The Italian Studies Honors Program
The goal of our Italian Studies Honors Program is to provide academically talented and highly motivated undergraduates opportunities to engage in research with premier research faculty and to develop mentoring relationships focused on conducting research. Research faculty members who participate in the honors program consider students as partners in a learning community.
Our premises are that
- Education helps prepare students to be the leaders, researchers, and educators of tomorrow
- Development of the mind entails the development of the whole person
- It is valuable for both young students and faculty members to cooperatively engage in the creation of knowledge
Why participate in the Honors Program? Participating in Honors-directed undergraduate research contributes to the intellectual, professional, and personal growth of the student.
By conducting in-depth research, students will explore questions and issues of interest they have developed during their regular coursework at UCSB or during their Junior Year Abroad. Students who choose to participate in ISHP will gain valuable research-related skills that can help them meet the demands of graduate or professional school.
More specifically, Honors students learn the skills necessary to think critically and evaluate issues and questions objectively. They learn these skills by:
1. Identifying and developing research topics in Italian Studies fields, whether in language, literature, and/or culture.
2. Working collaboratively with their mentor toward accomplishment of a common goal.
3. Communicating effectively in Italian, presenting and sharing their knowledge successfully in Italian as far as possible.
Who can participate in the Honors Program? The Honors Thesis?
Admission in the ISHP is competitive. Seniors with a GPA of 3.5 in the major and 3.5 overall will be invited to participate in the Italian Studies Senior Honors Program, which entails writing a 20-page senior honor essay as an Independent Study Project (up to 4 units course credit). Those who successfully complete this project (with a grade A- or higher) will graduate with honors; their diplomas and transcripts will read “Distinction in the Major.”
We hope to welcome you soon in our Honors program, and to contribute to your intellectual and personal growth.
