails writing a 20-page senior honors essay as an Independent Study Project (up to 4 units course credit). Italian majors are encouraged to write the thesis in Italian; Transnational Italian Studies majors can submit the thesis in English. Those who successfully complete this project (with a grade of A- or higher) will graduate with honors; their diplomas and transcripts will read “Distinction in the Major."
To participate in this program, you should seek the guidance of a faculty member as soon as possible. We strongly encourage you to start in the fall quarter of your senior year. Please submit a written proposal to the professor whom you would like to supervise your thesis. Once the faculty member has has agreed to supervise your work, please enroll in an Italian 199 with this professor (for a maximum of 4 units). These 4 Upper Division units are in addition to the 40 Upper Division Units for the Italian Studies major and do not count toward these minimums.
2. Italian Honors Thesis Prize
Senior honors students who complete their projects by mid-May may submit their thesis for consideration for the Italian Senior Honors Thesis Prize, a special recognition awarded annually to the best thesis on a research topic related to Italian language, literature and/or culture. The Prize, which has for many years been supported by the Italian Cultural Heritage Foundation of Santa Barbara (ICHF) comes with a generous cash award. It is awarded at the annual honors ceremony every Spring.
3. Italian Short Fiction Prize
Each year a jury comprised of faculty from the Italian program reviews short stories composed in Italian 111 (Italian Short Fiction) and awards an annual prize for the best short story written in Italian. This Prize has also been traditionally supported by the ICHF of Santa Barbara, and comes with a cash prize that is awarded at the yearly Italian awards and honors ceremony.
4. Dante Essay Prize
A jury of faculty members from the Italian program also reviews final essays written in Italian 114X (Dante's Multilingualism) and awards an annual prize for the best analytical essay written about Dante. The Dante Prize has been generously supported by the ICHF of Santa Barbara, and it also comes with a cash prize that is awarded at the annual Italian awards and honors ceremony.