By the fall of junior year, students must hold both a minimum 3.33 GPA in History courses and minimum 3.33 overall UI GPA.

Students must obtain permission from the History Department Honors Director to pursue Honors in the Major. Students should read the requirements and determine whether they meet the criteria. They should also familiarize themselves with the Timeline for Writing Thesis. If they meet the requirements or have any questions, they should schedule a meeting with the Honors Director to discuss their plan of study.

Students who pursue Honors in the Major must write a thesis. They must work with a designated faculty advisor and enroll in a two-course sequence. The first course (HIST:3995) should be taken in the spring of the junior year and the second (HIST:3996) in the fall of the senior year. These courses are only offered once per year. The six credit hours accrued from 3995/6 count toward the credit-hour requirements for the History major.

Students must defend the completed thesis before a 3-person faculty committee. Committee members will be decided upon near the completion of the thesis in November of the senior year.

The History Department selectively accommodates students whose academic course of study prevents them from enrolling in both HIST:3995 and 3996. In this scenario, students must have a History professor agree to guide them through the research, bibliographic, and/or writing process. Students will still need to enroll in one of the two-course sequence.