The Undergraduate Research Honors Program (URHP) in History offers an exceptional learning opportunity for highly motivated majors. This program is part of the broader Undergraduate Research Honors Program (formerly Honors-in-Discipline) available across various degree majors at ETSU.
The URHP program enriches students' academic course experience while fostering close collaboration with faculty. Students take 18 credit hours of honors-enriched courses throughout their undergraduate career. This course of study prepares students to explore their research interests in-depth, culminating in a capstone honors thesis project undertaken with a faculty mentor's guidance.
The benefits of URHP extend beyond the classroom. URHP graduates find themselves well-prepared to undertake future graduate and professional endeavors. Moreover, URHP participants may qualify for scholarship support. Interested students should direct questions to the History URHP Coordinator, Dr. Jennifer Axsom Adler, at adlerj@etsu.edu.
Academic Program of Study
The History Undergraduate Research Honors Program of study consists of:
- 12 hours of honors-enriched coursework: Only 3000 and 4000 HIST courses can be taken as honors-enriched. At the start of the semester, the URHP student will complete the Honors-Enriched Course Agreement with the instructor of the course to be taken for honors credit, outlining what additional work will be done to receive honors credit. The signed agreement must be submitted to the URHP Coordinator.
6 hours of Honor's Thesis coursework: All honors students must complete a senior honors thesis under the guidance of a full-time member of the Department of History by enrolling in 6 semester hours of HIST 4018. Theses must be submitted electronically following the directions here.
Application Requirements
Admissions to the History URHP is competitive. Students may apply to the program during
the Spring semester for admission the following Fall. Most students apply in the Spring
of their first or second year.
- Current ETSU students: To apply for the URHP in History, current ETSU students must
have:
Completed at least 45 semester hours of undergraduate study (9 in History); and- maintained at least a 3.2 overall GPA and at least a 3.5 GPA in History coursework.
Transfer students: To apply for the URHP in History, transfer students must have:
completed- at least 45 semester hours of undergraduate study (9 in History); and
- maintained at least a 3.2 overall GPA and at least a 3.5 GPA in History coursework
at ETSU and the transfer institution.
Retention Requirements
To remain in good standing in the History URHP program, students must maintain an
overall grade point average of 3.2 and a History grade point average of 3.5.
Students falling below the minimal requirements will be placed on temporary probation in the History URHP program and have a one-semester grace period to meet or exceed the grade-point-average requirements. If students are placed on temporary probation or otherwise fail to demonstrate adequate progress in completing the History URHP program, the History URHP Coordinator will notify both the student and the Director of URHP Programs as soon as possible. Students failing to maintain the GPA requirements as a result of their final semester of performance or failing to meet the other honors requirements will not be awarded the History URHP designation upon graduation.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate with the History URHP designation, students must:
Be admitted to the History URHP program;- Complete all necessary coursework (honors, major, general education, and otherwise), including honors coursework of 12 hours of History honors-enriched courses and 6 hours of honors thesis credit.
- Maintain an overall GPA of 3.2 and a History GPA of 3.5;
- Present the results of their honor's theses publicly.