Honors Program
Have you wanted to challenge yourself to think deeply and to write at length?
Are you curious about what it means to produce knowledge in your studies?
Have you wondered what extended supervised research in the DLCL entails?
If so, consider pursuing Honors.
What is the Honors Program?
What makes an honor thesis different from a long paper or a graduate thesis? This is a key question to discuss with your faculty advisors. Defining the scope of your project is one of your first and most important steps.
In general, a thesis draws on primary and secondary sources to make an original contribution to your field of study. It requires careful close readings, fidelity to primary sources in constructing an argument, a strong command of existing scholarship on the topic, and patience throughout the writing and revision process. One of the rewards of original research is discovering the broader significance of the ideas you develop.
How do I apply?
The deadline for 2026-27 admissions is Friday, May 15, 2026 at 5pm.
Application form must contain the following items:
- A thesis proposal summary
- An unofficial transcript
- Optional: Preliminary reading list
Curriculum Details
Eligibility
Students majoring in any DLCL department (i.e., Comparative Literature, French and Italian, German Studies, Iberian and Latin American Cultures, and Slavic Languages and Literatures) who have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or above and who maintain a 3.5 (GPA) in their major courses, are eligible to participate in the DLCL’s honors program.
Preparation
Attend an Honors Lunch or Informational Session with us during the spring of your junior year! Use this opportunity to meet the program’s faculty leadership, the students currently writing their thesis, and get questions answered.
Students accepted into the Honors Program may participate in the voluntary, fully funded Bing Honors College, a residential boot camp held every September for thesis writers across the university. Confirmed Honors students are invited to register online for Bing Honors College in May-June of their junior year.
Participation
Honors students take 9 units of Honors over the course of their senior year:
Fall: DLCL 189A Senior Honors Writing (3 units)
- Four specific class meetings
Winter: DLCL 189B Senior Honors Writing (3 units)
- Four specific class meetings
Spring: DLCL 189C Senior Honors Writing (3 units)
- Two specific class meetings
Theses are due on May 15 at 5:00 PM, and students present their research at a year-end department Colloquium open to friends, family, faculty, mentors, and the wider Stanford community. Plan to invite those who have supported you throughout your undergraduate years!
Visit the DLCL Honors Student Handbook for more details on the program.
Recent Thesis Titles
Comparative Literature
- “‘Poor Souls’ and ‘Dangerous Vagabonds’: the Enslaved Pursuit of Liberation in Post-Abolition Senegal, 1848–1865”
- “The Literary Nude: Multidimensionality in Anne Carson’s ‘The Glass Essay’”
French and Italian
- “A Translation of Henri Bergson’s Duration and Simultaneity”
German Studies
- “Classical Reception and Continuity in the Early Middle High German poem Das Annolied”
- “Allegations: The Proto-Public Sphere and the Figure of the Female Accused (1500-1640)”
Iberian and Latin American Cultures
- “Narratives of Loss and Loyalty: Gang Membership and Societal Reintegration in El Salvador”
- “La Invasión Universal: Coca-Cola and the Mexican Imagination”
Slavic Languages and Literatures
- “Revolutionary Linguistics: The Ideology of the Soviet Esperanto Movement, 1917-1938”
- “Marina Tsvetaeva’s Poema Kontsa: What the End is For”