Cinema & Comparative Literature
Graduating with Honors in CCL
Effective Fall 2008
In order to be awarded honors by our department, the student must complete an honors project. In order to be eligible to initiate an honors project, the student must:
1. Be a member of the University of Iowa Honors Program; have 75 hours of earned credit; and
be a declared major in either Cinema or Comparative Literature.
2. Prepare a written proposal during the semester prior to the two-semester Honors Project. This proposal should outline both the nature of the work and why it represents work beyond that
offered in normal course offerings. The student then obtains an endorsement for this project
from the faculty member who will serve as the advisor for the thesis project. A copy of this
proposal, signed by the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies, will remain on file in
the main office for tracking purposes.
At this point the student must plan to register with the thesis advisor for two consecutive
semesters of 048:098 Honors Tutorial at 3 credits per semester.
At the beginning of the second semester, the student and the thesis advisor solicit one other
faculty member to join the project as a second member of the thesis committee.
At this time, the thesis advisor will remind all concerned about the deadline for the submission of
the project for evaluation and response, which can be no later than the thirteenth week of this
second semester of thesis work. The student is responsible for meeting all application, and
thesis title-page submission deadlines required by the University of Iowa Honors program. See
their website.
If the committee reports a successful outcome to the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and if
the student has maintained membership in good standing with the University of Iowa Honors
Program, including maintaining the UI G.P.A. of 3.33 through the final semester, then the
student is awarded Honors by the department.
Note: some areas for thesis projects may require additional prerequisite work. In Film and
Video production, for example, the student must have reached the advanced level, equivalent to
the course Production Workshop, before becoming eligible for Honors work.
Additional information regarding Honors Projects by Undergraduate Area:
FILM/VIDEO PRODUCTION HONORS PROJECTS:
Cinema majors with Honors status may elect to work on an Honors Thesis Film or Video in their
senior year. Honors Thesis projects in Production are yearlong projects that generate three
credits-hours per semester and must be completed in the Fall and Spring terms consecutively.
Honors students wishing to complete a Thesis film or video should identify an Honors
Committee of two faculty members in CCL and submit a proposal no later than mid-April of their
Junior Year. If approved, the student works independently in the fall semester, meeting with
supervising faculty from the Honors Committee as needed. In the spring semester, the student
attends (they register for honors credit) Advanced Production Workshop to have the benefit of
both faculty and peer feedback. Before being awarded credit, the student must submit a written
Honors Thesis (12-20 pages) that supports the Honors Film or Video and have public screening
of the work.
FILM STUDIES HONORS PROJECTS:
Cinema majors with Honors status (established by the UI Honors Program) may elect to work on
an Honors Thesis in Film Studies during their senior year. An Honors Thesis is a yearlong
project that generates 3 credit hours per semester by a student registering for two consecutive
semesters of 048:098 Honors Tutorial. Honors students wishing to complete a Thesis should
identify a faculty Honors Advisor in CCL and submit a formal proposal (1-3 pages, with a
preliminary bibliography and/or filmography) no later than mid-April of their Junior Year. If approved, the student begins work on the project (locating materials, viewing, listening, notetaking,
drafting portions of the Thesis) during the following fall semester, meeting with their
Honors Advisor on a regular basis. By the start of the spring semester, when the student and Advisor solicit one additional faculty member to join the project as a second member of the
Honors Committee, a draft of the Thesis should already be well underway. A complete draft of
the Thesis (ranging from 25-50 pages, to be negotiated) must be submitted to the Honors
Committee by the ninth week of the semester. A final version of the Thesis must be submitted
no later than the thirteenth week of the semester (with exact dates to be confirmed as far in
advance as possible). A final meeting with the Honors Committee may be arranged if desired.
If the Committee reports a successful outcome to the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and
the student has maintained Honors status at the University of Iowa (including a 3.33 GPA
through the final semester), the student will be awarded Honors by the department.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE HONORS PROJECTS:
Comparative Literature majors with Honors status (established by the UI Honors Program) may
elect to work on an Honors Thesis in Comparative Literature during their senior year. An
Honors Thesis is generally a yearlong project that generates 3 credit hours per semester by a
student registering for two consecutive semesters of 048:098 Honors Tutorial. Honors students
wishing to complete a Thesis should identify a faculty Honors Advisor in CCL and submit a
formal proposal (1-3 pages, with a preliminary bibliography) no later than mid-April of their
Junior Year. If approved, the student begins work on the project (locating materials, reading,
note-taking, drafting portions of the Thesis) during the following fall semester, meeting with their
Honors Advisor on a regular basis. By the start of the spring semester, when the student and
Advisor solicit one additional faculty member to join the project as a second member of the
Honors Committee, a draft of the Thesis should already be well underway. A complete draft of
the Thesis (ranging from 25-50 pages, to be negotiated) must be submitted to the Honors
Committee by the ninth week of the semester. A final version of the Thesis must be submitted
no later than the thirteenth week of the semester (with exact dates to be confirmed as far in
advance as possible). A final meeting with the Honors Committee may be arranged if desired.
If the Committee reports a successful outcome to the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and the student has maintained Honors status at the University of Iowa (including a 3.33 GPA
through the final semester), the student will be awarded Honors by the department.
Useful Links to the University of Iowa Honors Program:
Membership Requirements for the University Honors Program
