Students who wish to undertake a more intensive and extensive program of study, including seminars and independent work, are invited to apply for the honors program Bing Honors College during winter quarter of the junior year.
Bing Honors College
Bing Honors College is a three-week summer program prior to the start of the senior year. Honors students work independently and with other participants to research and shape their honors thesis under the guidance of a Philosophy professor and the support of a philosophy graduate student teaching assistant. For more information, contact the Undergrad Student Services Administrator.
Intended Plan of Study
With their application, candidates should submit an intended plan of study for the remainder of the junior and the senior years. It should include at least 5 units of Senior Tutorial (PHIL 196 Tutorial, Senior Year) during Autumn and/or Winter quarter(s) of the senior year. Students who are applying to Honors College may use the same application for philosophy honors. In the quarter preceding the tutorial, students should submit an essay proposal to the Philosophy undergraduate director and determine an adviser.
Honors Seminar (Junior Year)
Students applying for honors should enroll in Junior Honors Seminar (PHIL 199 Seminar for Prospective Honors Students) during the Spring Quarter of the junior year.
The Honors Thesis
The length of the honors essay may vary considerably depending on the problem and the approach; usually it falls somewhere between 7,500 and 12,500 words. This essay may use work in previous seminars and courses as a starting point, but it cannot be the same essay that has been used, or is being used, in some other class or seminar. It must be a substantially new and different piece of work reflecting work in the tutorials.
A completed draft of the essay is submitted to the adviser at the end of the Winter Quarter of the senior year. Any further revisions must be finished by the fifth full week of the Spring Quarter, when three copies of the essay are to be given to the undergraduate secretary. The honors essay is graded by the adviser together with a second reader, chosen by the adviser in consultation with the student. The student also provides an oral defense of the thesis at a meeting with the adviser and second reader. The essay must receive a grade of 'A-' or better for the student to receive honors.
Notes: Admission is selective on the basis of demonstrated ability in Philosophy, including an average grade of at least 'A-' in a substantial number of Philosophy courses and progress towards satisfying the requirements of the major. Honors tutorials represent units in addition to the 55-unit requirement.
Stanford Undergraduate honors theses in Philosophy
Follow the link below to browse titles of Philosophy Honors Theses that have been done at Stanford. You can read these papers in the collection at Tanner Philosophy Library.
Philosophy Undergraduate Honors Theses Collection 1963 - 2014
