Honors Program

Honors Program

Spanish
Students wishing to enroll in Honors in the Major in Spanish must consult with the Undergraduate Advisor in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese to declare an Honors Major.  Honors candidates in Spanish are expected to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5 for all Spanish courses at or above the 300-level and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3.  Honors candidates in Spanish are required to take at least 9 honors credits at the major level, 6 of which must be above 326.  Undergraduate courses in which Honors candidates can enroll for Honors credits are indicated by "%," "!," and "H" in the Course Guide.  In addition to the 9 credits of Honors coursework, the Honors candidate must complete a Senior Honors Thesis (6 credits: Spanish 681 and Spanish 682) under the direction of a UW-Madison Spanish faculty member, who must be consulted about the project by the beginning of the student's senior year (at the latest) so that a topic can be formulated.  In certain circumstances (particularly when the student is an Honors candidate in two or more departments), two graduate courses in literature, linguistics, or cultural studies (6 credits) at the 500 or 600 level—from Spanish 501 to Spanish 640—may be substituted for the Honors Thesis, upon recommendation by the Undergraduate Advisor.  Study abroad in Spain or Spanish America is highly recommended.

Portuguese
Students wishing to enroll in Honors in the Major in Portuguese must consult with the Honors Advisor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese to declare an Honors Major. Honors candidates in Portuguese are expected to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5 for all Portuguese courses at or above the 300-level and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3. Honors candidates in Portuguese are required, like all Portuguese majors, to take 24 credits in Portuguese courses beyond 102, and 8 credits of another Romance language. Honors candidates in Portuguese must take a minimum of 16 of these credits as honors courses. Undergraduate courses in which Honors candidates can enroll for honors credits are indicated by "%" in the Timetable. Honors candidates in Portuguese should consult with the instructor within the first two weeks of the semester regarding the honors work to be done in each particular undergraduate course. Of these 16 credits, 6 must be in the Senior Honors Thesis (681/682) or two graduate courses or seminars (totaling 6 credits) taken with special permission from the Department Honors Advisor. The faculty advisor for the Senior Honors Thesis should be consulted about the project as early as possible (and no later than the beginning of the student's junior year) to formulate a topic and to allow the student the potential to take part in the funding cycle for their senior year.

Students should be aware that Honors in the Major is a new program and is still under development, and so should not assume that the requirements specified in this catalog are complete or fully described. Students should check with the Department Honors Advisor at least once a year to make sure that requirements have not been modified, as well as to seek guidance about planning the best possible Honors in the Major curriculum that reflects their special interests.