Middle Eastern Studies Program (MESP) honors will be awarded to senior Middle Eastern Studies (685) majors who enroll in the Middle Eastern Studies courses, Honors Thesis 685:497/498, and successfully complete a Middle Eastern Studies honors thesis. In order to be eligible for departmental honors, an MESP major will have successfully completed at least 15 credits in Middle Eastern Studies courses with a grade point average 3.4 or better in these courses and have an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better at the beginning of the Fall semester of senior year.

Students enrolled in Honors Thesis 685:497/498 are expected to conduct research and prepare an original piece of scholarship as their honors thesis. Individual students are responsible for recruiting an appropriate faculty member to supervise their research and read their thesis. The faculty thesis advisor will indicate specific requirements for the completion of the thesis. The Fall semester should be used for research and preliminary writing, while the Spring should be dedicated to producing the final draft. Also, the thesis advisor and one other member of the faculty will conduct an oral examination at which the honors candidate will defend his or her findings. The oral examination must take place before mid-April.

Upon completion of the thesis and oral examination, a letter grade and a level of honors will be awarded by the thesis advisor.

Finally, Middle Eastern Studies majors who are interested in doing an honors thesis that spans Middle Eastern Studies and another discipline can do so through the SAS Interdisciplinary Honors Thesis program. For more information regarding this program, go to the SAS Senior Honors Thesis website.