Art history majors who have earned a GPA of at least 3.4 by the end of their junior year and a cumulative departmental GPA of at least 3.7 are eligible for distinction. An announcement about the distinction in art history will be made during the first week of Senior Seminar (HOA 498), so that all students are aware of it. Students can either approach a faculty member if they qualify for distinction, or individual faculty members can invite students to earn a degree with distinction. Candidates for distinction must take the Senior Seminar. In addition, they must submit either a Capstone Project (Honor’s Thesis), or a 15-20 page-long art history research paper from an upper division HOA class (not including bibliography and end/footnotes) that has earned at least an A-. Alternatively, students can develop a shorter writing sample into a longer research paper worthy of being submitted for distinction, through a 1-credit Independent Studies supervised by a faculty member in the department (the Independent Studies project must earn at least an A- to be considered for distinction).

Majors who have earned a cumulative GPA of at least 3.7 will be invited to earn a degree with distinction. In order to earn this honor, students are required to enroll in HOM 496 - Distinction Project in Music History and Cultures. These students will work independently, under the supervision of a faculty member, to complete a large-scale project in some aspect of music history or cultures. Students will determine the topic for their Distinction Project in consultation with a thesis advisor, whom they will chose from among the Music History and Cultures faculty (in exceptional cases other faculty may serve in this capacity). The thesis will also be evaluated by a second reader, chosen by the thesis advisor (in consultation with the student) from other faculty in Music History and Cultures or related disciplines. In most cases, the project will take the form of a formal essay approximately 6000 words in length. Alternative types of projects are also possible, provided that they meet with the approval of the Music History and Cultures faculty. Regardless of the topic, the project should constitute original work, serving as a persuasive demonstration of the student’s skills and talents as well as a vivid component of the student’s credentials.