Applications to the Honors Program are due Monday, FEBRUARY 3rd at NOON
Admission to the Honors Program in Creative Writing is selective. In order to apply, you will need to have taken at least one 100 level workshop in Creative Writing, or you must be planning to take one in Winter Quarter. Students admitted to the Honors Program will need to take 100FA or 100PA in the Spring of this year. Other students can apply to, and take, 100FA and 100PA – we encourage all interested students to apply for these courses.
THE APPLICATION
Your application to the Honors Program will consist of a statement of purpose and a writing sample in your chosen genre. We will admit you to the program based on these materials. Please submit a well-written, interesting statement of purpose that tells us who you are as a writer and what you wish to do with your thesis. Submit your best work, in the genre you wish to practice, in your writing sample. statement of purpose should be 1-2 pages long. The writing sample should be 10 pages.
COURSEWORK
Students admitted to the program are required to take two courses to complete Honors in Creative Writing. This academic year, you’ll complete English 100FA or 100PA. Next academic year, your graduation year, you’ll take English 195H, an independent study, during one quarter. English 195H. English 100FA and 100PA are scheduled courses with instructors. These courses should give you the time and space to explore your writing practice in anticipation of your thesis project. English 195H is a tutorial style course, which matches you with a Senate Faculty member. Sometimes you meet one on one; sometimes you meet in a group with that advisor.
FINDING AN ADVISOR
In Spring 2024, you should find an advisor. This faculty member will be your official instructor for English 195H, and the mentor for your thesis project. To register for ENL 195H, you need to email voorhiesadvising@ucdavis.edu to get the CRN at the time of registration for the quarter in which you wish to take the class.
THE THESIS
The Honors Thesis is a creative work that reflects each student's development as a writer. The completed thesis should be at least 35 pages in length, and might include a critical or reflective introduction. As a course, English 195H has no scheduled class meetings; instead each student is required to schedule regular meetings with his or her faculty advisor during the term that the thesis is completed. Students should plan to meet at least six times the course of a ten week quarter, and should plan to treat 195H like a class, with at least the same time commitment as an upper-division course in English. Most of this time will be spent independently, writing your project. The thesis should be completed to the faculty advisor's satisfaction at the conclusion of the quarter in which 195H is taken. Students receive four units of credit for working on their creative thesis projects under the direction of the faculty advisor.
SUBMITTING FOR PRIZES
A prize is awarded at the end of Spring Quarter for the Best Honors Creative Writing Honors Project. The deadline date for submission of the thesis is normally prior to the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Students are encouraged, but not required, to complete their thesis in Fall or Winter quarters, however, this is also at the discretion of your faculty advisor.
WHO TO TALK TO
CW Honors Director, Professor Margaret Ronda: mronda@ucdavis.edu
Undergraduate Advisor: voorhiesadvising@ucdavis.edu
Eligibility: To be eligible to participate in the Honors Program in English (Creative), students must have earned, by the end of Fall quarter 2023 a GPA of 3.5 in English courses. Students must also have taken at least one upper division creative writing workshop course at UCD (or enrolled in one Winter quarter 2024). Advanced-standing juniors who expect to graduate in mid-year may also apply for admission.