Honors in Comparative Literature & Thought

CL&T offers an honors program that requires an additional 6.5 units of course work. Students who have attained a 3.7 grade point in courses in the major are encouraged to apply for admission to the honors program as early as the second semester of their sophomore year and no later than the beginning of the second semester of their junior year. Students seeking CL&T honors have two options: honors by thesis or honors by course work. We expect that most CL&T honors students will complete their majors with a thesis.

For most students, the honors program will begin in the fall of the junior year, when students enroll in a course in Theory and Research Methods that culminates in the production of a substantial research paper and oral defense. This course is open to students across the humanities. (For students who decide to pursue honors belatedly, the Theory and Research Methods course may be taken during the fall of senior year.)

In the spring of junior year, students pursuing theses will enroll in a short course of four workshops that address how to refine a thesis topic. The following year, this cohort of CL&T honors students will complete their thesis in two semesters of highly collaborative workshops.

In a few instances, CL&T honors students will forego a thesis or creative project and will instead enroll in two more 4000-level CL&T courses, with a capstone essay reflecting on the coherence of those advanced courses or on the friction between them.

Students may be awarded honors, high honors, or highest honors based on the quality of their honors capstone materials. Please note that CL&T honors are separate from Latin Honors.

Honors in German

There are three ways to achieve honors in German: Honors by Coursework and Portfolio, Honors by Creative Project, or Honors by Thesis. These three options are designed to provide a capstone to the German major and to offer you a chance to draw together the breadth of your linguistic and cultural knowledge of German language. You will work one-on-one with a faculty member in an extended conversation to craft your project or portfolio and hone your analytical skills, delving deeply into the intellectual questions that engage you as a student of German. These questions may arise from coursework or from your own engagements with German culture beyond the formal university setting.

For information about the requirements and application forms for receiving Honors in German, please see the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Delta Phi Alpha, The German National Honor Society

The department strongly encourages students to join Delta Phi Alpha, the German National Honorary Society. This organization hosts regular social events/study breaks for its members and provides guidance for those interested in improving their German and knowledge of German culture. Students are eligible to join if they have a minimum of two years of university-level German courses (300 and higher) or their equivalent; a minimum overall GPA of 2.7; a minimum German GPA of 3.3; and a continued interest in the study of German language and culture.

Online - Delta Phi Alpha Application

An application is considered complete when supporting documentation (a copy of your unofficial transcript, such as what you can download in Workday, and a short personal statement of at least one paragraph stating why you would like to join Delta Phi Alpha) is on file with the department. Please submit these documents to Benjamin Locke via email or to his mailbox in the department office (S. Ridgley 319).

Departmental Scholarships and Awards

The Kafalenos Prize was established in honor of Professor Emma Kafalenos, a specialist in narrative theory who taught in Comparative Literature at Washington University for decades. This prize is not given each year and is awarded to CL&T students who have completed an especially exceptional piece of academic work.

The Bronsen Prize was established in honor of Professor David Bronsen, a distinguished scholar, teacher, and long-time member of the German Department. The prize is awarded to a graduating German major or minor on the basis of excellent German language skills and superior academic achievement.

The Detjen Study Abroad Award provides support for undergraduate and graduate students to undertake German-language coursework for at least one semester at a university in a German-speaking country. It is designed to provide partial funding for a student’s expenses associated with travel to, from, and within Europe. Preference shall be given to undergraduate students matriculated for a full academic year at a German-speaking university, with secondary consideration given to undergraduate or graduate students matriculated at a German-speaking university for one semester.

The James McLeod Prize was established in honor of Dean James McLeod, an esteemed professor in the German Department, as well as an exceptional colleague and mentor. The prize is awarded to a graduating German major or minor on the basis of overall excellence in German studies and in extracurricular involvement in departmental activities.

The Gerhild Scholz Williams Award was established in honor of Professor Williams for her contributions to the field of German Studies. The award is an annual competitive grant of up to $2,000 for students planning to conduct summer research in a German-speaking country on a project related to German culture.