HIST 4910: Honours Research Project

HIST 4910 (1.0 credit) offers Honours History students an additional opportunity to conduct substantial research at the undergraduate level. (This does not count towards the 4000-level HIST seminar requirements for History majors.)

The course does not include a formal structure such as provided by a weekly seminar, instead students work one-on-one with a faculty supervisor and the frequency of consultation between students and supervisors is a matter of individual arrangement between them. The project is to be completed by the deadline set by Senate.

Honours students in their Fourth Year interested in taking HIST 4910 (in addition to taking 2.0 credits of 4000- level seminars) must have a minimum GPA of 9 (B+) in History, although in exceptional circumstances, students with a lower GPA may also obtain the department’s permission. (To obtain departmental permission a student must obtain the approval of both a research supervisor and the Undergraduate Supervisor, Prof. Marc Saurette.)

Students interested in taking HIST 4910 should approach potential faculty supervisors to discuss possible projects, their feasibility, and instructors’ availability, ideally during Third Year. The medium of presentation will be agreed upon between student and supervisor, and may include a research paper, a documentary film, a web-based project, or other format to be agreed upon with the supervisor. The topic of research should have a strong personal appeal for the student and be decided in consultation with the supervisor. The Honours Research Project is to be analytical rather than descriptive, an attempt to answer a question rather than an accumulation of interesting information.

If a supervisor is found, the course would begin in the Fall term of the student’s fourth year. The supervisor together with the student will agree upon a work plan, including a description of the project, goals and deadlines, which must be signed by both parties and submitted to the Undergraduate Supervisor by the end of September.

When the project is completed, the student will be required to defend it at an oral examination that will be conducted by the faculty supervisor and one other faculty member who will serve as the second reader. The purpose of the oral examination is to test the student’s ability to verbally present the project’s findings and for faculty to test the limits of the main arguments.

The grade will be based upon the project and oral examination, the former comprising 90% and the latter 10% of the final grade. The grade must be formally submitted by the tenth day after the last class. It is therefore advisable to have the oral defense within a week of the last class.

The Form of the Research Essay

a) Length – For research essays 40-50 pages would normally be considered adequate for most subjects.

b) Content – This should include an introduction indicating the scope and purpose of the project; thesis statement; discussion; bibliography; acknowledgments (if appropriate); appendices (if appropriate way to include substantial extracts or statistics).