Honors Program

Stanford History majors, who are passionate about conducting in-depth, original research on a historical question, may apply for the Honors Program in History. An honors thesis in History addresses a new research question or reinterpret a moment in history through an analysis of primary sources. Outstanding honors theses are considered for the University's Robert M. Golden Medal as well as for the department's James Birdsall Weter Prize.

Honors Program Requirements

Honors students question accepted versions of a story and expand our understandings of the past, present, and future. They begin their research work as early as Spring Quarter of their junior year and complete their honors thesis by mid-May of their senior year.

To enter the Honors Program in History, students must

complete the 13 course requirements for a B.A. major in History.
confirm a thesis advisor among History department faculty who agrees to advise their thesis research and writing.
confirm a second reader for their thesis (see page 3 of the Honors Handbook for details).
complete HISTORY 299H Junior Honors Colloquium in the Winter Quarter Quarter of their junior year.
complete HISTORY 299A/B/C Senior Research for11- 15 units in their Senior Year.
Complete their thesis with a grade of B+ or higher.

An exception may be made for those studying overseas Winter Quarter of the junior year, but such students should consult with the director of the honors program, if possible, prior to going overseas. Students who study abroad for the entire junior year and want to write an honors thesis should plan to take the Research Seminar for Majors in the first quarter following completion of the study abroad program. In considering an applicant for such a project, the advisor and Director of the Honors Program take into account general preparation in the field of the project and expect a GPA of at least 3.5 in the student's previous work in History and a 3.3 in overall University work.

Please review the 2025-26 Honors Program Handbook for detailed requirements and policies.

Bing Honors College

Bing Honors College (BHC) is a two-week program in early September for students actively engaged in researching and drafting their honors theses. The History Department participates regularly in the BHC with a course that prepares interested students for writing a thesis in History.

Young-Park Honors Mentorship Program

The Young-Park Honors Thesis Mentorship Program brings together History Honors students with History Graduate Students to provide an additional layer of writing and research support. The Program provides further scaffolding for successful thesis writing, diversifies professionalization opportunities for graduate students, and fosters greater connection between undergraduate and graduate communities within the department. The relationship between graduate student mentors and undergraduate thesis writers is non-hierarchical and highly collaborative. Participation in the mentorship project is optional and is highly recommended to all thesis writers in the major. AY 2025-26 Contact: Jordan Virtue

Recent Honors Theses in History

Several honors theses written since 2020 are viewable in the Stanford Digital Repository. Earlier thesis topics have included:

Voluntary Nazification: Nationalist Fervor Among the Danish-German Borderland's Ethnic Germans
Stanford, Rockefeller, and Carnegie: Redefining the Classical University in the Gilded Age
Anatomy of a Conspiracy: The History of the Cigarette Industry's "Committee of Counsel" and the Lawyers Who Saved Big Tobacco
"The Canary Looks at the Crow": Hikida Yasuichi and Japanese Interest in Afro-America during the Second World War
The Act of Union 1707: Economic, Political, and Religious Influences
Democratizing Jihad: The Global Diffusion of Al Qaeda's Authority