Harvard University: History of Art and Architecture Department

For further information, please contact:

ProfessorJoseph Koerner , Director of Undergraduate Studies or
Thomas Batchelder, Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies-- (617) 495-2310

Basic Concentration Requirements: 12 half-courses

4 introductory half-courses numbered HAA 1-89
3 tutorials (HAA97r, HAA98ar, and HAA98br)
3 half-courses in a major field
2 half-courses in two different areas outside the major field

Introductory Courses: Freshmen considering concentration should normally take at least one of these in their first year, although this is not a prerequisite for concentration. No more than five of the series of courses numbered HAA1-89 may be taken for concentration credit, except with the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The balance should be tutorials and upper-level courses.

Tutorials: The Sophomore Tutorial, HAA97r, is a letter-graded Group tutorial. Concentrators choose one of several study groups investigating a particular field of art history. There are two mandatory Junior tutorials; HAA98ar is a letter-graded individual tutorial, consisting of weekly meetings with designated faculty. Regular reading and writing assignments are focused on a topic of mutual interest. HAA98br is a letter-graded introduction to the methods and research skills of Art History. HAA98ar and 98br need not be taken in sequential order.

Major Fields: Students select one of the following categories as an area of focus.

African
Medieval
Byzantine
Chinese
Renaissance
Japanese
Baroque and Rococo
Indian
Modern and Contemporary
Islamic
Architectural History and Theory
Ancient
Latin American/Pre-Columbian

Distribution Requirements: Within the 12 half-courses required for the basic concentration, Three half-courses must be in different areas outside the major field as follows:

One half-course in Asian, Islamic, African, or Latin American/Pre-Columbian, if the major field is in any area of European or North American art or architecture; or one course in European or American art or architecture, if the major field is Asian, Islamic, African, or Latin American/Pre-Columbian,

-and-

Two half-courses must be from time-periods different from that of the major field.

Courses for Credit: Normally, no work taken Pass/Fail will be accepted as part of the concentration; however, the Director of Undergraduate Studies may make an exception for not more than one half-course in studio arts, or a Freshman Seminar. History of Art and Architecture courses include Core courses given by members of the Department of History of Art and Architecture; all historical courses in Visual and Environmental Studies; Classical Archaeology; selected courses in the Core Curriculum, the humanities, Anthropology, and Afro-American Studies; certain offerings of the Graduate School of Design, and certain Freshman Seminars. The designation of any course taken outside the Department of History of Art and Architecture as a History of Art and Architecture course is subject to the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. No more than two-half courses may be "imported" into the concentration by petition over and above the required related course and those which are already cross-listed ; exceptions for coursework done as part of study abroad programs will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Honors Requirement: 14 half-courses and thesis

In addition to the basic concentration requirements seniors must take two terms of HAA99, which is a thesis-writing tutorial with a faculty member, graded SAT/UNS. A Fall Term component of the HAA 99, will be a common thesis seminar, required of all thesis writers, and lead by the department's Senior Honors Advisor. Only students with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 or better are eligible to write a thesis. A student who does not complete the thesis but wishes to receive full- or half-course credit for HAA99 must submit a paper or other substantial piece of work.

Joint Concentration Requirements: 8 half-courses and thesis

Students applying for a joint concentration must confer with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to establish a well-conceived three-year plan.

2 introductory half-courses chosen from HAA1-89
2 upper-level half-courses in the major field
2 half-courses in fields other than that of the major
2 tutorials (HAA97r and HAA98br)

A full course for the writing of the thesis should be registered in the primary concentration, with the approval of the secondary concentration (two terms of HAA99 if History of Art and Architecture is the primary concentration). All joint concentrators will be required to participate in the Fall Term thesis seminar conducted by HAA.

Secondary Field in History of Art and Architecture

The Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University offers the broadest range of courses available in North America today. The faculty offers courses covering the diverse historical and cultural geographies of the world—as well as their points of intersection, dialogue, and exchange—in the fields of African, American, Ancient (Near East, Greek, and Roman), Architectural History and Theory, Baroque and Rococo, Byzantine, Chinese, Indian, Islamic, Japanese, Latin American/Pre-Columbian, Medieval, Modern and Contemporary, Photography, and the Renaissance (Northern and Southern). The scope of art and architecture studied is matched in variety by both approaches and methods of study. The secondary field is structured to provide students with a balance between introductory and advanced courses of instruction and to promote understanding of the world's art traditions present and past. The secondary field offers students an opportunity to explore their interest in the History of Art and Architecture in the broadest of possible terms, or equally to pursue a focused academic interest for its own sake or that complements a course of study in their primary concentration. Courses of study are enhanced by direct access to the collections of the Harvard University Art Museums.

Requirements: 6 half-courses

Three half-courses from the lower level of department offerings, selected from the catalogue range HAA 1 to 89 (these may include Freshman Seminars and Core Curriculum courses offered by our faculty; and cross-listed courses).
Three half-courses from the upper level of department offerings, selected from the catalogue numbers of the HAA 100-200 range. (Students wishing to enroll in a 200-level seminar must request the instructor's permission.)

Of the 6 half-courses, a balance must be achieved chronologically before or after the year 1700 C.E. by a ratio of 2:4 or 4:2.

Other Information

In addition to Freshman Seminars and Core Curriculum courses taught by History of Art and Architecture faculty, Harvard Summer School courses in the History of Art and Architecture may also count towards secondary field credit. There is no grade minimum for courses to count towards the secondary field but, with the exception of Freshman Seminars, courses must be taken for a letter grade. Students pursuing a secondary field will not be given preferential access to limited enrollment courses, which in our concentration are generally undergraduate pro-seminars and seminars for graduate students. In limited enrollment courses, instructors will decide whether or not a secondary field student is admitted to their course based on such factors as their level of preparation, stated interest, and/or need.

Advising Resources and Expectations

Students pursuing the secondary field in History of Art and Architecture are strongly advised to inform the department using the on-line tool and to seek academic advising from the Director of Undergraduate Studies before embarking upon this course of study.* Students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies by email and meet to discuss their academic interest and objectives. The initial meeting could occur at any stage after the concentration choice has been made, but ideally in the student's fourth or fifth semester. Academic advising and general mentoring in the course of secondary field study will also be provided by the Director of Undergraduate Studies and his or her assistant at the student's request. The Director of Undergraduate Studies is Joseph Koerner; the Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies is Thomas Batchelder, 495-2310.

*The on-line tool will be available by the 7th Monday of the 2007 spring term. In the meantime, please contact the department directly.

Advising

Departmental academic advising is provided by the Director of Undergraduate Studies, who meets individually with concentrators to discuss course selection, tutorials, and thesis topics (usually at the beginning of each term and by appointment at other times). Additionally, a system of Faculty-Student mentoring has been instituted, whereby each student will be assigned a faculty member to meet with on at least a casual basis through the academic year. Students are reminded, however, that they are each ultimately responsible for the fulfillment of concentration requirements, and should check regularly on the current status of their progress. Procedural information and advice is available throughout the year in the Undergraduate Office. With the new protocol of delay in concentration choice, students are all the more strongly urged to be in contact with the department as early as possible (i.e. Freshman year and on) if they have an interest in studying History of Art and Architecture. Please contact the Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies, Thomas Batchelder ( Sackler Museum , Room 208, 495-2310), who is available on a walk-in basis during most regular office hours.

Grants and Prizes

Interested students should investigate the following sources of research support:

Ford Grant Program: May support directed research during the summer (work may not be for academic credit). Administered by the Student Employment Office. April deadline.

Iota Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Summer Thesis Research Grants: May support summer thesis research by women undergraduates. Administered by the Student Employment Office. March deadline.

Radcliffe Traveling Fellowships: There are five separate categories of fellowships available to women undergraduates for research and travel support. Administered by the Student Employment Office. March deadline.

Dressler Family Traveling Grants: Support for students seeking to travel and study in a Romance language-speaking country. Administered by the Department of Romance Languages and Literature, Boylston Hall. Spring deadline.

Russian Research Center Summer Grants: For summer thesis research in Soviet or Russian Studies. Administered by the Russian Research Center. March deadline.

Center For Middle Eastern Studies Grants: For summer thesis research on Middle Eastern topics. Administered by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. March deadline.

The Joseph Pulitzer. Jr. '36 Beneficiary Aid Fund: The Pulitzer Fund supports thesis writers in the History of Art and Architecture Department who need to travel during their senior year to complete their thesis research. Administered by the Department of History of Art and Architecture. March deadline.

The Matthew Abramson '96 Traveling Fellowship: An endowed fund established by the Abramson family in honor of the memory of their son, to support travel for thesis research in the Department of History of Art and Architecture. Administered by this department. March deadline.

The Matthew Abramson '96 Prize for Best Senior Thesis in History of Art and Architecture: Awarded by faculty vote of the Department of History of Art and Architecture to the one student of this department whose thesis has been determined as "Best Senior Thesis" as based primarily upon the combined numerical score of the grades submitted by all readers, with subsequent discussion and vote in the department honors meeting.

In the Academic Year, 1999-2000, The Department of History of Art and Architecture was first able to award a newly endowed departmental prize for senior thesis writing. Matthew Abramson, a History of Art and Architecture Concentrator of the Harvard College Class of '96 felt strongly of the significance and personal reward gained through the research and writing of a Senior Honors Thesis. As a gesture to encourage following concentrators to engage in this endeavor, he established an endowment to provide a prize to be awarded annually to that student whose thesis has been judged 'Best Written' as determined through discussion and vote by the faculty of this department. The decision for this prize is made by the faculty in the final meeting of the year when honors recommendations are discussed.

Points of procedure are as follows:

The Prize shall be awarded to the one student whose thesis has been voted "Best Senior Thesis."
Determination of "Best Senior Thesis" will be based primarily upon the combined numerical score of the grades submitted by all readers. The department faculty will discuss each thesis considered eligible. Where two or more theses vie for consideration, owing to close combined grade scores, discussion in the department meeting to vote senior honors will determine whether agreement on a sole "best thesis" may be immediately reached, or whether the viable theses should be read by a committee charged to make a final recommendation. This committee would be comprised of the Curriculum Committee of the department, or other members, as decided in the honors meeting. However determined, the proposal for award of the Abramson Prize will be voted by the full complement of department faculty.
All students writing a thesis for this department will be eligible for consideration; due consideration will be made to those students who are joint concentrators and whose thesis has been written in accordance with the methodological style of two concentrations.
The award shall be made for $500.00 to any student whether a U.S. or Foreign national; thus, disbursement will be directed to be $500.00 for a U.S. citizen, or $500.00 plus taxes for a foreign national, so that the final award will be the intended $500.00 without penalty for tax status

James R. and Isabel D. Hammond Prize: Awarded by the Committee on Latin American and Iberian Studies for the best undergraduate thesis on a subject dealing with the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas. May deadline.

Kathryn Ann Huggins Prize: Awarded by the Prize Office, University Hall for an outstanding senior thesis from any department on a topic relating to Afro-American life, history or culture. May deadline.

Bowdoin Prize: Awarded for essays of high literary merit in any field of learning. Essays that form parts of theses may be offered in competition, but must be limited to not more than 7,500 words. March deadline.

Hoopes Prize: Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize for Excellence in the Work of the Undergraduates and the
Art of Teaching. The Hoopes prize may be awarded to authors of theses of exceptional quality. Nomination is by the thesis adviser, and each faculty member is sent nomination materials during the spring term by the Hoopes Committee. May deadline.

The Hoopes Prize honors excellence in the work of undergraduates and faculty teaching, in all academic areas. Substance, originality, and the ability to communicate the project's information are especially noted.

It is generously supported by the gift of Thomas Temple Hoopes '19. Student winners are awarded $2,500. Faculty nominators receive a taxable stipend of $750. The Faculty Committee ordinarily awards approximately 40 Hoopes Prizes each year.

Any person teaching or supervising undergraduate work done for credit in Harvard College may nominate one student project for which s/he has served as supervisor. Films, tapes, exhibits and performances as well as written work are eligible for Hoopes Prizes. In the case of an exhibit of limited duration or a performance, the nominator should inform the Hoopes Prize Committee of the date(s) on which the work may be seen. The nominator may also present a film or tape of a student exhibit or performance for the Committee's review.

Projects must have a faculty sponsor. Undergraduates may not submit nominations on their own.

Mortimer Hays-Brandeis Fellowship

The program awards three fellowships annually to "students in the visual and History of Art and Architecture, including art history, conservation, studio art, and photography". Eligible students must have received an undergraduate degree no more than three years prior to the start of the fellowship year from any of the institutions: Brandeis, Boston University, City College of New York, Columbia, Connecticut College, Galludet, Harvard, Rochester Institute of Technology, Wesleyan, or Yale. The fellowships of $12,000 each are intended to provide support for living expenses and travel outside the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Students must therefore present in their application a reasoning of the specific necessity for their travel abroad to complete their proposed project; i.e., scholarship and/or artistic pursuit must involve specific materials or locations abroad. .

Regarding the proposal, the Fellowship Coordinator at Brandeis, Dr. John Hose, explained to me in a telephone conversation that the selection committee would be looking for the following:

4-6 pages for proposal.
Sound, well-considered, well-argued , well-written meritorious proposal.
Sound, well-investigated and documented budget.
Evidence of language preparation if applicable.
Evidence of solid preparation and background directly relating to proposed scholarship or project.
Discussion of how the endowed scholarship will lead to, and significantly contribute to further involvement in like area.
If a visual proposal, attention to polished presentation of slides.

Harvard undergraduates and recent alumni may get application materials for the fellowship from the Tutorial Office, Department of History of Art and Architecture. All application materials must be returned to that office, marked to the attention of the Senior Honors Adviser, by the deadline date of January 31.

The Senior Thesis Adviser will vet applications and produce a rank list based on suitability of proposal and preparedness of the applicant. It was explained that each institution has its own process of reviewing applications and passing them to Brandeis; all that is required is a letter from the Chair of the administering department affirming that the proposals attached have been reviewed by this process, and therefore have the blessings of the Chair. The Fellowships Administrators at OCS are no longer involved in this process, and will refer students directly to the Senior Honors Adviser in History of Art and Architecture.

This rank list, in the form of a letter bearing the signatures of the Senior Thesis Adviser and the Department Chair, and application materials will be forwarded to the Administrative Coordinator for the fellowships at Brandeis, Dr. John R. Hose, Associate Vice President for University Affairs, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, MA 02254-9110.

The remaining aspects of the fellowship competition are scheduled as follows:

April 7-18: Meeting of the selection committee.

May 1-13: Second meeting of the committee, if needed.

May 19: Approximate date for written notification to finalists of fellowship award.

Dr. Hose will happily take inquiries from the department (or from students) regarding application and administration of the fellowships. He can be reached at 617.736.3001.

Writing a Thesis

Schedule of Thesis Preparation
Grading of the Thesis
Examples of Past Theses
Discontinuance of a Thesis
Guidelines for Writers and Academic Advisers
Academic Requirements
Senior Honors Adviser
Thesis Adviser
Thesis Readers
Grade Report and Honors Recommendation

Department Schedule of Thesis Preparation

The thesis writer and adviser should agree on a working schedule which will adequately conform to the calendar of thesis requirements established by the Senior Honors Adviser. Each of these written requirements should be submitted to the Tutorial Office for review by the Senior Honors Adviser. Paradigms for each of the written requirements are held on file in the Tutorial Office, for consultation. An updated schedule of departmental dates and deadlines relative to the thesis will be available at the beginning of each Fall Term. All writers of the senior thesis shall enroll in an HAA 99 for course (and requirement) credit - joint concentrators will enroll in the 99 course of their primary concentration.

Beginning in 2006-07, every concentrator writing a thesis will enroll in the senior thesis seminar in the fall of the senior year. Overseen by the Senior Honors Adviser, the senior thesis seminar will meet several times during the semester for a two-hour session devoted to facilitating the preparation and writing of a thesis. These sessions will cover such topics as compiling a bibliography, using archives, and constructing an effective argument. Late in the semester, each participant will deliver a twenty-minute presentation on his or her thesis topic, illustrated with slides or digitally projected images. All departmental faculty and students will be invited to these presentations. By the end of the semester, each participant in the seminar will submit a complete first draft of the thesis, complete with illustrations.

Application for Pulitzer and Abramson Travel Grants: Early March. See above under Prizes for details on grant and application.

Announcement of Pulitzer and Abramson Grant Awards Mid-March: By letter to the recipients.

Adviser's Review: Early March. Ideally, you should present the full, finished and finalized draft of your text to your adviser for a final review before formal submission to the Department.

Thesis Submission: End of March - the Friday before Spring Break. You must submit your thesis in the afternoon at a Thesis Reception. In exchange for your finely crafted magnum opus you will receive a glass of champagne and our heartiest congratulations. Please do attend this afternoon because a thesis submitted late is usually not accepted.

Reader's Response: after Early May. Senior Honors Theses are read and critiqued by Members of the Faculty and the Museum at the request of the Senior Honors Adviser. Readers' identities remain anonymous.

Faculty Meeting on Honors: Early May. Department Faculty meet to vote on final honors recommendations, after which thesis writers will receive by letter from the Senior Honors Adviser notification of their thesis grade and recommendation for honors. Writers will also receive at this time the written responses of their readers. Students should speak with their Allston Burr Senior Tutor for anticipated final honors decision of the College.

Grading of the Senior Thesis

Theses are read and critiqued by faculty members applying a higher standard than expected for work written in courses or tutorials. Faculty do make use of the full range of grades, and students should consider that any honors grade is a distinction of merit. If you have any questions, please contact the Senior Honors Adviser, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, or the Undergraduate Coordinator at 495-2310.

SUMMA CUM LAUDE: A summa thesis is a work of "highest honor." It is a contribution to knowledge, though it need not be an important contribution. It reveals a promise of high intellectual attainments both in selection of problems and facts for consideration and in the manner in which conclusions are drawn from these facts. A summa thesis includes, potentially at least, the makings of a publishable article. The writer's use of sources and data is judicious. The thesis is well written and proofread. The arguments are concise and logically organized, and the allocation of space appropriate. A summa is not equivalent to just any A, but the sort given by instructors who reserve them for exceptional merit. A summa minus is a near miss at a summa and is also equivalent to an A of unusual quality.

MAGNA CUM LAUDE: A magna level thesis is a work worthy of "great honor." It clearly demonstrates the capacity for a high level of achievement, is carried through carefully, and represents substantial industry. A magna plus thesis achieves a similar level of quality to a summa in some respects, though it falls short in others; it is equivalent to the usual type of A. A magna thesis is equivalent to an A-. For a magna minus, the results achieved may not be quite a successful due to an unhappy choice of topic or approach; it is also equivalent to an A-.

CUM LAUDE: As is appropriate for a grade "with honors," a cum level thesis shows serious thought and effort in its general approach, if not in every detail. A cum plus is equivalent to a B+, a cum to a B, and a cum minus to a B-. The cum thesis does not merely represent the satisfactory completion of a task. It is, however, to be differentiated from the magna in the difficulty of the subject handled, the substantial nature of the project, and the success with which the subject is digested. Recall that, as students putting extraordinary effort into a thesis most frequently receive a magna, theses of a solid but not exceptional quality deserve a grade in the cum range. When expressed in numerical equivalents, the interval between a magna minus and a cum minus is double that between the other intervals on the grading scale.

NO DISTINCTION: Not all theses automatically deserve honors. Nevertheless, a grade of no distinction (C, D, or E) should be reserved only for those circumstances when the thesis is hastily constructed, a mere summary of existing material, or is poorly thought through. The high standards which are applied in critique of theses must clearly be violated for a thesis to merit a grade of no distinction

Examples of Past Theses

Senior Honors Theses which are written by students who graduate Summa or Magna are deposited in the University Archives in Pusey Library. Copies of theses which are awarded the Hoopes Prize are held in Lamont. Students are urged to consult past theses as much can be gained in exploring precedent or seeking inspiration.

Discontinuance of a Thesis

The process of writing the thesis is a serious commitment of time and energy for both the writer and the adviser. In some cases, however, it might be agreed that the thesis should be discontinued at mid-year. The Senior Tutorial HAA 99 may be divided with credit through a procedure in which the student must submit a written paper presenting the project and research to that point.

Guidelines for Writers and Advisers of Senior Theses

Senior Concentrators wishing to graduate with honors in the Department must write a senior thesis and carry academic standing of Group II or better, with a minimum GPA of 3.00 in concentration grades. In deciding whether one wishes to fulfill the honors requirements the student should consider his/her academic interests, commitment to independent research and other deadlines and obligations during the thesis year. Many students find the task of researching and writing a substantial piece of critical scholarship interesting and rewarding, but others find the senior thesis can become a frustrating and unwieldy burden. Some students prefer the freedom to savor extra-curricular pursuits during their last year at the College unhampered by the encroaching demands of thesis preparation. In general, it may be remarked that students are unlikely to do well in the honors program who are not already committed to this process of scholarship, and proven practiced writers; the senior thesis is not the place to acquire basic skills in writing and research. In considering the Department's honors requirements, it should be remembered that students with honors grades overall may graduate with University Honors (Cum Laude) even if they do not receive Honors in History of Art and Architecture.

Academic Requirements

The writing and evaluation of the thesis is a year long process, during which the writer meets at scheduled intervals with his/her adviser, to formulate, develop, and ultimately refine their thesis work. The Department has also instituted a "thesis writing seminar" which writers will participate in through the fall term. The thesis is due just before spring break, and is then sent to its readers for their judgment and critique. The final thesis grade and recommendation for honors is determined at a faculty meeting in mid-May. Students working towards a March degree will follow a schedule to finish the thesis in early December.

The Department encourages seniors to think broadly and explore a problem of interest. The thesis topic does not necessarily have to be within the writer's declared major field, except when required for a joint concentration, in which case, the topic must address an issue shared by both concentrations. The thesis should demonstrate an ability to pose a meaningful question, present a well-reasoned and structured argument, and marshal appropriate evidence. The student should apply a clear methodology and be aware of the assumptions behind the argument, the possible deficiencies of the sources and data used, and the implications of the conclusions. The various parts of the thesis should cohere in an integrated argument; the thesis should not be a series of loosely connected short essays. A primary expectation of the thesis is that it is a work of independent scholarship, directed and crafted by the student, with the thesis adviser serving in a capacity of "indirect overseeing of the project".

There is no set pattern for an acceptable thesis. The writer should demonstrate familiarity with scholarly methods in the use of sources, but this should not be the sole criterion for evaluation. Of equal if not greater importance is the development of the central argument and the significance of the interpretation. A thesis may be research on a little-studied problem or a perceptive reassessment of a familiar question. A well-pondered and well-presented interpretive essay may be as good a thesis as a miniature dissertation.

Skill in exposition is a primary objective, and pristine editing is expected. The department encourages writers to keep to a very short page count, so as to craft a clear, concise paper, and further edit it to an exemplary presentation. In general, a History of Art and Architecture thesis will have a text ranging from 30 to 40 pages, dependent upon the topic. Students are encouraged to explore the resources available to thesis writers at the Writing Center and the Bureau of Study Counsel.

The writer must indicate the source of material drawn from others' work, whether quoted or summarized. Violations of this rule are considered serious and should be brought to the attention of the Director of Undergraduate Studies immediately.

Senior Honors Adviser

The process of taking honors and writing the thesis in this Department is overseen for all concentrators by the Senior Honors Adviser. The Senior Honors Adviser leads the Fall Term thesis-writing seminar, and directs the meetings for departmental approval once theses have been submitted. The department Tutorial Office holds examples of the written requirements (Thesis proposal and prospectus) and of the Pulitzer, and Abramson Grant application which students might wish to consult as paradigms.

Thesis Adviser

Students must seek a thesis adviser who is a full faculty member of the History of Art and Architecture Department or museum curator holding a teaching appointment in this department. The adviser ought to serve as a critic of your synthesized ideas and writings, rather than as a director of your work. The adviser should be chosen with consideration more to compatibility in overseeing the process of the work than to being an expert in the field. Prospective advisers should be approached as soon as you have identified a thesis topic. You should be prepared to show examples of your written work to your prospective adviser. Your verbal agreement with your adviser should be communicated promptly to the Senior Honors Adviser. If you have trouble identifying an appropriate adviser, please consult with the Senior Honors Adviser before the deadline for the Thesis Proposal.

Graduate students in the Department of History of Art and Architecture do not advise Senior Theses.

Thesis Readers

As voted by majority consensus in the Department Meeting of May 25, 2000, a new procedure for the reading and grading of senior theses will go into effect. Each thesis will have three readers: two readers chosen by the Department, ideally one from within the student's area of interest, and one from outside it, and the thesis adviser. All readers will be asked to submit written comments and grades, which will be factored equally to produce the final grade of the thesis. Individual grades are not released and the readers remain anonymous, though there exists a procedure by which a writer may request, via the Senior Adviser, to speak with a reader provided that reader is willing to discuss the work in further detail or expound on the written critique.

Grade Report and Honors Recommendation

At the end of each term, Fall and Spring, the student's progress in the Senior Tutorial (HAA 99) will be graded SAT or UNSAT. At the end of the Department's Honors Review process the Senior Honors Adviser calculates a recommendation for Honors based on the factored grades of the thesis and the student's grades in concentration coursework. This recommendation is presented to the faculty at their meeting in May for review. A faculty vote is taken and this decision is passed as an honors recommendation to the Registrar of the College. The decision of Final Honors to be granted on the degree is made by the Registrar based on departmental recommendation and grades. Students should consult with their Allston Burr Senior Tutor to determine what final honors might be anticipated at Commencement.

The needs of the Department for fair deliberation dictate that there may be no report of decisions regarding the thesis until after the Faculty has considered and voted upon each recommendation for honors. After honors recommendations have been voted by the faculty, students will be notified of the department's recommendation to the College and will receive an unsigned, ungraded copy of each evaluation of their thesis (the needs of the Department for fair deliberation dictates that there may be no report of decisions regarding the thesis until after the Departmental Honors Meeting). The comments in these evaluations should provide the student with a clear explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the thesis, bearing in mind the difficulties of the field and the type of thesis submitted, and evaluating what was accomplished in terms of what was undertaken, given the student's limitation of time and experience.