Students earning a major in Asian languages and literature with a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the major and an overall minimum GPA of 3.33 have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major. Students interested in earning honors in the major should seek the consent of the department chair and a faculty sponsor (an Asian specialist from any department) for departmental honors work. Students must register for ASIA:4301 - Honors Tutorial and ASIA:4506 - Senior Honors Thesis and must complete an acceptable thesis based on original research.

Interested students should contact their Honors advisor by the beginning of the first semester of their senior year at the latest.

For more information about Chinese and Japanese honors, contact Kendall Heitzman.

For more information about Korean honors, contact Sang-Seok Yoon.

Students earning a major in French with a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the major and an overall minimum GPA of 3.33 have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major.

To graduate with honors in French, students must register for FREN:4995 - Honors Research and Thesis in French and one honors-designated course numbered above 4000. They must complete an honors thesis or the equivalent (e.g., translation, comparative stylistics, cultural studies, or research) in French and must present their work to a faculty committee.

Interested students should contact their Honors advisor by the beginning of the first semester of their senior year at the latest.

For more information, contact David Hagan.

Students earning a major in German with a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the major and an overall minimum GPA of 3.33 have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major. Honors students are expected to engage in readings and discussions in German literature, culture, or linguistics and to write essays in German and English. Students meet with their faculty director of studies on a regular basis. The program concludes with presentation of an honors thesis to a faculty committee of at least three members.

To graduate with honors in German, students must complete GRMN:4990 - Honors Research and GRMN:4991 - Honors Thesis. They must complete an acceptable honors thesis, and present and discuss their research findings in a meeting with their faculty mentor and two additional UI faculty members.

For more information, contact the following advisors:

• Glenn Ehrstine
• Elke Heckner

Students have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major. International studies honors students must maintain a cumulative University of Iowa GPA of at least 3.33 and a GPA of at least 3.33 in all coursework for the major and in all coursework that may be applied to the major.

To graduate with honors in the major, students must complete a minimum of 46 semester hours for the major (an additional 3 s.h.) and complete the Honors Thesis. 

Students who complete the Honors in International Studies curriculum build skills (such as researching, writing/editing and presenting), and relationships (with faculty mentors who share their passion for a research topic) which will last a lifetime. Graduating with Honors in International studies demonstrates a commitment to academic excellence which can be a valuable distinction when applying for post-graduation opportunities.

Follow the steps to apply for honors

1. Email the Honors registration form to Ari Ariel. Once you have received approval from the IS program, you may then enroll on MyUI by choosing faculty mentor from list
2. Submit a one paragraph Project Description to Ari Ariel
3. Students also are encouraged to present their research in a public venue, such as the Spring Undergraduate Research Festival and Fall Undergraduate Research Festival. Learn more about the Research Festival.
4. All graduating students apply graduation on MyUI. Students must verify that they are completing “Honors in the IS Major” on the online application form. May apply after deadline (with late fee), but must apply on time to be listed as completing “Honors in the Major” at commencement ceremony. Contact Graduation Services for questions.
5. Complete a Progress Report, which requires Faculty Mentor signature.
6. Email Rough Draft of Project / Thesis to Ari Ariel
7. Email Final Draft of Project / Thesis to Ari Ariel. Submit a Thesis Cover Sheet, which requires faculty mentor signature on IS Cover Sheet. The Cover Sheet requires a title page, abstract and citations/bibliography. Instructions for Submission may be found on the IS Website under Program Option B (Senior Project or Honors Thesis)
8. Receive Email Confirmation that the project / thesis has been approved or requires edits. (Pending) Honors Students participating in Commencement to receive white honors cords from IS.
9. What happens to an undergraduate thesis or project after it has been completed and graded? Students and the faculty mentor may decide to give permission to have the thesis or project added to the UI Iowa Research Online, a repository of work produced at UI by students and faculty, with the site provided as a service by the UI Libraries. Iowa Research Online allows public access to the posted materials, with people in Iowa, the United States, and from around the world able to read and download a thesis or other project. Since 2016, there have been over 55,000 downloads of this undergraduate work, with this number increasing on a daily basis. Students will want to add their work to this site not only in order to share it with others but also to preserve it for years to come, adding to the knowledge and creative work produced at UI. We love reading your work as do those from around the globe! Browse the Iowa Research Online Repository.

For more information, contact Ari Ariel.

Students earning a major in Italian with a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the major and an overall minimum GPA of 3.33 have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major.

To graduate with honors in Italian, students must register for ITAL:4998 - Honors Research and Thesis in Italian and one honors-designated course numbered above ITAL:3002 (though ITAL:2550, if taken for 4 semester hours, can also be designated as an Honors course in Italian). They must complete an honors thesis or the equivalent (e.g., translation, comparative stylistics, cultural studies, or research) in Italian and must present their work to a faculty committee.

Interested students should contact their Honors advisor by the beginning of the first semester of their senior year at the latest.

For more information, contact Irene Lottini.

Students earning a major in linguistics with a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the major and an overall minimum GPA of 3.33 have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major. Departmental honors students must complete the required coursework for the major and must prepare an honors thesis, working in consultation with their academic advisor.

Students earning a major in Russian seeking to earn honors must have junior or senior standing, a GPA of at least 3.33 in Russian, and a cumulative University of Iowa GPA of at least 3.33 in order to enroll in the honors program. Honors students must register for RUSS:4995 - Honors. They must complete an honors project (e.g., thesis, translation, cultural studies, or research) in Russian. Students must present their work to a faculty committee as determined by their honors thesis advisor. Contact the department for more information about requirements for graduation with honors in the Russian major.

Interested students should contact their Honors advisor by the beginning of the first semester of their senior year at the latest.

For more information, contact Irina Kostina.