Drama

The Honors Program in Theatre Studies

Production design of show

Production design of show

2018 Honor Theses

The Honors Program in Theatre Studies heightens intellectual exchange between students and faculty in seminar settings limited to 15 students. The seminars are 4-credit courses on a variety of subjects in theatre and performance studies taught by leading faculty in the Department of Drama. Designed to develop analytical thinking, research and writing skills, and oral presentation, seminars culminate in an original research paper. Students can just enjoy taking Honors Seminars for the enhanced learning experience with motivated peers. They can also choose to write an Honors Thesis and earn an “Honors Certificate” upon completion of three distinct courses, two Honors Seminars and Honors Thesis, for a total of 12-credit hours with a grade of B+ or better in all three courses. Honors Seminars are offered in both the fall and spring semesters and are open to students who have completed 48 credits. In addition, there is typically one Honors Seminar offered in the fall semester open to sophomores who have completed 32 credits including Introduction to Theatre Studies with a “B+” or better. The Honors Program is a unique feature of Theatre Studies and the Department of Drama’s aim to prepare students to enter the profession in a variety of ways: as historically and theoretically informed actors, scholars, directors, designers, producers, and playwrights.

Student Testimonials

Fall 2019 Honors Seminars

Spring 2020 Honors Seminars

Fall 2020 Honors Seminar

Application Instructions

APPLYING FOR YOUR FIRST HONORS SEMINAR 

Applications for Honors Seminars should be sent to the Instructor of the Seminar. 

Instructor email addresses are included in the Seminar descriptions. 

Send fall Seminar applications by April 14th. 

Send spring Seminar applications by November 14th. 

Queries about late applications should be sent to the Instructor of the Seminar. 

APPLICATION CONTENTS 

In the body of an email send the following information: name, student ID, number of credits completed by time of application, local telephone number, email address, and a brief statement of interest in the subject matter of the Seminar. Attach to the email a substantial essay that you have written for another course that exemplifies your best analytical thinking sent as an attachment to the instructor of the Seminar. Send the email to the Instructor of the course you wish to take and a copy to John Dietrich (john.dietrich@nyu.edu)

APPLYING FOR YOUR SECOND HONORS SEMINAR 

Students applying to take a second Honors Seminar should, in addition to all the information above, note their current Seminar, the name of the instructor of their current Seminar, and their midterm grade for Seminar. Send this information directly to the instructor teaching the Seminar you wish to take. Copy John Dietrich (john.dietrich@nyu.edu) on the email. 

The target dates for Honors Seminar applications are April 14th for fall Seminars and November 14th for spring Seminars.

SELECTION PROCESS 

Instructors select students for their Honors Seminars based on stated interest in the subject matter, an in-depth engagement with course material as demonstrated by the writing sample and an interest in writing research papers. 

NOTIFICATION 

Notification of acceptance in Honors Seminars will be made by the end of the semester. Because individual registration dates occur before Seminar acceptance dates, all students are advised to register for an alternative 4-point class that can be dropped once the student is admitted to a Seminar. 

Questions about individual seminars should be addressed to the Seminar Instructors. 

Inquiries about the Honors Program can be addressed to: Professor Carol Martin, Director of the Honors Program. cm7@nyu.edu

Students applying to take a second Honors Seminar should, in addition to all the information above, note their current Seminar, the name of the instructor of their current Seminar, and their midterm grade for Seminar. Send this information directly to the instructor teaching the Seminar you wish to take. Copy John Dietrich (john.dietrich@nyu.edu) on the email. 

The target dates for Honors Seminar applications are April 14th for fall Seminars and November 14th for spring Seminars.

Students applying to take a second Honors Seminar should, in addition to all the information above, note their current Seminar, the name of the instructor of their current Seminar, and their midterm grade for Seminar. Send this information directly to the instructor teaching the Seminar you wish to take. Copy John Dietrich (john.dietrich@nyu.edu) on the email. 

The target dates for Honors Seminar applications are April 14th for fall Seminars and November 14th for spring Seminars.

Honors Thesis

Honors Thesis is the third and culminating 4-credit Honors Seminar. In Honors Thesis, students write a 30-40 page critical thesis developed from original research (not including endnotes and works cited) with the guidance of a fulltime faculty member. After completing two or more Honors Seminars students may apply to write an honors thesis. 

More on Honor's Thesis

Students with a thesis advisor and an approved proposal must then register for Honors Thesis. To receive a grade by the end of the semester, students registered for Honors Thesis in the fall semester must complete their thesis no later than December 10. Students registered for Honors Thesis during the spring semester must complete their thesis no later than April 25. All students are subject to the same deadlines. Proposal content and acceptance is determined by the advisor. Honors Thesis is credited as a Theatre Studies “C.” 

Students may have more than one advisor (one advisor can be a faculty member in another NYU department) but this option must be approved by the Department of Drama faculty advisor and the Coordinator of the Honors Program.

Questions should be addressed to Professor Carol Martin, Coordinator of the Honors Program.

*The Honors Program in Theatre Studies is in its 17th year.

Apply to Write an Honors Thesis

To apply to write an Honors Thesis, students should develop a research proposal and then approach a prospective thesis advisor who is a fulltime faculty member with areas of expertise that match the subject of the proposed thesis. Applications for writing an Honors Thesis should be made no later than the end of the first semester of the senior year (earlier is better).