Newcomb-Tulane College: General Information
Academic Year 2008-2009
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University Honors (summa cum laude and magna cum laude) are reserved for
Tulane Honors students only. A student not in the Honors Program who at the
time of graduation has achieved a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.4,
is awarded the degree cum laude.
Graduating With Departmental Honors
To be eligible for departmental honors, a student must have an overall grade-point
average of at least 3.4, a 3.5 GPA in his or her major, complete an honors thesis
or project, and must fulfill all of the major's other requirements for Honors.
Please see following paragraph for description of honors thesis.
Senior Honors Thesis
In order to graduate with University Honors or Department Honors, students
during the senior year must write an Honors Thesis or complete an equivalent
Honors project. As the culminating achievement of the scholar's undergraduate
career, this thesis or project involves substantial independent research and study
under the direction of a professor in the scholar's major department. It is
recommended that a student begin the process of identifying a topic and director
at the end of the junior year. The Honors Thesis or project is in every case a full-
year endeavor. Students must sign up for their thesis in the home department each
of the two semesters necessary for completion. Other specific criteria for
completion of the thesis, a schedule of relevant dates (including deadlines for a
progress report and completion of the first chapter), as well as necessary forms,
can be obtained on-line from the Honors Program website or in the Honors
Program Office.
LESS COMMONLY TAUGHT LANGUAGES
Motivated students with demonstrated achievement in foreign language may
enroll for courses offered in the Less Commonly Taught Languages Program.
These classes are primarily self-instructional; students use audiotapes, textbooks,
and software where available and attend group sessions with a native speaker of
the language under study. Progress is monitored by the program director. Courses
taken in the program are offered as electives and do not fulfill the basic
undergraduate foreign language proficiency requirement. For further information
on this program, contact Thomas Klinger, French and Italian (504) 862-3121 (e-
mail: klinger@tulane.edu).
THE WASHINGTON SEMESTER PROGRAM
Well-qualified students are eligible to spend a semester in Washington, D.C., for
the study of American government in action. A cooperative intercollegiate honors
program, the Washington Semester Program is administered by the School of
Government and Public Administration of American University. Areas of study
include national government and politics, the judicial system, foreign and
economic policy, international environment and development, international trade,
museum studies, and journalism. The program features a seminar, an individual
research project, and an internship. The major curriculum features are planned to