Department of Modern Culture and Media

Honors in MCM

Breadcrumb

Honors in MCM

Students wishing to culminate the concentration with a thesis and receive the degree with honors may apply for department approval to produce a creative, critical, or theoretical work in the senior year.

The thesis experience allows a student to get to know, and work closely with, a faculty member. The MCM Honors Program is intellectually demanding and time-consuming; students should be willing to devote a substantial part of their senior year to the thesis. Students work under the guidance of a department faculty advisor and second reader. Where appropriate, the advisor or the reader, but not both, may be in another department.

Students who qualify for honors in either concentration track are eligible to apply to do an honors project or thesis. Students should submit a letter of intent in their 6th semester, and a formal proposal, by the first day of their 7th semester. If approved, a student must then register for MCM1980 (taken in the 7th semester), a one credit course which can count towards their Focus Area requirements, and MCM1990 (taken in the 8th semester), a one-credit thesis course in which they complete the honors project/thesis.

Honors Director

Letter of Intent

The letter of intent is a prelude to your Honors thesis proposal. This letter should present a brief description of your thesis project. The description should be only a paragraph or two in length and provide your reader with a sense of your topic and your plans for beginning your work.

The letter of intent is not a substitute for the thesis proposal, which you will submit in the fall (May grads) or spring (December grads).

December Graduates

  • Letter of intent due to primary thesis advisor: October 1
  • Acknowledgement of approval of letter of intent due to MCM: October 15

May Graduates

  • Letter of intent due to primary thesis advisor: April 1
  • Acknowledgement of approval of letter of intent due to MCM: April 15

Honors Proposal

Qualified students should start thinking about their topic and thesis committee well before the proposal deadline. Because the thesis is the student’s individual research project and not one assigned by a faculty member for a course, students should spend some time formulating a research topic and research question prior to soliciting a primary thesis advisor. Interested students are also encouraged to discuss their ideas with the MCM undergraduate honors director.

Honors proposal must include:

  1. Detailed description (1-2 pages) of the honors thesis project
  2. Bibliography (1 page)
  3. Up-to-date transcript (Banner printout is acceptable). The transcript must indicate A-level work in at least half of the concentration courses. For S/NC courses, statements from relevant faculty members 
    certifying that work was of honors quality are required
  4. Signature of primary thesis advisor*
  5. Name of second reader (if not known at time of submission, student must choose a second reader by October 15.)

Proposals are due on the first day of class of the student's 7th semester. Proposals are screened by the MCM Honors Committee and will be reviewed by the MCM Honors Director. Students will be notified by the end of the registration period.

Submit Proposal    

Note: For S/NC courses, students need statements from faculty members certifying their work was of "A" quality. This is only for the courses you are counting towards the MCM concentration requirements.  If you received an S* (with distinction) you don't need to get this statement because this is equivalent to an A. It can be a brief statement like this:

XXX took a production-related course in which they did honors-quality work.

Course No. & Title____________________________________

Honors Timeline

Responsibilities of Primary Thesis Advisor & 2nd Reader

Honors is awarded by the College Curriculum Council based on a recommendation by the Honors Director in Modern Culture and Media. Honors is not awarded by the College retroactively. Students who fail to complete their thesis by the Modern Culture and Media department deadline will not receive honors, even if they complete all requirements at a later time. If a thesis is turned in late but before the end of the term, credit and a grade for the thesis work may still be granted; however, the student will not receive honors.

Students enrolled in the Brown | RISD Dual Program have the choice to which year (year 4 or 5) they would like to pursue honors. Students should carefully consider whether working on a thesis at Brown and a degree project at RISD would compliment each other if done simultaneously or if they'd be best pursued in different years. Contact mcm@brown.edu for more details and deadlines.