Students who want to deepen their understanding of anthropology and hone their independent research and writing skills may want to consider the Anthropology Honours Program.

The Honours Program is an option within the 4-year BA degree. What makes it different from the standard degree is its more intensive focus on anthropology and the opportunity it allows for self-directed study. Students take 60 credit hours in ANTH courses (typically, 20 semester-long courses). These include two courses offered specifically to honours students, usually taken in the final year of the BA (for a checklist of Anthropology Honours requirements, click here).

ANTH 4994 (Honours Essay I) is a workshop-style seminar offered every fall semester, in which students develop their Honours research projects. Over the term, students choose and refine their Honours topic, conduct background research and carry out the first stages of thesis writing. Along the way, they finesse their research and writing skills and discuss such issues as how to work effectively with academic supervisors and what to do when they hit roadblocks.

ANTH 4995 (Honours Essay II) is an independent study course, in which students complete their honours theses working one-on-one with a faculty supervisor. Recent Honours students have completed theses on topics as diverse as Newfoundland nationalism, gated communities in South Africa, US war resistors, and the treatment of sexual minorities under Canadian immigration law, to name just a few.

For further information on the Honours Program, please contact the Undergraduate Liaison. The university’s admission requirements can be found here.