Departmental Thesis Requirements
An Art History Honors Thesis should be an article-length essay that uses research in primary and secondary sources to make a meaningful contribution to the field of Art History. An Honors thesis in Art History typically consists of an extended argument or interpretation of an artwork (or works) supported by close readings and analyses of them. Students develop arguments, claims, and theses about their artworks by researching both their contexts (historical, social, aesthetic, etc.) and the critical conversations about them. An Honors Thesis should be an original contribution to the conversation about a particular work or set of works, developed in dialogue with other readers and critics of the work, and presented through analyses of particular aspects of the work. There is no precise length requirement for an Art History Honors Thesis, but the range of 30-40 pages is common. It should adhere to the usage guidelines in the Chicago Manual of Style. A student’s thesis advisor will provide more specific recommendations and expectations based on the subject matter of a student project.
Each academic department submits the specific requirements that must be met for a successful Honors thesis in its respective major. If you are seeking more information on your department’s thesis requirements, please contact your Departmental Honors Liaison and/or the Honors Thesis Team in the Honors College.
Faculty Thesis Mentors
All career-line and tenure-line art history faculty are eligible to be faculty mentors. If a faculty mentor leaves the university before the thesis is complete, the DHL will facilitate the transfer of thesis mentor duties to another appropriate faculty mentor, or will supervise the thesis themself. Career-line and tenure-line faculty outside of the art history program may be approved by the DHL to be art history thesis mentors in certain circumstances.
Joint Thesis
For students pursuing the Honors degree in more than one major, where one of the majors is art history, a joint thesis is permitted with prior agreement by the relevant DHLs.
How does the Honors Thesis relate to other aspects of the major, like a Capstone Project?
Art History Honors Theses generally come out of previous coursework, projects, seminar papers or other learning experiences within the major. The Art History Honors Thesis can be best understood as a rigorous extension of the work and learning in which students are already engaged. Art History seminars offer students the opportunity for in depth study of special themes and topics culminating in a research paper, and are generally fertile ground for the development of Honors thesis ideas.
Departmental coursework supporting Thesis
Honors students may also take a special honors section of select upper-division lecture courses in art history, which often allows them to engage in research papers or special projects that may also be productive for developing a direction for the Honors thesis.
Additional information for students
Students in their junior year (or one year before their planned graduation) should begin planning for their Honors Thesis and discuss the process with the Departmental Honors Liaison. Many students choose to expand on a research project they have completed for an Art History Seminar. The best way for students to find a good topic is to think about the classes and research work they have already done or are currently or planning on doing and to then to build on that. It is best to work with an art history professor with whom the student has already taken a class and has discussed their ideas about a possible thesis project. Students can also meet with the Departmental Honors Liason to discuss and help find ideas, and examples of previous Art History Honors Theses are available through the Honors College and University.