Honors Program

Consistent with other research opportunities offered to undergraduates on the UCSD campus, the department offers the Honors Program to ethnic studies majors in their senior or junior year the opportunity to conduct original research using interdisciplinary methodologies in the comparative study of race and ethnicity. To enroll in the Honors Program, an undergraduate must have a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in ethnic studies classes counted towards the major. (Students with a GPA in the major lower than 3.5 may be admitted by exception if they show promise of success in research.)

The Honors Program will be an extension of current departmental offerings using existing faculty resources. Ethnic studies and affiliated faculty will choose to advise students who successfully complete ETHN 191A and continue in the Honors Program based on research interests. They will enroll in ETHN 191B and ETHN 191C with the appropriate faculty adviser.

ETHN 191A. (Fall Quarter) Undergraduate Research in Ethnic Studies(4) This course is designed to help students conduct their own research rather than merely read the research of others. The course will introduce students to research paradigms in ethnic studies, familiarize them with finding aids and other library resources, and involve them in the design of research plans.
ETHN 191B. (Winter Quarter) Honors Research in Ethnic Studies(4) This course is a continuation of Ethnic Studies 191-Undergraduate Research in Ethnic Studies. Students who have completed ETHN 191 and selected a faculty research adviser may enroll in theis course. During the quarter the research for the honors project will be completed under the faculty adviser's supervision. Faculty advisers will meet weekly with their honors students to oversee the progress made in carrying out the plan of research.
ETHN 191C. (Spring Quarter) Honors Research in Ethnic Studies(4) This course is a continuation of Ethnic Studies 191B- Honors Research in Ethnic Studies. Students who have completed ETHN 191B and are continuing to work with a faculty research adviser may enroll in this course. During the quarter the written drafts and final honors paper will be completed under the faculty adviser's supervision. The student will meet weekly with the faculty adviser in order to prepare drafts and the final version of the honors paper.

Ethnic Studies 191A, 191B, and 191C must be taken for a letter grade only.

Students who complete the sequence ETHN 191A, 191B, and 191C will receive 12 academic units of credit and fulfill a total of one (1) History and Social Sciences (B) requirement for the ethnic studies major (only one B requirement can be fulfilled by completing the whole sequence).

Students who complete their research project with a grade of "B" or better and maintain a minimum of 3.25 in the ethnic studies major will receive "Distinction" (on the UCSD transcript) in the ethnic studies major upon graduation from UCSD.

Interested in Honors for next year 2010-2011? Now is the time to prepare.

Applications will be available after fall quarter.

Students who plan to graduate in 2011 or 2012 should complete the ETHN 100 (upper division "A" requirement for the major) no later than Fall Quarter 2009. Please contact Yolanda Escamilla, Ethnic Studies Undergraduate Advisor, if you need to enroll in the class or have any questions: yescamilla@ucsd.edu. ETHN 100, Theories and Methods of Ethnic Studies, is the course that intensively explores the theory and comparative methods of ethnic studies. All Ethnic Studies majors should complete this course before proceeding with other requirements listed and after completing lower division requirements. Please note that the selection criteria used this year for honors included ETHN 100 (due to high volume of applicants). We strongly encourage ethnic studies majors to complete the ETHN 190, Reasearch Methods: Studying Racial and Ethnic Communities (upper division "E" requirement for the major) before enrolling in the Honors Program.

Please contact Yolanda Escamilla for more information:
email: yescamilla@ucsd.edu
telephone: 858/534-3277